There is indeed a good amount of tension in this French slasher, but the dubbing is bad and the end twist unbelievable. Read critic reviews
Switchblade Romance
2003, Horror/Mystery & thriller, 1h 29m
131 Reviews 25,000+ RatingsWhat to know
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Movie Info
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.
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Rating: R (Language|Graphic Bloody Killings|Sexual Content|Terror)
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Genre: Horror, Mystery & thriller
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Original Language: French (Canada)
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Director: Alexandre Aja
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Producer: Robert Benmussa, Alexandre Arcady, Luc Besson
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Writer: Grégory Levasseur, Alexandre Aja
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Release Date (Theaters): wide
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $3.6M
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Lionsgate Films
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Sound Mix: Dolby SRD
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Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)
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Critic Reviews for Switchblade Romance
Audience Reviews for Switchblade Romance
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A trashy and extremely gory slasher that does have its tense moments here and there but sinks like a rock with an incredibly stupid protagonist and a twist so awful, retarded, offensive and absolutely nonsensical in the end that it should leave most people utterly infuriated.
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Part of the 'New French Extremity' movement, Alexandre Aja's 'Haute Tension' (High Tension/Switchblade Romance) is a heart-pounding horror that will have you at the edge of your seat...before slapping across the face for caring. Cécile De France plays Marie, a young woman who is on a business trip with her friend Alexia (Maiwenn). Whilst on their journey the two stop off at Alexia's remote family home, only to find themselves as prey to a demented killer. Haute Tension is very effective for it's first hour, managing to continually crank up the tension without ever stopping for a break or feeling drawn-out. In this respect, the film is masterfully paced, with Marie jumping from one set piece to another in a fashion that doesn't feel as forced as other films of the same genre. Music and sound is also used incredibly well throughout the film, with flourishes being added to moments of potential dread and heightening the sense of unease. Aesthetically the film feels as if it is a homage to the exploitation films of the late 70s, with realistic yet over the top Craven inspired violence being at the centre of the films narrative. With everything being said it would seem as if Haute Tension was set up to be a classic, and it would be, that's if it didn't effectively ruin itself in the last 20 minutes with a twist that felt tacked on ridiculous, and rendered everything before it pointless. Verdict: It's amazing if you pretend a quarter of it doesn't exist.
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Through the whole movie, there was no scene that disappoints. A brilliant movie by Alexandre Aja who obviously was inspired by a lot of 70's horror movies and pay a homage through this flick. Although the ending left me dry, there is no denying that Haute Tension is one fantastic slasher movie. 7.5/10.
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Using it's title to almost unbearable levels, Haute Tension is an incredibly gory slasher that uses all the gimmicks in the book to great effect. The high levels of violence will immediately turn off the majority of viewers but the true star is the incredible use of suspense, aided by some awesome sound design and original soundtrack. All this could've been blown out of the water if the actors weren't good and they deliver for the most part. Which unfortunently are hurt on their performance thanks to some god awful dubbing (in the original french language, mind you!) at certain parts. The twist is now infamous, maybe rightfully so, maybe not. After watching it for the second time, some elements regarding the twist work wonders, while others just don't make any bloody sense, which is a shame cause it could've been an element to separate Haute Tension from all the other slashers out there. A different approach on the ending could've helped. Since it's implied our main character told the story to someone, an approach of whenever someone tells a tale, it's always exhagerated to make it sound more awesome and that could've been a nice gimmick to the audience, saying something in the process (i'm thinking to justify this, the over the top car chase, which didn't really happen if you think of it). But no, it's all left a bit dry in the end. Hell, all this is a bit secondary when the image of a buzzsaw coming to a guy's chest in full detail still sticks in your head after all these years, with that humming depressing drone in the background, while the killer taunts the other victim on the backseat. That's the true power of Aja's images on this one.
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