'HIGH TENSION' I don't get it. (1 Viewer)

[Inspector Hammer!]

The server failed when I submitted!

All that typing for nothing. :frowning:

 

[TravisR]

My psychic powers tell me that you didn't like the ending.

Personally, I loved the movie until the (terrible) ending.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

How'd you ever guess that!?

It made absolute zero sense and marred what was otherwise a twistedly great thriller, there's no way that Marie could have possibly done some of the things that we're suposed to believe she did. If they had only stayed simple and had that ugly nutjob actually be the killer, it would have been much better IMO.

It over-extended it's reach and shot itself in the foot.

BTW, while i'm nitpicking, is it really possible to knock a dude's head off with a dresser? He must of had a really weak neck, it just snapped off like a Gingerbread man cookie! Uh huh.

 

[Malcolm R]

Yeah, I didn't like it much, either. The "twist" made the entire film fall apart.

 

[Joel C]

John - your second spoiler is where I turned the movie off. I went back later and sped through it on FF, watching the last 3/4 in about 15 minutes. When I got to the end, I was sorry I'd spent even that much time, and the $3 I spent to rent it.

 

[Steve_Knutzen]

I'm not going to use spoilers since this is technically a discussion thread.
About twenty or thirty minutes in I was thinking to myself that at least with movies like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Kiler and American Psycho there was character and humor (intentional in AP's case) to go along with the brutality rather than just endless, meaningless bloodshed. So when the twist came I felt it redeemed the movie somewhat though it was really cheesey when it was switching between the guy and the girl during the chase scene. That said, the movie did a great a job of being constantly unnerving both visually and sonically throughout.
That's just my opinion though and I completely understand why people hate the twist.

 

[Chad R]

The twist was also horribly telegraphed by Marie's dream in the car during the opening.

 

[James_Kiang]

What's strange is that if you hover over this topic in the thread listing, I think I can see most of the message that you originally typed! How's that for a twist???

As far as HT goes, I had no problem with the twist. Sure, it basically comes out of nowhere but once you know about the true identity of the killer, other scenes earlier in the movie do have new light shed upon them.

 

[ChrisBEA]

Gotta say, I loved the old school slasher feel, until the twist. The twist seemed like a cop out. They had this great thing going, but felt the need to keep up with the joneses, so to speak.

THere is no way the events earlier in the film could have happened as depicted. Of course, she is the one telling the story, therefore everything you see would be a lie, until the twist. Either way I didn't like the ending, loved everything else.

 

[Christopher B]

If you listen to the director on the commentary on the UK version called Switchblade Romance, he basically says that Maria is relating the story in the hospital, so she is basically telling it how she fantasized it to make herself out to be the hero. The lapses in logic are just that, Maria is not exactly playing with a full deck!

I personally loved the twist. To me it took a really sick twisted movie, which I like, and turned it into more of a psychological thriller. Watching it a second time you understand the reactions of everyone around her while she is supposedly trying to save them.

 

[Justin_S]

Great film, great twist. I think the twist makes perfect sense and only serves to make the film stronger.

Here's my old thread on the film, complete with why I think the twist is wonderful:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...42#post1911542

 

[Steve Y]

I also loved Haute Tension until the ending.

I didn't WANT the killer's identity to "make sense" ... the irrational, random brutality is what was so compelling about it. That's the basis of the slasher genre: the thick, exaggerated evil of the antagonist. When the twist comes, the movie loses its focus and all the cracks in the logic are filled. It ceases to be chilling and becomes just... "clever". The problem is we've seen this "killer's identity" rug-pulling a million times before.

As for the first 90% of the story... wow. Great stuff. Unfortunately, once you've already seen the movie, you're constantly reminded of the "twist", which is telegraphed quite effectively throughout the entire film.

Unfortunately, what the audience loves about the heroine is used against them, and it feels both precious and cheap.