Welcome to the Mountains—Where the Real Altitude Is Terror
Let’s be honest: the phrase “French slasher movie set in Croatia” sounds like the setup to a bad joke your film professor tells after three espressos. Yet somehow, High Lane (Vertige) manages to pull off something truly impressive—it’s a survival horror flick that’s equal parts scenic postcard and sadistic nightmare.
Director Abel Ferry takes the world’s most innocent hobby—hiking—and turns it into a panic attack with subtitles. It’s a movie that begins like a travel ad for adrenaline junkies and ends like a PSA for why you should never, ever follow your friends into the woods.
And the best part? It’s actually good.
The Plot: Climb Every Mountain (and Hope You Don’t Die Doing It)
The film follows a group of bright young things who decide that their idea of fun is scaling a forbidden mountain trail in Croatia. This is the kind of decision that could only be made by people who’ve never seen a horror film before—or who think “danger” is just a French word for “experience.”
There’s Fred, the enthusiastic climber with the kind of confidence that usually gets people killed in act one. His girlfriend Karine is the voice of reason (a voice that everyone immediately ignores). Chloé, played by Fanny Valette, is a guilt-ridden nurse trying to recover from accidentally killing a patient—because emotional baggage always pairs well with rope ladders and cliffs. Her boyfriend Loïc is afraid of heights and masculinity, and then there’s Guillaume, who’s harboring a crush on Chloé and a healthy dose of resentment toward Loïc.
What could possibly go wrong with this setup?
Everything.
The group ignores warning signs, climbs a closed trail, and before you can say “this is why we can’t have nice things,”they’re stuck halfway up a mountain with no way back. A collapsing bridge, a bear trap, and a whole lot of interpersonal bickering later, things start to go really downhill—figuratively and literally.
Enter Anton, a feral mountain man who’s basically what would happen if Gollum and Crocodile Dundee had a kid raised on bear meat and murder. He’s the kind of villain who makes Leatherface look well-adjusted. What follows is a gruesome, claustrophobic game of cat and mouse as the survivors try to outclimb, outfight, and outlive him.
It’s Deliverance meets The Descent—but with less banjos and more screaming in French.
Characters: Survival of the Pettiest
The characters in High Lane feel refreshingly human. Sure, they make bad decisions, but not the kind that make you yell “WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!” at the screen—more like the kind that make you sigh and think, Yeah, I probably would’ve done that too.
Chloé is the real heart of the film—a survivor whose guilt and trauma make her both sympathetic and unpredictable. Fanny Valette gives her a mix of toughness and vulnerability that elevates her above your average slasher heroine. She’s not just fighting a psycho with a crossbow; she’s fighting her own conscience.
Then there’s Loïc, who spends most of the film proving that cowardice is a renewable resource. He’s the guy who screams, panics, and runs away when it counts—essentially the human embodiment of a wet sock. His jealous feud with Guillaume provides some juicy tension, especially when he locks his rival in a basement. (Pro tip: if you’re on a mountain being stalked by a murderer, maybe don’t start that drama right now.)
Fred and Karine are the couple that’s too good for this world—literally. Their optimism is adorable right up until the moment it gets crushed under a bear trap.
And then there’s Anton. No backstory, no explanation, just pure uncut insanity with a crossbow and a grudge. He’s not a supernatural monster, which somehow makes him scarier. He’s just a very angry man with good aim and bad hygiene.
The Setting: Nature’s Beautiful Murder Weapon
If there’s one thing High Lane nails—other than its cast—it’s the scenery. The film was shot on real cliffs, and you can feel it in your stomach. Ferry’s camera clings to the rock faces, dangling just like the characters. The vertigo is so convincing that even sitting safely on your couch, you’ll find your palms sweating.
There are no fake green-screen backdrops here—just dizzying heights, narrow ledges, and the kind of views that make you both gasp and question why anyone would willingly climb them. The mountains aren’t just a backdrop; they’re the film’s most ruthless killer.
By the time Anton shows up, the terrain itself already feels hostile—he’s just icing on the death cake.
The Gore: Practical, Brutal, and Weirdly Elegant
Let’s talk blood. High Lane isn’t the kind of splatterfest that turns into parody—it’s raw, realistic, and deeply uncomfortable. A bear trap scene early on sets the tone: it’s not played for shock value but for grim inevitability. You feel every crunch, every tear, every “oh God, why did I eat during this movie?”
Anton’s kills are quick, messy, and believable. He doesn’t toy with his victims; he dispatches them like animals. The result is more Texas Chainsaw Massacre than Saw—grit over gimmicks.
Even when the violence is over the top (and it occasionally is), Ferry’s direction gives it a weird kind of artistry. Blood smears against cold gray rock like modern art painted by someone with a grudge against humanity.
The Themes: Altitude Meets Anxiety
Beneath the screams and climbing gear, High Lane has something surprisingly thoughtful going on. The film quietly explores guilt, cowardice, and how people unravel when there’s nowhere left to run.
Chloé’s guilt over her patient’s death parallels her struggle to survive in the mountains—every step up is also a step toward confronting her own past. Loïc’s cowardice turns deadly, Guillaume’s anger consumes him, and Anton… well, Anton’s basically the physical manifestation of everyone’s worst impulse: kill or be killed.
There’s even a dark sense of irony to the whole setup. These characters climb a mountain to escape their lives, only to be hunted by something far more primal than their emotional baggage. It’s nature therapy, but with chainsaws.
The Ending: Don’t Look Down (or Behind You)
Without spoiling too much, let’s just say the finale delivers both literal and emotional cliffhangers. Chloé’s showdown with Anton is brutal, desperate, and oddly poetic. She overcomes him not through brute strength but through compassion—and then fate (or gravity) has one last cruel laugh.
It’s a grim ending that doesn’t pander or sugarcoat. The final moments are ambiguous, haunting, and perfectly French in their bleakness. There’s no final girl quip, no wink to the audience—just the sound of a cable snapping and the knowledge that the mountains always win.
Verdict: A Breath of Fresh (Terrifying) Air
High Lane is the rare slasher that earns its screams. It’s beautifully shot, tightly paced, and blessed with characters you actually care about. Yes, it’s formulaic in places, but it leans into its clichés with style and sincerity.
It’s The Descent for people who get dizzy on ladders. It’s Cliffhanger with extra trauma and fewer Stallone grunts. It’s proof that the French can make a mean little horror flick that doesn’t need subtitles to say, “You’re screwed.”
If you’re afraid of heights, this movie will cure you by making you never climb anything again. If you’re not afraid of heights, well… you will be.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Bear Traps
High Lane proves that what goes up must come down—and sometimes gets shot with a crossbow on the way.
