Switchblade Romance

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Switchblade Romance

R

Released Jun 10, 2005

1h 29m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

40%

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131 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

A beautiful young Frenchwoman, Alex (Maïwenn Le Besco), travels out to the country to visit her family and brings along her friend Marie (Cécile de France). Soon after they get settled in the secluded home, Alex's parents are brutally attacked by a psychotic truck driver (Philippe Nahon), who proceeds to stalk the two women as well. When the killer kidnaps Alex in his truck, Marie hides in the back to try and rescue her, but the bloodshed is far from over.

Critics Consensus

There is indeed a good amount of tension in this French slasher, but the dubbing is bad and the end twist unbelievable.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

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.

Rated: 1/4

Dec 13, 2005

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Nell Minow

Movie Mom

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

Rated: C

Jun 14, 2005

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Peter Debruge

Premiere Magazine

Rated: 2/4

Jun 14, 2005

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Brian Bisesi

Horror Movie Club Podcast

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.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 14, 2024

Full Review

Paul Lê

Bloody Disgusting

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.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 21, 2023

Full Review

Micheal Compton

Bowling Green Daily News

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

Rated: B

Nov 19, 2019

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Chris F

It's rough around the edges, but it is a ripping good time.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/27/24

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Regina P

Cool story. I did not catch on until the store video surveillance footage was shown. I was still confused as to how it must have looked to the victim, but it worked.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/24/24

Full Review

Korra N

I love Alexandre Aja's filmography, but this film is disgustingly vicious for no good reason, and the ending is simply one of the worst endings of all time. If you're in the mood to just be shocked, you can find better films.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/20/24

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Joshua H

While it does have some intense moments, the ending completely ruins it and makes the whole thing confusing.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/11/24

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Jay H

A great movie... until it isn't. The third act plot twist is unnecessary, it's stupid, and it's incredibly offensive. A shame; everything up to that point is a horror fan's dream.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/24

Full Review

Jake D

Look, there's a competent, if by-the-numbers slasher here, at least on paper. Closeted lesbian Marie goes to her friend Alex's secluded country house to study, masturbates while listening to Runaway Girl (which is better than the heavy use of Muse later on, but not by much), then watches Alex get kidnapped as her entire family is murdered. The rather predictable twist is, of course, that Marie is the serial killer, who just wants Alex to herself. Directed by someone who cared about continuity or competency, this twist might work, even with Marie following the serial killer's truck in a different car, or killing the serial killer before going to free Alex. Instead, the serial killer is introduced early on in a scene in which he orally copulates with a severed head, Marie dreams the climax of the film down to the scared cigarette-smoking Frenchman in the car, and after the reveal we continue to swap between Marie and the serial killer in a way that kills the tension and makes for a distracting rather than disturbing finale.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/25/24

Full Review

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Alexandre Aja

Director

Cécile de France

Marie

Maïwenn

Alex

Philippe Nahon

Le tueur

Franck Khalfoun

Jimmy

Andrei Finti

Le père d'Alex

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Synopsis

A beautiful young Frenchwoman, Alex (Maïwenn Le Besco), travels out to the country to visit her family and brings along her friend Marie (Cécile de France). Soon after they get settled in the secluded home, Alex's parents are brutally attacked by a psychotic truck driver (Philippe Nahon), who proceeds to stalk the two women as well. When the killer kidnaps Alex in his truck, Marie hides in the back to try and rescue her, but the bloodshed is far from over.

Director: Alexandre Aja
Producer: Robert Benmussa, Alexandre Arcady, Luc Besson
Screenwriter: Grégory Levasseur, Alexandre Aja
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: EuropaCorp, Alexandre Films
Rating: R (Language|Graphic Bloody Killings|Sexual Content|Terror)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 10, 2005, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 22, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.6M
Runtime: 1h 29m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)