Martyrs

I don't really want to say very much about this film. In some ways, it's a film I wish I could forget. It's a film I will most likely never watch again. I will say that most of the scenes in the film, at least in the first two thirds, are sickening and horrible and full of extreme human cruelty, violence, and gore. However, the film turns into something far worse than that in the last act. The film depicts pure evil and the true deterioration of the human soul and body about as bluntly as it possibly could. I will admit this. I'm not exactly sure what it was that I watched. I know that I will most likely never watch it again, I know that it was well made and had an effect on me, and I know that it was definitely extreme. The film is full of screaming, shrieking, mutilation, and torture, and there was a story and people did things. However, this is a film that is entirely inaccessible for most audiences. In terms of Extreme French Horror films, I thought it was very good. Inside, to me, is still the crowning champion of Extreme French Horror films, but Martyrs definitely works. However, it's far more than just a Horror film. It's a celebration of extreme human suffering, cruelty, and evil.

Having missed the opportunity to catch this at the Midnight Madness showing in TIFF08, I decided to go against all stated horror movie rules and watched this today around midday at a complex in downtown Toronto.. It's difficult to know what to say about this movie really; like a birth or a death, you really have to experience it yourself and draw your own conclusions. What I will say is that as a committed horror freak, rare is the occasion when I tense up and watch a film contorted, somehow trying to protect myself from what I'm putting myself through.. It contains enough tough to see horror/gore to satisfy the bloodhounds (though it doesn't feel like another attempt to up the gore ante for the sake of it, thankfully) and then - if you can watch it and many couldn't - transcends the genre totally with a jaw-dropping final act which if you're interested in the human condition and the capacity for seemingly normal people to do incredibly bad things will have you asking questions for some time to come and recognising that when horror and ideas mesh successfully, the result can be breathtaking. Absolutely not enjoyable but there again if you go to see a horror flick at a film festival and you know beforehand that it originally received an X-certificate in France, kicking up an almighty stink in the process - well, you know that an open mind is the least you can bring to bear. With that in mind I would recommend Martyrs as a film of incredible tension, harrowing physical violence and indelible imagery; unsurprisingly, the director name-checked Dario Argento during the Q&A as a major influence in his youth and there is a clear and confident signature in the work which suggests some parallels can be made between the two film-makers. I loved this movie and for those who have already posted comments good, bad or indifferent (and I really can't imagine a neutral response!) I hope like myself you have come away with a genuine sense of having seen something the like of which we are unlikely to see for some time..

The film was introduced by the film's writer director Pascal Laugier at this year's Frightfest in London. The organiser's referred to the film as "The film they most wanted" of the 28 shown at the festival. It was easy to see why. Of all the films I saw at this year's Frightfest, Martyrs was not my favourite but without a doubt it is the one that plays on my mind the most. The film has been compared to both Hostel and Hellraiser but I think it has a lot more substance than both of those films. The central performances are top notch and Jessie Pham as the young Lucie is very convincing, completely holding your attention. So why only 7 out of 10? As well made as this film is, the subject matter is just so utterly disturbing I wanted this film to end a long time before it actually did. It is not a film that is to be enjoyed. It is not the escapism that you may be looking for. The first Act is a revenge story on a family who may or may not have been responsible for the kidnapping and torture of a young girl 15 years previously. It is the second Act though that is the more disturbing. The viewer wants it to end almost as much as the girl captured wants her ordeal to end. This is a must-see movie but certainly one that is going to divide audiences right down the middle.

Martyrs is probably the most extreme movie ever made in France, and cannot be compared with any other flick I have seen before.

It was a unique and traumatic experiment to watch it in a theater where half of the audience left before the end, while the other half was feeling very uncomfortable. It is NOT for everybody, and you can really be upset at times, even if you are a basic horror fan as I am.

This movie is not made to please the audience, especially the second part, except if you are seriously disturbed. I couldn't help thinking about The Screwfly Solution that Joe Dante made in reaction of all the gratuitous violence made to women in horror movies.

Fortunately, the end of the movie gives enough meaning to what you have been through, watch the whole thing if you can.

I gave a 7 because it's not a movie that you can really like or recommend to your friends, but I think it's a real milestone in horror, like Texas Chainsaw Massacre was in his time.

I wonder why so many compare this to movies like "hostel"...

There was only one movie coming up my mind after having seen this one: Clive Barker's "Hellraiser" (and other works from him...)

Other comparisons? OK, let's compare this to "high tension"... yes, we get realism. but then? There are too many movies recently that do nothing but hide their lack of spirit and story... in the end the audience is left alone without a believable motivation for what happened...

"Martyrs" is different. It's scary and disturbing. It's painful to watch and still there is some kind of relief. You may separate that movie into three segments... and the first two would make a whole movie on their own. What happens then takes the story to whole new level and the audience to a whole new perspective. With a cynical bang in the end.

I liked it.