Review: Switchblade Romance (aka High Tension)

I cannot think how long its been since I watched a solid slasher movie that kept me guessing almost throughout. Bless these Europeans and their grasp of good film making.
Switchblade Romance, otherwise known as High Tension, follows Alexia, a young girl visiting her parents' rural house with her friend Marie. But upon their first night there a sadistic serial murderer breaks into their house, kills the family and kidnaps Alexia. It is up to Marie to give chase and rescue her friend from the mysterious killer.
The film begins with very loose characterisation; the two girls are reasonably standard protagonists, while the family are virtually expendable (I would have liked a little more from them) but the movie rather teasingly jests with generic slasher movie false-scares initially. Not in the way a spoof does, but in a genuine "friends goofing around" sense, and trust me after seeing so many horror movies recently, this was a fantastic change of pace!
There is gore by the bucket load, and some extremely unpleasant murder scenes. There's good pacing throughout, frequently tensing into cat-and-mouse scenes. Marie is an intense character; someone with intelligence and integrity who might actually be the single wisest female in any slasher movie! She's only outdone by the killer's own unsettling intelligence.
Better than I expected. If you like a good slasher movie that stands out from the crowd, I'd give it a watch.