FILM · 2003 · FRANCE
Haute tension
21 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (21)
- #001
The camera used for the car attack scene was so covered in fake blood during filming that when it was later used on another film, fake blood leaked out while the shot was being focused.
- #002
According to Alexandre Aja, the scene in which Marie hides from the killer in the gas station toilet is a tribute to a similar scene in Maniac (1980).
- #003
According to the director, in the script version the entire film consisted of Marie's version of events. After Marie defeated the killer and saved Alex, you did not learn until the end of the film that she was the killer; the film would then return to the hospital room, where you would see Marie in handcuffs. A police officer would appear on television and show Marie the video of her killing the gas station attendant, asking whether she wanted to change her story. The true version of events was supposed to be an entirely different film. However, when the writers presented the script to Luc Besson, he persuaded them to change the ending to include, instead of the last five minutes, a final reel revealing that Marie was the killer.
- #004
The film is set in the south of France, but for budget reasons and the availability of similar locations it was shot entirely in Romania.
- #005
Cécile de France did most of the stunt driving herself during the car chase in the forest.
- #006
The location used for the exterior of Alexia's house was actually a ruined mill that the production cleaned up and dressed for the film.
- #007
The scene in which Marie searches for Alexia in the cornfield originally ended with Marie seeing the killer's rusty truck in the middle of the field, but the shot was cut to keep the film somewhat more ambiguous.
- #008
The only studio shoot was the scenes between Marie and Alexia inside the killer's truck. The studio itself was just a garage.
- #009
The shot in which fake blood splattered onto the camera lens during the driver's murder was actually an accident, but it stayed in the film because it impressed director Alexandre Aja. The graphic shot was cut from the theatrical version but restored for the DVD release.
- #010
Director-writer Alexandre Aja, who was influenced by Dean Koontz's novel Intensity, had read the novel before making Haute tension. Despite the similarities, Koontz later chose not to pursue a plagiarism case because the film was, as stated on his website, "so childish, so gross and so intellectually bankrupt" that he did not want the connection that would inevitably emerge if he filed a lawsuit against the filmmaker.
- #011
According to director Alexandre Aja, four different locations were used for Alexia's house, but the dressing and editing of the set make the house appear to be a single location.
- #012
The forest scenes were especially hard on stars Cécile de France and Maïwenn, because both had to walk barefoot and the weather was quite cold.
- #013
According to Alexandre Aja, Jimmy's brutal death was modeled after the notorious axe murder in The Shining (1980).
- #014
Cécile de France trained with a Thai boxer to prepare for her physically demanding role.
- #015
The film's original concept was to take place entirely at Alexia's house over the course of one night. Aja and Levasseur decided the story needed more locations but wanted to keep the idea that the story takes place over a single evening.
- #016
The back of the coveralls the killer wears throughout reads "Aja & Freres." The director's name is Alexandre Aja.
- #017
When the killer first appears on screen (enjoying himself in his truck), the human head he throws out the window belongs to Alex. Note the dried blood under the nose. The same goes for when Alex is found chained up in the bedroom. This is wrong — according to the director's commentary on the film, he states clearly that it is not Alex's head but that of a girl the killer took a liking to. If you look very closely at the severed head, you can see that the front strands of hair are longer, like Alex's, and that the eyebrows and features are different from one another.
- #018
Because of its high level of violence, the film was placed on the SPIO/JK index in Germany and had to be edited to secure an FSK-18 rating. In March 2023, almost 20 years after its release, the film was removed from the Index-B list, and the FSK would finally give the uncut version of the film a "not under 18" rating a month later.
- #019
The rifle later used to shoot Tom can be seen hanging above the fireplace in the shot where we see Alexia's father through the work window and Marie walking outside. It is a subtle but striking hint at the film's climactic revelation.
- #020
Director Alexandre Aja met star Maïwenn at a stand-up comedy show in France. Her ex-husband, Luc Besson, served as a consultant on the screenplay.
- #021
The headphones on Marie's personal music player are Bang & Olufsen A8 headphones.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb kaydı
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work