"High Tension" could've been and would've been better if it didn't go the dual personality route. The whole movie we were led to believe that a strange man (Philippe Nahon) came to Alex's family's house and killed them all. We were led to believe that Marie (Cecile de France) was able to hide from the killer and then pursue the killer who'd kidnapped Marie's friend Alexia (Maiwenn). Then, when the movie was about to conclude we found out that Marie was the killer the whole time and she only imagined (or was taken over by) the other personality. That would've been a nice twist except:

A.) I've seen that twist too often ("Fight Club" did it best).

B.) It was hard to reconcile what really happened with how Marie imagined it.

Marie saw another man, she hid from this man, she ran from this man, she pursued this man in a totally different vehicle, she fought him and presumably killed him. I can stretch my imagination and reconcile much of it, but I can't reconcile the two different vehicles. How could she have been driving the Jeepers Creepers truck with Alex in the back as well as the yellow sports car (unless the yellow sports car didn't exist)?

"High Tension" was a decent movie, but it would've been better if it had honestly stuck to the thread it was on: a determined woman pursuing a kidnapper/killer to rescue her best friend. Not to say that the dual personality angle wasn't good, it was actually quite cool because who'd expect a woman to be a crazed homicidal maniac, but the execution wasn't the best.

As many reviewers have said, this is one of the best body pile slashers films made ever, certainly in the last few years. Buckets of blood, great makeup and special effects, and some seriously genius ways of offing the good guys. But we also get one of the stupidest plot twists ever that not only ruins the vibe of the film, but makes the whole script seem completely incoherent. On multiple viewings you see the direction around this twist is actually quite well done, tons of small hints and some gross additions are noticed, but it's not worth it at all. If there was no plot twist, this would have easily gotten a 9 in my book, but it's lucky it got the 6 with that dumb idea tacked on for no reason.

There should not be any surprise why Wes Craven chose Alexandre Aja to direct the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes". Aja's "High Tension" delivers what could be the most terrifying scenario in horror history since "The Last House on The Left". Two young women travel to a dreary looking farmhouse to study for important school exams. That same night, as soon as the doorbell rings, the madness strikes, and it strikes hard. The killer in this film holds nothing back, and it will feel as if you had been struck in the stomach by a 2x4. The flick will not let you go until the last fearful scene is over. Highly recommended for serious horror filmmakers.