High Tension Ending *SPOILERS*

[Jason/Michael]

Ok I'm sure there have been dozens of posts about the ending to this movie, but I searched and I did not see any recent ones. When I first saw it, I figured the whole movie, except for the 1st and last scenes, were Marie's alibi (hence her sitting in a room with a camera and asking "are they recording?" in the very beginning). I then realized that this is not plausible because why would she reveal the truth of the story at the end of her alibi?

I then realized that the story had to do with split-personality disorder. I think the biggest clue leading to this conclusion is when Marie is in her room and after she realized that jack behind the dresser is a TV outlet, she leans back in disappointment and looks at doll with crack down the middle of its face. That cracked doll is a symbol of Marie having a split personality.

So now the motives. Maire kills Alex's family so that "nothing can come between them anymore" out of either love or an extremely unhealthy friendship. Maybe Marie's killing spree is catalyzed by Alex's prank of leaving her in the cornfields towards the beginning of the movie. I don't think that's likely but it's just a thought.

Just to mention 1 scene in its "reality" context, Marie kills the mother and while she's lying on the ground, Marie's personality switches so she runs into the closet in fear. She then walks out in disbelief (you can see a trail of blood from the body to the closet doors, which is a clue) and the movie goes on.

Can anybody tell me if I'm on the right track here, or maybe you would like to give me your explanation. I would just like to add that the scene where the "man" is sexually abusing the decapitated head does not make sense at all because that cannot be Marie since she is still in the car with Alex. Maybe that was put in to throw the audience off, or to set the tone, or to give the audience a preview of how sick this "guy" really is. All thoughts are appreciated!

[TheAxeGrinder]

The 'head giving head' thing was most likely used to throw the audience off, but could also be an emphasis of Marie's delusional state of mind.

I wouldn't say Marie has a split personality, per se. It's difficult to say what exactly she would have, since she's not a pure schizophrenic, nor does she have an antisocial personality. Then again, we're not privy to her past or what exactly she's like outside of her 'world', so I wouldn't try to think too hard on this one. It's just a nice twist on the story.

[snoopmish]

I think the bitch is just CRAZY AS SHIT! Every thing you saw wasn't an alibi but was what was in HER mind and the end when you see that it was her the whole time is just the truth of what happened.

If that just made sense. Better yet...the majority of the film is happening in her head, at the end we see that she was just bat-shit and it was how she perceived the events.

again...if that made sense..lol

[LordSimen]

I agree with the split personality disorder. Basically she has two personalities and the movie is her being forced to watch her alternate personality, which she doesn't know is her, go around killing the people close to her. The ending is one of the most perfect endings ever written and there is no other way that movie should have ended. I love High Tension. :D

[Henry Lee Lucas]

The ending is one of the most perfect endings ever written and there is no other way that movie should have ended. I love High Tension. :D

I LOVE High Tension, I mean LOOOOVE it. I never EVER see horror remakes, but I saw the hills have eyes in theaters because of Aja. I was just about to question the claim that its a perfect ending because its ridiculous, and just from freaking left-field and comes off like a cop-out. But after thinking about it, thats what makes it good.

Of the recent french movies, ive seen this, inside, and them.
High Tension 8/10
Inside 7/10 (its gone up!)
Them 6/10 (its gone down...)

I plan on getting frontieres next. Im a bit reluctant because everyones comparing it to Hostel and well, thats a great reason for me to not see it.

[Trail_Blazer]

Alexandre Aja is the future of Horror. Eli who?

[dellamorte dellamore]

I agree , the ending of HT is what truly puts it over the top into the realm of classic status .

I never understood why some people think it's out of left field , we see a montage in the beginning of her running through the forest combined with her in a mental institution mumbling to herself . I don't think it's clear that she is in an institution at this point , we assume she is being treated for wounds in a hospital after surviving a brutal attack by the " madman " . The person running in this sequence is supposed to be her , but i think it's another illusion , her version of the events , because the person running is in reality , her friend that she was chasing . Everything that happens , all that we see is what she's telling the psychiatrists , not what really happened .


I really don't know about the guy in the truck , was it her staking out the place before her nighttime assault . I think it was her , but in her version , it was someone else . I also suspect the entire sequence when she meets the parents and sleeps over is made up also , what really happens is that she waits in the truck during the day , then once night falls comes knocking on the door and proceeds to murder the entire family , it wasn't the old fat guy , it was her from that point on . Her meeting the family , sleeping over , and escaping from the madman is all made up in her mind . She was the madman .

All the scenes with her eluding the killer are , i'm guessing a projection of what her friend was experiencing , it was as if she was imagining two seperate scenarios ( okay , she was only imagining her friend's scenario , because she was the one chasing her for real ) , even though she was the one doing the stalking the entire time . My guess is that , we have two versions of the story and of the events that unfolded , the one that did happen for real , the one her friend was exposed too , and the one that Marie imagined in her head . It's really only one , Marie just substituted herself with her friend .


Great film , and it appears , it has become highly influencial for french horror directors . Them and Inside take it's cue from HT , but this , and BOTW are still two of the best french horror films to come out in quite some time .

[Bourne101]

Loved High Tension until the ending. I dunno, it just didn't quite work for me. I saw it as a split-personality thing, which hasn't worked in the least since Identity.