Switchblade Romance

Not only is it an assault on the senses, the film is so narcissistically nihilistic the only ones sure to get a kick out of it are members of the Manson Family fan club.

The ultimate rescue, however, comes when the credits roll and the lights come up.

An extremely well-made, very grisly and ultimately dishonest slasher film that's too clever for its own good.

[A] stylistically thrilling but ultimately tedious French import.

Director Alexandre Aja, who wrote this with Gregory Levasseur, doesn't have a gift for horror suspense so much as a compleat geek knowledge of all the superior scare flicks that have preceded High Tension.

For most viewers, the success of High Tension will hinge upon the third act’s bold reveal. For me, the frustration of that reveal nearly erases any of the movie’s shallow merits.

It completely unsettles the viewer like anything else to come out of the New French Extremity. The only difference is High Tension achieves its goal in the most unexpected way.

A very effective French horror film that takes a simplistic premise and milks it for every ounce of suspense possible.

The movie isn't scary, suspenseful, thought-provoking or -- heck -- even remotely entertaining.