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Reviews
The Twilight Zone: The Lateness of the Hour (1960)
An interesting experiment
Several reviewers have noted that this episode looks cheaper than other episodes.
In 1960, early into its second season, The Twilight Zone had already gone well over its budget. To cut production costs, six episodes were taped on video. These six episodes ("Static," "The Whole Truth," "The Night of the Meek," "Twenty Two," "Long Distance Call," and this one) were indeed shot on a sound stage, and they are therefore notable for their plots' occurring entirely in one indoor location.
As anomalies, though, each of the six episodes is interesting because each is carefully written and constructed as a low-budget, more cerebral affair. In each, stagey dialogue takes the place of action and exposition because, obviously, each of the six experimental episodes had to be filmed without making use of costly sets, special effects, or exterior shots. "The Lateness of the Hour" is among the more successful attempts, I think.
The cheapened production was obvious to viewers, though, and to quote Wikipedia, the savings were not so great as to "justify the loss of depth of visual perspective, which made the shows look like stagebound live TV dramas. The experiment was therefore deemed a failure and never attempted again."
Haute tension (2003)
A taut knot with myriad loose threads
A landmark in anachronism, reviewers are right to credit _High Tension_ as successor to Tobe Hooper's throne. Despite a seeming barrage of gore, the movie itself is expertly paced, alternating slow suspense with slick cinematography and editing. Sometimes a keen game of cat-and-mouse, sometimes a revenge fantasy, hunter and hunted often trade places. Much of the movie's heavy-lifting is done by Cecile de France, a believable and charismatic lead.
Still, the gore is relentless and, come movie's apex, it threatens to become numbing drudgery. The twist-ending is a dealbreaker. For us, the trope was trite, and this unfortunately colored our lasting impressions. While many will enjoy the sleight-of-hand, some moviegoers might well feel shortchanged out of a good movie. The twist comes much too late for anyone to back out of the investment; you'll know it when you see it, and you'll love it or hate it.
We also watched the "hybrid version," an awkward and ultimately distracting English overdub intermingled with some French phrases and titles. We suspect we might have enjoyed the original version more.
In the end, _High Tension_ is generally excruciating in the best possible way, but it's too much of a good thing. A silly denouement hobbles the film: dinner was delicious, but there's an acrid aftertaste.