On a dark deserted street a half naked visibly abused girl runs screaming. Bruised bloody and suffering from dementia she is eventually rescued by the local police. Her name is Lucie and she's been missing for over a year but refuses to give away any information describing her captors or any details concerning her violent abduction. During an intensive investigation the police eventually discover an abandoned slaughterhouse containing what looks like a torture chamber. But what exactly took place and how Lucie managed to escape remains a mystery. Many years after the... horrific incident a seemingly normal family have an unexpected guest during breakfast. Their surprise visitor is a distraught young woman carrying a loaded shotgun intent on revenge. Directed by Pascal Laugier (House Of Voices) Martyrs is an incredibly disturbing experience that goes beyond the constraints of an average Horror/Thriller and into the dark psychological depths of human drama and suffering. Extremely terrifying utterly believable provocative and ultimately tragic Martyrs is one of the most unforgettable films you'll ever witness. [show more]
Martyrs is an incredibly uneasy film to watch and review. It is a French horror film carved out of the deep darkest depths of the human mind with an added scratching of gore and bile. I am going to be honest and admit that for the majority of the movie I was on the verge of switching it off. The preparation for the switch off wasn't due to the excessive violence; although it did linger in the memory, the thought of the switch off was down to the meaning behind the violence. For me at the beginning of the film there was no thought or meaning behind the grotesque and horrific images you were presented with.
It was disturbing image after disturbing image without rest. And on first appearances it was for no real apparent reason other than to shock for shocks sake. However I decided to give the film enough time to prove its worth so to speak and let it run for its required runtime. And I am glad that I did.
Again to be brutally honest glad isn't at all the appropriate word to use for the completion of this film. After the exhausting exercise of plodding through the blood, you are far and away from any sort of smiles or joy. But by the end you do have a thought and explanation for the brutal acts you have just witnessed, which for me gives the film a purpose. You may not agree with the purpose or the ideas presented to you but at least it is there. And with this powerful reveal or meaningful message, whatever you want to call it raises Martyrs to being an absolutely dreadful excuse of a film to a dark and disturbing, thoughtful piece of film. Without the ending this would not be getting a recommendation from me, it would be getting the lowest star rating possible and I would suggest you steer well clear of it. However with such a thought provoking and graphically engaging ending I can recommend it or suggest it as an intriguing purchase.
Similar to Antichrist, this film cannot be recommended to everybody. Like bleach or strong narcotics, Martyrs should be kept out of reach of children. It has its certificate for a reason and should be viewed only by the age group the certificate dictates. And even then there are a number of individuals that should avoid it. Anyone with a weak stomach, or a hatred of brutal violence in cinema should stay well clear. People that don't like horror films or reading subtitles again should stay away.
I used the word 'recommended' earlier and it felt wrong of me to do so. Having watched Martyrs it is not an experience you wish to spread. It is a tough and gruelling watch for its entire duration, and should only be tackled by the few wishing to do so. You reading this now know what films you like and what films you dislike, what things shock you in cinema and what things you can handle being placed in front of you on the cinema screen. And in a way that makes this review for Martyrs completely redundant to an extent. It stops being a review and becomes more of a contemplative warning.
When this controversial French film was released earlier this year, many critics condemned it as torture-porn, criticising its relentlessly brutal nature so strongly, you'd think the devil himself was distributing it. I have sympathy with this view - Martyrs is a shockingly violent ordeal, repulsive and visceral in extreme levels. But it is so much more than yet another torture-porn movie. There is actually an intelligent, powerful and profound point to the violence the viewer is made to witness. And when the twist is revealed, the impact is brilliantly controlled.
The outset of the film sees a young girl running down an empty road. She's crying, bleeding and what little clothes she's wearing are stained and torn. Having fled her abusers, this girl grows up in an orphanage and when she reaches her twenties, she stumbles upon the place of her childhood terror. She calls her friend, gets into the house and shoots the inhabitants. When her friend arrives, she is faced with the dead bodies of a whole family, as well as a horrifying secret waiting to be discovered in the basement.
To say any more would dilute the momentous power of what follows, but I shall express my admiration of the film's use of poetic cinematography and its exceptional capacity to shock with intellectual power. The final moments carry an extraordinary amount of significance and profundity, making this one of the most brave, powerful and important films in recent European cinema.
We will publish your review of Martyrs [2008] on DVD within a few days as long as it meets our guidelines.
None of your personal details will be passed on to any other third party.
Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. Lucie, a little 10-year old girl, disappears and is discovered a few months later wandering along the side of a road. The reason for her abduction remains a mystery. Traumatized and mute, she is put in a hospital where she is befriended by Anna, a girl of her own age. 15 years later and somebody rings the doorbell of an ordinary family home. A man opens the door to find Lucie standing there with a shotgun. Convinced she has found her tormentor, she pulls the trigger. Martyrs is a stylish revenge thriller that has been wowing audiences at festivals across the world. Already being touted for a remake, writer/director Pascal Laugier has also recently signed on to direct a remake of Hellraiser whilst one of the two beautiful female stars of the film: Mylène Jampanoï, is currently filming the new Serge Gainsbourg biopic in which she stars as Bambou.
French suspense shocker. When a little girl, Lucie (Jessie Pham), is found half naked and lost by a country road after being missing for over a year, she is unable to tell police anything about what has happened to her. The police find out quickly where she was incarcerated - but, as she bears no traces of sexual abuse, the reasons for her abduction and what has been done to her remain a mystery. 15 years later, Lucie has grown up into a beautiful - but still traumatised - young woman (Mylene Jampanoi), and her obsessive quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tormented her leads her on a terrifying journey into darkness and depravity.
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy
