Gory Twists and Turns: Martyrs

“Martyrs” is a title that I came across a few times in random horror forums. It was recommended for horror fans, and seeing as how I am one of those, I went for it.

The Specs:

The Score –

Title – Martyrs

Year – 2008

Director – Pascal Laugier

Writer – Pascal Laugier

Runtime – 99 min.

Genre – Horror

Rating – R for disturbing/severe aberrant behavior, bloody violence, torture, child abuse, and some nudity

Language – French

Country – France

Cast –Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï, Catherine Bégin

The Story – A young girl, Lucie (Mylène Jampanoï) is kidnapped and tortured for a year and the reason is a mystery. She escapes her captors and doesn’t reveal any information about her capture to anyone but a friend, Anna (Morjana Alaoui). Fifteen years later, Lucie goes on a quest to avenge her kidnapping, not just for her own redemption, to rid herself of a ghost that haunts her.

The Review – This film is scary. There are all different types of things for horror freaks: blood, gore, tension, thrills, scares, and twists. Not only does it bring scares in the traditional sense, but leaves the audience with a huge philosophical question to answer. How often do horror films pose philosophical questions? It’s difficult to talk about this film without spoilers because there are so many twists, so I’ll go ahead and do a general review and move on to the spoilers after. Don’t worry. I’ll warn you.

This film is gory. It’s one of the bloodiest horror films I’ve ever seen. It’s not your typical torture porn. There is a reason for every bloody moment. Actually, it does a disfavor to this film to call it a torture porn film because there is a strong reason behind the torture. For those people looking for gore, you’ll get it. For example (not really a spoiler coming up, but if you’re sensitive to this, stop reading and move on to the next paragraph). When Lucie confronts her captors, she shoots them with a double barrel shotgun. Trust me when I say that this is realistic. There are bits and pieces everywhere.

Gore, check. Next come the tension. The entire film feels so tense, almost to the point where you don’t want to watch because you want that tension resolved, but you keep going because you can’t tear your eyes away from the screen. After the tension breaks in one scene, it immediately starts building again. Once you feel like you’ve been released, the story takes turn for something completely different. Some people will hate this because the first half of the film is so different from the second half. It is intelligent and the acting is top notch. All I can say is that if you are a fan of the genre, you need to check it out, but do not eat before or while you watch. Just a warning.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

Okay, so let’s get into the nitty gritty. This film is so full of crazy violence. Let’s just say, I will never look at a hammer the same way ever again. I think this is one of the strong points of the film. I’m not saying the violence is a strong point, but how the director executed the violence. He did not hold back and the element of surprise just blows you off your feet. From the first shotgun shot, you can’t help but think “What the heck just happened?” The violence is not something to be scoffed at and that is also thanks to the makeup and effects department. Everything looked so realistic and that added to the scare factor. In the muscle scene, how did they do that? I was in awe because it wasn’t grotesque. The scene was grotesque, but the physical aesthetic was beautiful. My mouth just hung open for the rest of the film after that scene. Laugier not only crossed a line, he leaped over the line. It’s this type of abandoning of the “will I be going too far” mentality that makes this film shine.

This film assaults our senses. The cinematography is beautiful and we don’t get that very often from the horror genre. Most of the settings are clean, almost antiseptically clean, but the activities happening in the scenes are disgusting. Just watch the scene after Anna finds the girl and takes the staples out of her head as she sits in the bathtub. Everything in the scene is clean, white and sterile, but something terrible is going down in the tub. Even in the scene when the girl is trying to cut off her arm we see a tidy bedroom. It’s a great juxtaposition that gives the film a kind of dreamlike quality even when we, the audience, know that this is Anna’s nightmare. Adding to the visuals is the lack of sound and music, forcing the viewer to suffer along with Anna. The scene when she is being skinned is a great example of the way sound is used. Instead of hearing the cheesy squishing sounds that a lesser horror film would employ, they decided to use screeching white noise. It was perfect.

Adding to the visual and acoustic elements of this film are the actors who truly live their parts. The great thing about this film is that the actors were serious and up to par. Horror is not often taken seriously in Hollywood, so we don’t often see so-called “serious” actors playing the parts. Instead, we are left with B-actors who lack emotional expression and general acting chops. This leads to reliance on jump scares and loud sounds to entertain the audience, which then leads to a disappointing film. When horror films are taken seriously by all those involved, you get something that is great, like “The Exorcist.” I’m not saying “Martyrs” is on the same level as the latter film, but it does have its merits. Because the actors in all parts were so convincing, the tension built naturally. We empathize with Anna who is a kind and supportive friend that happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

With most horrors films, we want the protagonist to survive and to kick her captor’s ass and with most horror films, we get that. What makes “Martyrs” different is that it doesn’t care what you want. After the group captures Anna, I lost all hope for her. I knew something sinister was going on and that sweet Anna was going to get it. When Anna fought back that one time, I thought that she would finally take the guy down, but my hopes were stomped on and handed back to me. There’s just this feeling of dread when you watch the demise of someone. The feeling of hopelessness pervaded through the last half of the film and I personally think it was a great choice.

This film is not enjoyable. It’s not supposed to be and that is why I like it. It will not be to the taste of all its viewers, but it’s an experience. “Martyrs” is new and different and that’s why horror lovers should give it a chance.

Check out the trailer: