‘High Tension’ proves accurately titled

Its title may be generic, but you can’t accuse the French thriller “High Tension” of false advertising.

This gore-soaked effort from director Alexandre Aja mercilessly turns the screws, delivering an alternately shocking, creepy and fiendishly suspenseful ride.

College girls Marie and Alex (Cecile De France, Maiwenn Le Besco) are driving to the country home of Alex’s parents to study for their finals. Since the farmhouse is surrounded by cornfields in one of France’s least photogenic landscapes (looks like Iowa), they figure they’ll have no distractions.

Hah.

The tomboyish Marie is in the attic guestroom trying to relax (in fact, she’s pleasuring herself, which is actually quite important to the story) when an invader breaks into the house and begins systematically killing Alex’s father, mother and little brother. Alex is gagged and bound in chains.

Marie hears all this while frantically looking for a hiding place. She barely escapes detection by the hulking killer, who drives a panel truck (naturally), wears grimy mechanic’s coveralls, has a big-billed baseball cap covering his face and rubber soled-shoes that creak like a rusty gate with every step.

When the chained Alex is stowed in the back of the killer’s truck, Marie secretly hitches a ride, determined to save her friend. At this point “High Tension” becomes a cat-and-mouse cross-country chase. It reminded me a bit of the Kurt Russell thriller “Breakdown.”

“High Tension” unveils a big surprise in the last reel – a surprise I found cheesy.

But the film’s huge middle passage, played virtually without dialogue, is a textbook example of solid suspense moviemaking. With plenty of really lurid slasher moments.