Martyrs (2008)

A young woman’s quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tormented her as a child leads her and a friend, who is also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.

I really didn’t know what to expect when I pressed play and Martyrs began. I had seen a review score on another horror website and without reading any of the details for fear of spoiling it, the film got a perfect rating and they said it wasn’t for the light-hearted. I didn’t want to read any more and off I went to buy the film. All I knew was that it was a tale of revenge and was part of the new-wave of european horror which was going down a storm on the festival circuits. France went through a period of releasing some great extreme films over the space of a few years, such as High Tension, Ils, Frontier(s), Inside and obviously Martyrs.

As Martyrs begins, we see a young girl named Lucie running towards camera, as she has just escaped from a disused abattoir where she has been imprisoned and physically abused. Lucie is placed in an orphanage, where she is befriended by a young girl named Anna. We then watch as over time Lucie gradually starts to get back to being normal, around Anna at least, and the pair strike up a friendship and can’t be separated. We then cut to 15 years later as Lucie storms into a house shotgun in hand as she thinks she has found the people responsible for her torment all those years ago. I don’t want to give much away as I truly feel this is a film which should be experienced knowing as little as possible about it to appreciate the full effect and intensity of it.

Director Pascal Laugier really has made a remarkable film. I was so confused watching it in regards to trying to nail down a genre to classify this film in. It starts as a rehabilitation movie, evolves into a tale of revenge, throws in a grudge-style ghost who terrorizes one of the lead girls and then pulls the rug out from under the viewer and becomes a captive and torture movie with a hint of spirituality mixed in. We see murders, twists, turns and scenes of visceral brutal torture, the likes of which only a handful of films over time can compare to. That probably doesn’t cover everything either. Just so much goes on in Martyrs, and it never lets the viewer rest at all. I was exhausted from watching it, and whenever I thought I knew where it was going the story just changed direction and threw in a curveball. An experience not many films have matched up to in a long time in my opinion, especially in this kind of genre.

This will likely be one of my shortest reviews, as I really just wanted to give a brief summary and hopefully it will tempt a few people to try check this film out if they haven’t already. I can’t wait to see other peoples thoughts and opinions on it, at the very least I hope and expect viewers will appreciate what a remarkable pice of cinema Martyrs is.

It is an assault to the senses, extreme in the blood and torture stakes and some scenes including violence to children and women as well as the inevitable end-game torture method are hard to watch. It is a sad, depressing tale with a bleak outlook and there is nothing redeeming on show here. I can only recommended for people who have a high threshold for this kind of film. If you struggle to watch films such as ‘Saw’ & ‘Hostel’ then steer well clear of Martyrs. It is very much a niche film, but for those of you that like to be challenged and want to see one of the more extreme movies in the history of film then Martyrs is for you. Beyond all the horror and torture, the story is brilliant and at the very least different. There are many interpretations on the ending, and I really like it when you watch something and then go on forums and other sites to try and see if your opinion is the same as other people’s and how they differ. All in all, I have always liked films that push the boundaries, and Martyrs truly does that. I can’t wait to see how the director follows this up.

As a side note I’m very worried about the American remake of Martyrs, it is currently owned by the Weinstein company and in the hands of the ‘Twilight’ producers, but if anything I hope that if it ever comes to fruition it makes more people seek out the original. This film deserves and demands to be seen. You won’t forget about it in a hurry that’s for sure.

Posted by Tysoncarter182 on July 5, 2012

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