IMDb > Haute tension (2003)
Haute tension
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Overview

User Rating:
6.8/10   18,457 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 12% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Alexandre Aja
Writers:
Alexandre Aja (writer)
Grégory Levasseur (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for High Tension on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
10 June 2005 (USA) more
Tagline:
Hearts will bleed.
Plot:
Two college friends, Marie and Alexa, encounter loads of trouble (and blood) while on vacation at Alexa's parents' country home when a mysterious killer invades their quiet getaway. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
4 wins & 3 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(118 articles)
Richard Dreyfuss in Piranha 3-D
 (From toxicshock. 6 November 2009, 11:21 PM, PST)

Afm '09: Crazy Awesome First Still from 'Piranha 3D'
 (From Bloody-Disgusting.com. 4 November 2009, 1:26 PM, PST)

User Comments:
A very stylish, tense film, truly a suspense-thriller-horror more (481 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (complete, awaiting verification)
Cécile De France ... Marie
Maïwenn Le Besco ... Alexia (as Maïwenn)
Philippe Nahon ... Le tueur
Franck Khalfoun ... Jimmy
Andrei Finti ... Alex's Father

Oana Pellea ... Alex's Mother
Marco Claudiu Pascu ... Tom
Jean-Claude de Goros ... Police Captain
Bogdan Uritescu ... Gendarme
Gabriel Spahiu ... Homme voiture
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Directed by
Alexandre Aja 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Alexandre Aja  writer
Grégory Levasseur  writer

Produced by
Alexandre Arcady .... producer
Robert Benmussa .... producer
Andrei Boncea .... executive producer
Inigo Lezzi .... line producer
Mehdi Sayah .... assistant producer
Luc Besson .... co-producer (uncredited)
 
Original Music by
François Eudes 
 
Cinematography by
Maxime Alexandre 
 
Film Editing by
Baxter 
Al Rundle 
Sophie Vermersch 
 
Casting by
Florin Kevorkian  (as Florin Chevorchian)
 
Production Design by
Renald Cotte Verdy 
Tony Egry 
 
Art Direction by
Grégory Levasseur 
 
Set Decoration by
Gabriel Nechita 
Gabriela Nechita 
 
Makeup Department
Gabi Cretan .... makeup artist
Giannetto De Rossi .... special makeup effects artist
 
Production Management
Andrei Boncea .... executive in charge of production
Attila Egry .... unit manager
Calin Furtunescu .... production manager
Inigo Lezzi .... production supervisor
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alina Apostu .... assistant director
Anthony Collard .... second assistant director
Theodor Halacu-Nicon .... first assistant director
Virgil Nicolaescu .... second assistant director
 
Art Department
Blehan Bogdan .... construction crew
Adrian Cancer .... storyboard artist
Agler Catalin .... construction crew
Ann Chakraverty .... set dresser
Paul Dobre .... construction crew
Dorin Grigorescu .... construction crew
Ionut Mandruta .... construction crew
Gabriela Nechita .... construction crew (as Gabi Nechita)
Gabriela Nechita .... storyboard artist
Rusetelu Nicolae .... construction crew
Calin Papura .... construction crew
Tudor Polizu .... construction crew
Serge Recorbet .... construction manager
Elsa Richez .... key painter
Camelia Sirbu .... construction crew
Doru Stan .... construction crew
 
Sound Department
Robert Althoff .... sound re-recordist: United States version
Pierre André .... sound
Emmanuel Augeard .... sound mixer
Guillaume Battistelli .... assistant sound editor
Ron Bedrosian .... adr mixer: United States version
John Bires .... additional sound: United States version
Christian Brousselle .... post-synchronization
Mihai Burtan .... sound
Marian Costea .... sound
Jeff Eisner .... additional sound: United States version
Ludovic Escallier .... assistant sound editor
Paul Flinchbaugh .... digital assistant editor: United States version
Jeff Glueck .... additional sound: United States version
Loïc Gourbe .... sound recordist
Thierry Havard .... boom operator
Chris Jargo .... sound effects editor: United States version
François Lepeuple .... foley artist (as François Le Peuple)
Didier Lesage .... sound engineer
Didier Lozahic .... sound editor
Didier Lozahic .... sound re-recording mixer
Jeff Malham .... re-recording engineer
Craig Mann .... sound re-recordist: United States version
Olivier Marlangeon .... assistant foley artist
Stefanie Melchor .... additional sound: United States version
Glenn T. Morgan .... supervising sound editor: United States version
Cristi Onutu .... sound
Mark Relyea .... sound effects editor: United States version
Sébastien Savine .... assistant sound editor
Melissa Sherwood Hofmann .... sound re-recording mixer: United States version
Matthew Sordello .... additional sound: United States version
Branden Spencer .... digital assistant editor: United States version
Peter Staubli .... sound effects editor: United States version
Greg Steele .... adr mixer: United States version
Dean St. John .... adr mixer: United States version
Bogdan Varzaru .... sound
David A. Whittaker .... sound effects editor: United States version
Ben Wilkins .... sound editor
David Young .... additional sound: United States version
Greg Zimmerman .... adr recordist
 
Special Effects by
Adrian Popescu .... special effects supervisor
 
Visual Effects by
Benjamin Ageorges .... digital compositor
Stephane Bidault .... visual effects
Christophe Chanvin .... visual effects supervisor
Jean-Antoine Lacolle .... digital compositor
Matthias Weber .... visual effects producer
 
Stunts
Szabolcs Cseh .... stunts (as Szabo Cseh)
Marius Florian .... stunt double: Marie
Von Totojescu .... stunts
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Mihai Burtan .... assistant camera
Catalin Ciobanu .... electrician
Marian Costea .... camera operator
Viorel Diaconescu .... gaffer
Titi Gavrila .... assistant camera
Ionut Lupulescu .... clapper loader
Sorin Nainer .... still photographer
Cristi Onutu .... assistant camera
Toni Salabasev .... still photographer
Bogdan Stanciu .... Steadicam operator
Remus Tanase .... key grip
Bogdan Varzaru .... camera operator
 
Casting Department
Domnica Circiumaru .... extras casting
 
Editorial Department
Serge Anthony .... color timer (as Serge Antony)
Adam Fox Forrest .... dvd menu designer
Magali Magnan .... assistant editor
 
Music Department
Matthew Bellamy .... composer: song "New Born"
Jérôme Devoise .... score mixer
Jérôme Lateur .... music supervisor
Vincent Lebegue .... music legal coordinator
Elise Luguern .... music production supervisor
Mehdi Sayah .... assistant music supervisor
 
Transportation Department
Adrian Nita .... transportation coordinator
 
Other crew
Andra Barbuica .... script supervisor
Bob Buchholz .... english language director
Razvan Caminschi .... production assistant
Liliana Ciobanu .... production assistant
Jean-Patrick Flande .... unit publicist
Catherine Grandjean .... administrator
Nicu Kasza .... production assistant
Dorina Popa .... production assistant
Dominique Segall .... press attache
Karl Sigwald .... production assistant
Luminita Costinela Stanciu .... production secretary
Doru Stan .... production assistant
 

Production CompaniesDistributorsSpecial EffectsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Switchblade Romance (International: English title) (UK) (DVD box title)
High Tension (USA)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for graphic bloody killings, terror, sexual content and language. (edited version); Rated NC-17 for strong graphic violence.
Runtime:
91 min | Germany:85 min (DVD version) | South Korea:84 min (re-cut version) | USA:89 min (edited version)
Country:
France
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | SDDS (US version) | Dolby Digital (US version) | Dolby Digital EX (original version)
Certification:
New Zealand:R18 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:R (edited for re-rating) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Australia:R | Czech Republic:15 | Sweden:15 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/18 | USA:R (cut) | USA:Unrated (DVD rating) | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (cut) (DVD rating) (uncut) | Germany:18 (SPIO/JK) (cut) | Austria:18 | Canada:18A (British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:R (Alberta) | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Norway:18 | Singapore:R21 | South Korea:Limited (original rating) | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R (edited version) | Germany:18 (cut) | Canada:16+ (Quebec)
Filming Locations:
Bucharest, Romania more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
According to 'Alexander Aja' the scene where Marie hides from the killer in the gas station restroom was a homage to a similar scene in the movie Maniac (1980). more
Goofs:
Continuity: The dog disappears from shot after it has been killed. more
Quotes:
Alexia: The problem is, he's got a girlfriend he doesn't want to split up with.
Marie: Why are you so interested, then?
Alexia: Someone who's taken must be worth it. I'm skeptical of single guys.
more
Movie Connections:
References I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale (1973) more
Soundtrack:
Pillow Talk more

FAQ

What is the song in the trailer?
Is this based on a book?
What song plays during the car chase and ending scenes?
more
82 out of 135 people found the following comment useful.
A very stylish, tense film, truly a suspense-thriller-horror, 3 May 2005
9/10
Author: Richard Brunton (imdb-update@brunton.org.uk) from Edinburgh, Scotland

Oh my god. Without a doubt I have not been affected by a movie this much since watching the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre when I was well under age and the movie was certainly more than dodgy. I couldn't sleep after watching that and was very uneasy, multiplied a gazillion times by the imagination of a kid. This certainly had a similar affect on me, it scared me and horrified me, it even surprised me more than any other movie has of late.

If you have any preconception about foreign cinema being weaker to Hollywood then you have hardly spent enough time watching foreign cinema and too much time engrossed in poor romantic flicks with Clooney et al. You really need to get out and grab some of that Japanese, Spanish and French cinema action. It's easily had and there's a lot to it, far better movies...anyway, I find myself digressing again.

From the outset this movie pitches itself as a hard horror, it isn't going to pull any punches and it's going to show you like it is, harrowing and horrific. That said, the story then turns to a slower pace and you find that it's mixing the suspenseful thriller in with the moments of full on horror, and it's done so well. Too well in fact, and watching the psychotic at work is sometimes shocking.

It rides a fine line between schlock horror and suspense horror, it manages to combine the two without falling into a complete gore flick. It is gory mind you, very gory. I was eating a couple of biscuits during the movie and I stopped until it was finished, even then I wasn't sure.

That's where this movies strength lies, it really pushes the boundaries of between those two types of movies but keeps its feet firmly in the suspense, and tension area. The film is exceedingly tense, and it's raised slowly to begin with, but creeps up at every set piece, and it's not long before the shocking and surprising final set piece is upon you. That in itself is terrifying, and as it unfolded on me I was stunned.

Part of me thinks that this movie could have done much better without all the horror, but I'm not sure that the film would have carried on the tension and suspense alone, it's the very presence of the horror that adds to and heightens the pressure.

A very stylish, tense film, truly a suspense-thriller-horror to be proud of from the French. Please Hollywood, don't remake it.

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Things I learned watching High Tension...SPOILERS king1836
I give this movie 4 out of 5 cliches. kurtmj76
Was Marie Posessed? (Spoilers!) king1836
High Tension 2 : Salvation king1836
Where Marie and Alex even friends? CourtneyQ
What about the beginning when the driver is in his van... citycalmdown
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