Alexia travels with her friend Marie to spend a couple of days with her family in their farm in the country. They arrive late and they are welcomed by Alexia's father. Late in the night, a sadistic and sick killer breaks into the farmhouse, slaughters Alexia's family--including their dog--and kidnaps Alexia. Marie hides from the criminal and tries to help the hysterical and frightened Alexia, chase the maniac, and disclose his identity in the end.
Written by
Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Plot Synopsis:
-------------------

College girlfriends Marie (Cècile de France) and Alex, or Alexia (Maïwenn Le Besco), are on their way to stay at Alex's parent's house for the weekend. When they arrive, Alex gives Marie a tour of the house before they settle down for dinner. After dinner, Marie and Alex get ready to go to bed.

As Alex sleeps, Marie lies on her bed listening to music and masturbating. Marie hears a doorbell ring and Alex's father responding. The man at the door is a serial killer (Philippe Nahon), who slashes Alex's father and decapitates him. Marie hears all this from her bedroom. She arranges her room to make it appear that no one is staying there, and hides under her bed. The killer inspects Marie's room but doesn't find her. Marie creeps downstairs and finds Alex chained in her bedroom. Promising to find help, she sneaks into the parent's room to find a phone. After hearing loud thuds, she hides in the closet, and witnesses the killing of Alex's mother. Alex's younger brother escapes the house but is followed to the fields by the killer and shot. Alex is dragged into the killer's truck. Marie sneaks into the truck with a butcher knife and hides there with Alex.

When the killer stops at an all-night gas station to refuel his small truck, Marie hands Alex the knife and sneaks into the gas station before him. While hiding behind a row, she witnesses the killer talk for a while to the convenence store clerk before paying for the fuel, and then when the clerk goes to one of the locked shelves to aquire a bottle of whisky that the killer asks for, the killer viciously kills the clerk with a fire axe. Marie hides in a downstairs restroom while the killer goes to releave himself. After the killer drives away, Marie tries calling the police, but becomes frustrated and hangs up.

Marie takes the clerk's car keys and chases the killer down a deserted road. The killer notices Marie following him, and rams into Marie's vehicle, pushing her car off the road injuring her with a minor head wound. Exiting on foot, Marie runs into the forest, and the killer follows her. Eventually, Marie mortally wounds the killer with a pole that has barbed wire wrapped around it. As Marie inspects the body, he grabs at her throat, so Marie suffocates him with a plastic sheet. After that, she makes her way back to the truck.

Meanwhile, the police investigating the gas station murders view the in-store videotape... and see Marie murdering the store clerk. At the truck, Marie unties Alex. As soon as Alex is free, she threatens Marie with the knife and accuses her of butchering her family. Alex slashes Marie's face and stabs her in the stomach before running into the forest. Marie/The Killer chases Alex with a concrete saw. Alex finds a road and flags down a car. As Alex is climbing into the car, Marie appears brandishing the concrete saw. Marie shoves the concrete saw through the wind shield and disembowels the driver. A stray piece of glass slices Alex's Achilles tendon. Alex takes a crowbar from the car's toolbox and crawls along the road. Marie forces Alex to tell her that she loves her, and kisses her. While engaged in the kiss, Alex lunges the crowbar into the killer's chest and through her back while the killer proclaims how she'll never let anyone come between them.

The final scene shows the scarred Marie in a psychiatric hospital room, and Alex watching her through a one way mirror. Marie grins and reaches for Alex, aware that she is behind it.

The camera used during the car-attack scene got so much fake blood on it during shooting that when it was being used on another film later on fake blood oozed from it during the focusing of a shot.
------------------------

The shot where the fake blood splatters the camera lens during the murder of the driver was actually an accident, but the shot impressed director Alexandre Aja so it was left in the film. The graphic shot was cut from the theatrical release though, but was restored for the DVD release.
------------------------

According to Alexandre Aja the scene where Marie hides from the killer in the gas station restroom is a homage to a similar scene in Maniac (1980).
------------------------

According to director Alexandre Aja four different locations were used for Alexia's house, but the set dressing and editing make it appear as one location.
------------------------

The scenes in the woods were particularly rough for stars Cècile de France and Maïwenn as both were supposed to be bare footed and the weather was quite cold.
------------------------

The film is set in the south of France, but it was shot entirely in Romania, due to budgetary reasons and the availability of similar locations.
------------------------

Shot in 36 days.
------------------------

Alexandre Aja and Grègory Levasseur are childhood friends and made this film as a homage to the old-school horror films of the '70s and '80s that the two would watch together growing up.
------------------------

Influenced by the Dean Koontz novel, Intensity, director-writer Alexandre Aja had read the novel prior to making Haute Tension. Despite the similarities Koontz later elected not to peruse a plagiarism case as Haute Tension only resembles Intensity in the first half of the film.
------------------------

The only studio filming done was shooting the scenes between Marie and Alexia inside the killer's truck. The studio itself was merely a garage.
------------------------

Cècile de France trained with a Thai boxer to get in shape for her physically demanding role.
------------------------

Cècile de France did most of the stunt driving during the car chase through the woods.
------------------------

The location used for the exteriors of Alexia's house was actually a dilapidated mill that the production cleaned up and dressed for the film.
------------------------

The overalls that the killer is wearing the whole time say "Aja & Freres" on the back. The director's name is Alexandre Aja.
------------------------

Director Alexandre Aja met star Maïwenn at a stand up comedy show in France. Her ex-husband, Luc Besson, consulted on the script.
------------------------

The headphones of Marie's personal stereo are Bang & Olufsen A8 headphones.
------------------------

Alexandre Aja: Alex's Father's legs.
------------------------

According to the director, the screenplay version of the film had the entire movie from Marie's version of events. You didn't find out she was the killer until the end of the film after Marie defeats the killer and rescues Alex, when it would cut back to the Hospital Room and you see Marie in handcuffs. A police officer would roll in a TV and show Marie the video of her killing the gas station attendant and ask if she wanted to change her story. The real version of events was meant to be another movie entirely. However, when the writers presented the script to Luc Besson, he convinced them to change the ending to include the last reel of the film revealing Marie as the killer, instead of the last five minutes.
------------------------

The scene of Marie searching for Alexia in the cornfield originally ended with Marie catching a glimpse of the killer's rusty truck in the center of the field, but the shot was cut to keep the film a bit more ambiguous.
------------------------

When the killer first appears on screen (pleasuring himself in his truck) the human head he tosses out the window is Alex's. Note the dried blood under the nose. The same as when Alex is discovered chained in her bedroom
------------------------

According to Alexandre Aja the brutal death of Jimmy was modeled after the infamous axe murder in The Shining (1980).
------------------------

The original concept for the film was for it to take place entirely at Alexia's house over the course of the night. Aja and Levasseur decided that the story needed more locations, but wanted to keep the idea of it taking place all in one evening.
------------------------

The rifle that is later used to shoot Tom can be seen hanging over the fireplace in the shot where we see Alexia's father through the study window and Marie walks by outside. It's a subtle but startling clue to the films climatic revelation.
------------------------

When Marie is being shown around the house, in the kitchen there is a boom mic that comes into the shot from above and stays there for a few seconds.
------------------------

When Alexa introduces Marie to her father in the kitchen.
------------------------

When Marie/Alex runs over the car, the driver looks back and it is seen that he doesn't have a cigarette on his mouth. However when Marie/Alex desperately asks for help hitting the window, suddenly a cigarette appears on his mouth, which was obviously not lighted recently.
------------------------

The dog disappears from shot after it has been killed.
------------------------

When the car driver is attacked near the end, Alex is showered in blood, including her face and teeth. In the next scenes, her teeth are perfectly white and the blood has dried very quickly.
------------------------

The perspective of the video security camera in the gas station changes twice.
------------------------

The interior light of the yellow Ford during the car chase
------------------------

When the killer is pumping gas at the station, the number of clicks of the pump does not match the amount of gas being dispensed.
------------------------

After the killer crashed into the yellow car, the damage to the trunk is visible. In subsequent shots, there is no visible damage.
------------------------

When the killer is walking along opening the toilet doors in search of Marie, you can see the camera reflected in the white tiles on the walls of the restroom.
------------------------

The killer takes the ax out of the gas station clerk, so he had to have flipped him over to do so. So it makes sense why the clerk is on his back in a later scene.
------------------------

When Alex takes the shard of broken glass from her foot after climbing out of the car at the end of the film, you hear it is made of plastic from the sound it makes as it hits the ground.
------------------------

0