I had initially decided to ignore "High (Haute) Tension" for one primary reason: plagiarism. The first portion of this movie is a direct copy from Dean Koontz’s book "Intensity." I didn’t want to support the ripping off of one of my favorite novelists. What changed my mind? One word: free. That’s right, TV land, this review is brought to you by the good folks at… uh, some used DVD shop (can’t think of the name right now for some reason). So I chose this one rather than one of the other DVD’s that nobody else wanted for the purpose of first-hand comparison and ripping to shreds in this review.

First, since I’ve pointed out Mr. Koontz’s unwitting involvement in the creation of the story I feel like I should give an explanation (since there are bound to be questions) and a disclaimer. Yes, Dean knows of this infringement; I found out about the theft of his intellectual property through his very own newsletter. Could he sue? Yep, and some people have encouraged him to do so. His reasons for not doing so are the same as my disclaimer which is this: Dean Koontz novels are nothing like the whole of this movie despite a portion of one being a part of the other. Dean wants no connection to this movie whatsoever (he refuses to so much as tell his fans the name) due to his strong distaste for it.

I sincerely hope he doesn’t care for me spilling the beans here, but enough people have seen the connection on their own (it’s glaringly obvious) that I don’t feel like I’m telling a guarded secret. The script writers initially denied the connection, but later admitted they “MAY” have previously read "Intensity" (which is a fantastic book, by the way).

So why am I spending so much time talking about Koontz? For two main reasons, first, to point out how little of this story is original. Even though the parts that diverge from "Intensity" are (as far as I know) not copied, they’ve all been seen before. I won’t spoil it, but pretty much every action and every twist you see can be found in an earlier movie.

Secondly, the best portion of the film is what has been copied. The pace preceding and following that portion is too slow. It is supposed to be tense, but isn’t, making it therefore boring. I am, however, willing to admit that it may because I already knew the ending. Since I didn’t have any initial interest in seeing the movie I didn’t mind spoiling the ending, though I honestly think I would have figured it out within the first few scenes anyway. No, I’m not trying to make myself out to be super-intelligent, I’ve just seen the concept used before.

There’s one other clue that would have given it away to me. I do a little psychological dream interpretation and would have spent time dwelling on the dream sequence which gives away more than you might think. Incidentally this is one of the strong points of the movie. The dream is an interesting interpretation of the events that transpire. More of this type of style might have improved the movie quite a bit.

The movie is a slasher. It's all about Marie being chased by a violent killer. Marie and Alex are visiting Alex’s family. During the night a mysterious man breaks in and mutilates the entire family except for Alex who is abducted. From that point it becomes a game of cat and mouse as Marie attempts to avoid the killer and save her kidnapped friend from untold horrors.

The one interesting point of the movie is the psychology that is somewhat explored. Basically it boils down to someone unable to cope with the inner self. Sure it's way overblown, but it's still an element that adds a bit of depth to the plot. The problem comes in the form of flat characters, no development, and a big gap between the final two “revelation” scenes. What do you expect from an unoriginal slasher flick? Shock, not psychological exploration, is the most important thing here.

I guess what surprises me is that this film has so many fans that vehemently come to its defense claiming that those of us that didn’t enjoy it simply aren’t intelligent enough to grasp its subtle complexities. No, I’m not exaggerating. I, and other critics like me, have been compared to 5 year olds unable to grasp the concept of the alphabet because we can’t see the inherent greatness of this film. I can understand that people enjoy different things, and I’m not surprised that the movie has fans, but to defend it as if it were the very reason for human existence boggles my mind. If you like it that much try reading the book they thought was good enough to steal most of it from! There's a whole new world waiting for you out there.

On to some movie elements. The blood and gore are pretty realistic. Since this is the bulk of the movie I guess that’s pretty important. Camera angles, framing, and lighting are all pretty well done. The director does manage to capture the farm house in a way that helps the viewer feel the isolation. Same thing with the gas station. It feels naturally deserted because of the time of night, and while there’s some nagging thought that another unsuspecting patron could enter at any moment, the inherent understanding is that such a thing probably won’t happen, and even if someone were that unlucky it would be their final concern.

Acting is mediocre. Maybe it loses something in the translation (this is a French film if you didn’t know). As I do with all my Chinese Kung Fu flicks, though, I watched the original language track with subtitles. The acting is not at all terrible, the girls do project their fear adequately, but I never bought them as real people. I’ve enjoyed Cecile De France in past movies and thought she might be a bright point, but she’s no more so than anyone else. I don’t know anyone else in the movie, but I don’t watch many French movies, either.

Music is not bad. The song that accentuates the end is not one I would listen to regularly, but it does capture the mood. Nothing else really stood out to me as particularly good or bad. The movie is little more than someone’s attempt to cash in on viewers that love death and blood. I suppose that if that’s your thing then you will most likely enjoy this movie. However, for those of you interested in suspense without the need for graphic violence you can do better.