Martyrs

Whenever I've mentioned this movie to my friends I've always told them that "I've seen it, I love it, and I would never watch it again." I'm more then willing to lend them the DVD, but I won't watch it with them. I've been a horror fan for years, and when you love the genre enough to step outside of the American schlockfests that get wheeled into theaters it's a delight to find the trends that are occurring in foreign horror. I'm not entirely sure why France has lent itself to such good horror, but the French New Wave is like a graduate school for those sick of the tedium of Paranormal Activity and Saw, willing to redefine the limits of horror in a truly inspired and creative way unlike the dull nihilistic extremism of something like The Human Centipede films. A lot of people cite High Tension, Frontier(s), Inside, and Martyrs as the hallmarks of the genre, and for the most part this is true. Martyrs is different because more than all the others it is an endurance test of a film, and while it could absolutely be categorized as so-called "torture porn" it chooses to use the conventions of the genre to enhance the structure of the film rather than wallow around in gore (although there is plenty of that).Its really difficult to proceed much farther in the review without dancing into some kind of spoiler, but I assure you that I will stick to plot events that occur in the first ten minutes of the film. We have Lucie, a young girl who was violently tortured for weeks as a child who managed to escape but is pursued by a mysterious demonic creature who seems to want to inflict pain upon her. Years later Lucie believes that she has found those people who were responsible for her torture and bursts into their house with a shotgun, killing a couple and their son and daughter. She then calls her childhood friend Anna, who is panicked that Lucie might have found the wrong people, to come help her. That's as far as I can go, and I believe that its all the information that you should have going into the film (if you're curious enough to look up the trailer on Youtube, don't, it spoils everything and makes the movie look like its something that it's not).Director Pascal Laugier approaches his material with relentless, cold efficiency and interlaces his plot with a sense of real mystery that is intoxicating as a viewer. Even at the film's most harrowing points, when you have to look away from the screen (if this honestly doesn't happen for you, see a psychiatrist), you can sense that the scene has a purpose and you find yourself saying "it'll be over in a minute, I have to see what comes next." Every character has a motivation that is understandable on some level (even some sick levels), every actor enlisted performs their job in a masterful way (especially Catherine Begin, who's midpoint monologue is among the most chilling in cinema) and nobody is simply evil for evil's sake. In the film's second half the plot takes on philosophical overtones, which climax in a gut-wrenching ending that left me staring at the credits trying to collect myself for a good five minutes.I don't have nightmares from slasher movies anymore. Jason and Leatherface can brandish as many knives and chainsaws as they want and I'll usually just eat popcorn and forget about it once I leave the theater. I had nightmares after watching Martyrs. It's a kind of movie that gets under your skin, and if that sounds like a good time for you then its a movie that's worth your time. It is rumored to be gearing up for an American remake under the hand of Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism) and from the producers of Twilight. With those clues alone it feels like they might try to cram it into a PG-13 box (as it is, its pushing NC-17), and Stamm has stated that he will be changing the ending if the movie does indeed get made in order to make the movie more upbeat. I can absolutely assure you that doing that will ruin everything that makes this movie special, and so I highly recommend watching this before the American remake spoils it.

So I just got watching Martyrs and I came to Amazon to give my seller negative feedback. When I ordered this movie I was under the impression that I was getting an American film with a foreign cover. Well I got the foreign film that it is. Obviously I did not pay attention to the site when it told me it was in French. Now that I got my stupidity out there, you might not want to read any more of this review, as I am apparently not all that bright.I won't relive the story as many other reviewers like to do. I read the product description (minus Language: French). I am sure you have done the same and don't need me to repeat it here...like so many other people like to do.And now we are to the whole review part. Umm, yeah, different. Wasn't expecting that. Waste of my time? No way. Good flick. Well printed. Well acted. Not a slasher movie by any means. Yes there was some killing, but not the typical, "I'll be right back..." kind of stuff. Blood was abundant, but appropriate when used. I found myself getting caught up in the images so much that I would have to rewind the movie just so I could read the dialog. I saw someone write that the ending was less than acceptable, and I would have to agree. It was almost a comical ending. I think the writers got tired and were probably pressured by a deadline for them to cut it short the way they did. The movie did drag on at times. I had to check the timer to see how much movie was left..."What? It is only at 45 minutes? Seems like it has been at least an hour!"...Not saying it was boring. It kept my attention. I was just so wrapped up in it that I lost track of time. Kinda saw one part of it coming near the middle, but, for the most part, I just let the movie take me where it wanted to and sat back to enjoy the movie(as much as a normal person can "enjoy" a torture film). No it wasn't easy to watch but that is what makes this movie such a good buy. People don't buy torture movies because they want to laugh or cry or even be scared. They want to be disturbed. They want their bubble to be popped. They don't want to be comfortable. They want their views of the world (as well as life in general) to be challenged. Or they make a mistake and buy the wrong movie. After a few minutes the mistakers (I just made that up...you like it?) should turn off the movie as quickly as possible and press on with their lives as if nothing ever happened. There is no need to review a well made movie simply because you are not comfortable with the subject. Wait that sounds like I am into torture. I am not. Hmm...where was I going with that? So anyway, I am now bashing people that bashed this movie so this review has taken a turn for the worse.My movie is over and I am left with the feeling of what now. What am I supposed to feel based on what I have seen over the last 90 minutes? Am I outraged? Am I saddened? Am I supposed to feel intensly sorry for the women tortured? Am I supposed to want to save the world or am I just supposed to know that this kind of weirdness is present in the world? I am left with this cloud in my head...not sure what is in there. I will just have to feel around for a while to get my bearings.BTW, I saw on this page Amazon says there is an intro. I didn't get that on my version of the DVD. Hope you enjoy it.Bottom line: Would I buy the movie again? I have bought duplicate movies (let me refer you to paragraph 1), but if I had lost my copy of this movie or had rented it, the answer is yes I would buy this movie.