Haute Tension (2003, FRA) C-91m. SCOPE *½ D: Alexandre Aja. Starring Cécile De France, Maiwenn Le Besco, Philippe Nahon, Franck Khalfoun. Nihilistic horror thriller about a young girl, who intends to spend the weekend studying at a friend's place (a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere). However, soon after her arrival, the family is brutally slaughtered by a maniac and the girl has to use her wits to survive. Exercise in suspense and horror plays like an homage to the slasher pics of the early 80s (even the score is similar), but it too often misleads you and ultimately lacks any point whatsoever. After tying your stomach in knots for an hour, film makes an illogical twist and becomes totally absurd. For fans of over-the-top gore only. Director Aja went on to make the HILLS HAVE EYES remake in 2006. English titles: HIGH TENSION, and SWITCHBLADE ROMANCE.