"One of the defining moments in the history of
the Horror genre; the extreme bar has just been set..."
Sub-Genre- French Horror/Torture Porn
Cast Members of Note- Mylene Jampanoi, Morjana Alaoui. Directed by Pascal Laugier.
My usual humor infused "Breakdown" section is taking a rest for this movie, because really, I don't see how I could use humor for this review and make it work. I'm also going to keep this short and spoiler-free, because saying too much will ruin the experience of this movie for first time viewers.
The film opens with
Lucie, a young girl who has been held captive for more than a year, escaping her captors and running to find help. It's visibly obvious that she's been abused and neglected, and she says that she has no recollection of what happened to her.
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| Worst Marathon ever. |
Over time,
Lucie meets and grows close to
Anna, another girl from the youth home where she now lives.
Anna becomes a caretaker of sorts to the still emotionally crippled
Lucie, becoming naturally protective of her. A "creature" begins to "haunt"
Lucie, mutilating and stalking the girl...
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| It ain't easy being martyrs. |
Flash forward 15 years... and this is where I stop. To explain what comes next would ruin the movie IMO, and this is one that you deserve to see knowing as little about it as possible. I will say that what comes next is a brutal, shocking, blood-soaked ride that doesn't let up until the ending arrives and promptly knocks you on your ass. And no, there is no lame twist ending... unless you consider actually pondering the meaning of a
Horror movie on a deep level, for hours afterward, to be a twist.
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| No, I will not high-five you! |
The French just have a way of making movies (especially
Horror movies) mean something more. Sometimes it comes across as a being bit self-indulgent, and sometimes it just plain is, but adding a level of mental/spiritual depth to a movie as brutal and painstaking as
Martyrs, makes it a work of art. Plain and simple. They take chances. They push the envelope. They destroy both genre and human boundaries, and sometimes redefine them. Transcend them even. This is one of those times.
I really don't mean for this to come across as a "
Martyrs is the best thing ever!" sort of love-fest, because it isn't perfect. I just think that
Pascal Laugier went for something bold and daring here, and he pulled it off extremely well. Some will truly love this film, some will absolutely downright loathe it, and others will not know what the hell just happened to them... whichever way you feel though, it's a movie that deserves to be seen.
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| That poor girl... |
It will always drive me nuts not to know exactly what was whispered to
Mademoiselle near the end. I don't want to ruin anything for the uninitiated, so I'll leave it at that... but once you see the movie, I know you'll agree. I need to know!
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| Mademoiselle. |
Inside made me cringe and hold my breath;
Haute Tension made me flinch and cover my eyes;
Baby Blues made me want to run away from my
TV, and hug a child; and yet none of them made me feel the unease and disgust that the content of this movie did. Uncomfortable, downright tough to sit through, painful, depressing, uplifting, nasty... all of those descriptors apply to
Martyrs.
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| WTF?!? |
Gory doesn't begin to cover the goings on in this movie. From start, to finish, everything about
Martyrs is bloody, violent, painfully visceral, and some might even say repulsive or disgusting. As a
Horror fan, I loved it, although I did look away a few times.
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| Thanks for the nightmares... |
We get a bit of brief nudity, and even a lesbian kiss, but it's nothing pleasurable... trust me.
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| This is NOT the time for making out, ladies. |
"Keep wondering, Etienne." Brilliant.
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| Nope. |
The world works in sick and twisted ways. Also, don't ever trust rich people. Also, I don't want to be a Martyr. Never. Ever.
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| Neither did she. |
This movie is nothing short of brilliant, in both execution and in concept. The thing about it is though, this movie may not be for you. Hell, this movie may not be for most people, but I'll be damned if it isn't compelling as hell. It makes you think, makes you cringe, and really makes you wonder... If you're any sort of
Horror fan at all, you must see this movie.
A+
Martyrs is available now on
Blu-ray,
DVD, and
VOD.
The beautiful girls of Martyrs;
Mylene Jampanoi and
Morjana Alaoui
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can't wait to see this movie
ReplyDeleteWhen you do, let me know what you think of it.
ReplyDeleteJust watched martyrs left me feeling;
ReplyDeleteDisturbed
Slightly Ill
Keep telling myself it's only a film.
This is not a 'horror' film as such, but a horrifying film. But not in a bad way. Not a movie for everyone, but not a cheap eploitation movie as others have hinted.
I agree 100%... It's a very horrifying movie going experience, and it's anything but cheap exploitation.
ReplyDeletefinally got a chance to watch martyr last night, HOLY $#@!. Great Movie, plain and simple not for the faint of heart. but i knew while watching something was going on that needed to be found out. a real thinker's movie
ReplyDeleteP.S
i dont think i wanna know what was whispered at the end,
Totally agree, top40. It's a tough watch and definitely a thinkers movie, but I did wanna know what she whispered! :)~
ReplyDeleteThanks for the rec- definitely an experience. I didn't love it, but I think it was courageous and it cared about its characters...it transcended most torture porn.
ReplyDeleteJust saw this and...Wow. Such a brilliant, smart, horrifying, brutal, and disturbing horror film. I had no idea what to expect watching this, and boy did this film knock me on my ass. Just wow...
ReplyDeleteBut, I am pissed that it's getting an American remake. Furious! Why must Hollywood mess up everything that is beautiful??
Okay... so I thought A Serbian Film, Grotesque, and Human Centipede 2 were funny as hell, and I enjoy the gore as well as a good Philosophical film - I was moved by No Reason... I also found Inside to be a yawn (far to unrealistic... she has freakin' scissors, and other people come into the house, and she's even burned... the hell, far too ridiculous - but not offensive)... but I think whoever made this needs to be shot.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Let me explain: The twist in the middle is lame (after she kills the family). Very stupid and lame pseudophilosophical garbage... it was a flimsy turn that only gave the excuse for the following torture porn. I find the fact that people thought it was "deep" or "thought provoking" and not torture porn and misogynistic very disturbing for the future of the human race. Also, the protagonist didn't even fight back, she gave in? The hell? I wanted to shoot everyone in this piece of trash including her. The only thing it has going is good artists. I am not bothered by torture porn, but please, it is what it is, putting idiotic pseudo religious crap or philosophy into it doesn't change that... the only idea that makes me ill is that people found it profound. That doesn't make the movie scare me, it makes me more scared of people. Especially the people who made/agreed to be in this. Not surprised one of the crew members killed themselves while making it.
I wanted to scrub my brain clean after watching this. At least the director admitted he was depressed and basically regrets making the movie. Would not recommend this to anyone. A plus, no rape... not that that makes it any better.
Okay... so I thought A Serbian Film, Grotesque, and Human Centipede 2 were funny as hell, and I enjoy the gore as well as a good Philosophical film - I was moved by No Reason... I also found Inside to be a yawn (far to unrealistic... she has freakin' scissors, and other people come into the house, and she's even burned... the hell, far too ridiculous - but not offensive)... but I think whoever made this needs to be shot.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Let me explain: The twist in the middle is lame (after she kills the family). Very stupid and lame pseudophilosophical garbage... it was a flimsy turn that only gave the excuse for the following torture porn. I find the fact that people thought it was "deep" or "thought provoking" and not torture porn and misogynistic very disturbing for the future of the human race. Also, the protagonist didn't even fight back, she gave in? The hell? I wanted to shoot everyone in this piece of trash including her. The only thing it has going is good artists. I am not bothered by torture porn, but please, it is what it is, putting idiotic pseudo religious crap or philosophy into it doesn't change that... the only idea that makes me ill is that people found it profound. That doesn't make the movie scare me, it makes me more scared of people. Especially the people who made/agreed to be in this. Not surprised one of the crew members killed themselves while making it.
I wanted to scrub my brain clean after watching this. At least the director admitted he was depressed and basically regrets making the movie. Would not recommend this to anyone. A plus, no rape... not that that makes it any better.
5013 rteedelShe whispered "We are all our own Heaven and Hell". We are our own God, Godess and demon. Remember her friend saying to her that she is so strong. She was, and she knew enough to maintain her life long enough to whisper this. Once the lady heard this she realized how pointless all of this had been. The answer was within herself all along. She had lost her chance for salvation, instead she had become a demon. Her life, not to mention all of the followers, and girls had been wasted. There was no more point to her life. The girl had saved all other girls by sacrificing herself, thus the girl become a martyr -
ReplyDeleteShe whispered "We are all our own Heaven and Hell". We are our own God, Godess and demon. Remember her friend saying to her that she is so strong. She was, and she knew enough to maintain her life long enough to whisper this. Once the lady heard this she realized how pointless all of this had been. The answer was within herself all along. She had lost her chance for salvation, instead she had become a demon. Her life, not to mention all of the followers, and girls had been wasted. There was no more point to her life. The girl had saved all other girls by sacrificing herself, thus the girl become a martyr -
ReplyDeleteSo, first of all I've never seen this film nor do I ever really plan to. I just don't care for disgusting "torture porn" that tries to be "disturbing" or really any of the French Extremity Wave excluding Haute Tension which is a personal favorite.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm curious of your opinion of how, in what seems out of nowhere, they just screened the Blumhouse produced remake of Martyrs starring Troian Bellisario (Pretty Little Liars star and daughter of the awesome Donald P. Bellisario) at not only Screamfest last month but Cannes way back in May.
But I've literally heard nothing about this when the american remake of Martyrs, love it or hate it, should be pretty big news.
Any thoughts on the remake or how no one seems to be talking about it?
Totally understandable, Daniel. We agree with you on Haute Tension though.
DeleteNot sure what to make of the remake. I can't imagine that a U.S. remake will come close to being as powerful or brutal as the original. Like if Haute Tension got a U.S. remake, it wouldn'tbe the same.
I imagine we'll be hearing more bout it in in early 2016, as it's supposed to come out in Feb/March.
IS this the Baby Blues you are referring to?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt2375318/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
No, I'm talking about the movie Baby Blues. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0972359/
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