HIGH TENSION (2003) (Second Sight Films 4K UHD Review)

HIGH TENSION (2003) 

Label: Second Sight Films

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: 18 Cert. 

Duration: 90 Minutes 43 Seconds 

Audio: French DTS-HD MA 5.1, PCM 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 2160 Ultra Had Widescreen (2.35:1) 

Director: Alex Aja

Cast: Cécile de France, Maïwenn, Philippe Nahon

Of all the French extremity flicks High Tension (2003) might be my favorite, it's certainly the one I revisit the most, a breathless and brutal slasher with a twisted psycho-sexual component that while divisive has never deterred me from enjoying it for the brutal blood-splattered slasher that it is.  In it college besties Marie (Cécile de France, The French Dispatch) and Alex (Maïwenn, The Fifth Element) drive to Alex's family countryside home for a study-weekend. Arriving  they are greeted by Marie's father Daniel (Andrei Finti) and mother (Oana Pellea, Children of Men), as well as Alex's little brother Tom (Marco Claudiu Pascu), share dinner and settle in for the night. 

As is snuggled into their beds Alex rubs one out in her room after peeping Marie in the shower, unaware that a rust-bucket cargo truck has arrived at the farm, driven by a nameless maniac (Philippe Nahon, Irreversible), who immediately begins picking off the family one-by-one. Dad's first, answering the door in the dark of night he is gruesomely decapitated on the staircase, while mom's throat is slashed, and the kiddo gets a shotgun blast in the cornfield while trying to flee. The kills are exquisite, the father's decap by bookcase is quite something, and original, too, and mom's death by straight-razor across the throat is quite mean-spirited with lots arterial spray; the sequence sort of recalling the closet-scene from Halloween. The kids death initially happens offscreen, but we do come back around to see the aftermath, yep, it goes there, kids are back on the menu! The killer then chains Alex and takes her hostage and throwing her in the back of his truck. Marie remains undetected, hiding on the shadows, desperately attempting to save her friend from the demented killer, stowing away in the back of his truck, playing cat and mouse to avoid detection.  

True to it's name the flick is well-executed and chock full of tense and suspenseful moments that I remember had me gripping my arm rest quite tightly the first time I saw it, amd it still manages to create some unease upon rewatch. Now, I won't spoil the twist other than to say that there is a pretty infamous twist that is absolutely mind-bending; an unreliable narrator twist that has proven to be quite divisive over the past 20 years. All I will say is that it works for me even after multiple re-watches, though I admit that it's clearly a goddamn cheat, Dario Argento's most-shocking giallo twists have nothing on this film in that respect! That said, it does not detract from the nail-biting thrill ride that this flick offers, it's a brutal slasher that looks phenomenal, has style galore, visceral kills, impactful suspense and a fucked-up psycho-sexual twist that you won't see coming - at least the first time. 

Audio/Video: The French Extremity slasher High Tenson (2003) arrives on 4K Ultra HD framed in 2.35:1 widescreen with HDR10+ color-grading approved by director Alexandre Aja. There's no verbiage about the source of the master used for this but the restoration looks terrific, showcasing tight-knit grain throughout. Blacks are solid as well, much improved over the Blu-ray I own, with superior contrast. Colors are lovely, the crimson arterial sprays of blood and skin tones look quite nice. Maxime Alexandre's (Crawl, The Crazies, The Hills Have Eyes) cinematography has never looked better on home video than it does here 

Audio comes by way of French DTS-HD MA 5.1 or LPCM 2.0 Stereo with optional English subtitles. Both tracks are clean and well-balanced, dialogue is well-defined, and the score from François-Eudes Chanfrault (The Hills Have Eyes, Inside) that exudes tense creepiness sounds phenomenal, as does music from Muse ("New Born"), Félix Gray and Didier Barbelivien ("A toutes les filles") and others. The aggressive moments have some real punch to it, and the more atmospheric and eerie sequences are handled with subtle aplomb.  

Second Sight offer some wonderful new extras for this release, we get New Audio Commentary by Dr Lindsay Hallam; then onto the 35-min An Experiment in Suspense: a new interview with Alexandre Aja; the 19-min The Man in the Shadows: a new interview with Writer Grégory Levasseur; 18-min The Darker The Better: an interview with Cinematographer Maxime Alexandre; 18-min The Great French Massacre: an interview with Special Effects Artist Giannetto De Rossi; and the 13-min Only the Brave: Alexandra Heller-Nicholas on High Tension. Archival extras are also present by way of the 18-min 'Making of' featurette; 23-min Interview with Cécile De France; 5-min Archival Interview with Maïwenn; and the 5-min Interview with Philippe Nahon.

The single-disc standard release version of the UHD arrives in a black keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring new artwork by James Neal. 

Special Features: 
- Presented in HDR10+ approved by director Alexandre Aja
- New Audio Commentary by Dr Lindsay Hallam
- An Experiment in Suspense: a new interview with Alexandre Aja (35:17) 
- The Man in the Shadows: a new interview with Writer Grégory Levasseur (19:06) 
- The Darker The Better: an interview with Cinematographer Maxime Alexandre (17:55) 
- The Great French Massacre: an interview with Special Effects Artist Giannetto De Rossi (17:53) 
- Only the Brave: Alexandra Heller-Nicholas on High Tension (13:27) 
- Archival 'Making of' featurette (38:05) 
- Archival Interview with Cécile De France (22:57) 
- Archival Interview with Maïwenn (4:48) 
- Archival Interview with Philippe Nahon (5:28) 

This is hands-down the definitive edition of High Tension (2003) on home video, nothing else even comes close, another superlative 4K UHD edition from Second Sight Films who have really shined a light on the grim French Extremity of the 00's recently with extras-laden deep-dives and terrific A/V presentations of this and Frontier(s) from 2007 - and it continues next month with the release of Inside (2007) - my second favorite French slasher of all-time, so get excited!