After reviewing High Tension I (Daniel) decided to stick to the theme of French horror. Today I will be reviewing the abusive shocker by Pascal Lauger "Martyrs".
This is a film about revenge. A girl was abused for years as a minor and years later takes revenge. Her best friend (may be seen as lesbian lover) then has to dispose of the bodies and while doing so discovers a secret underground torture liar.
This film started off very slow with the horror elements in the background but then later came very apparent. The nature of this movie is highly disturbing and the movie has a very philisophical theme to it basing itself around "Martyrs".
The scenes of abuse throughout this movie are very distressing from the beating of a very young child to the brutal feeding of crap to older women, this is a nice seg-way to the gore. The gore in this film is fantastic with some nail-biting scenes and some full-on shocker moments such as a skinned woman!.
The acting was phenomenal, some of the greatest acting in foreign horror since 2007s REC, not to mention the two actresses are visually stunning without having an overly sexual appeal like most female actors in horror.
Some people may be phased by this film being French, but in my opinion it doesn't matter as there is hardly any speech and when there is speech...it sounds fucking sexy in french!
The ending to this movie is amazing, I truly believe it to be a genius bit of film making. At first it seems like a simple ending but then when researched online I found the ending to be tremendous. (I will discuss what I found in the spoilers later)
This film gets a A- from me and I truly believe everyone should check it out, especially if you're a fan of modern foreign horror and you like a bit more thinking behind you're films.
Check out the spoilers below and check us out on
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!!!
At the end of the movie we witness Madamoiselle shoot herself. There are many explanations for this and I have found my favorite. I like this one because it encapsulates the meaning of the word "Martyrs" and really hits me hard and makes me appriate the work put into this gem of a film! Here it is..
"Anna knows, just like the viewer knows, that discovering the existence of the afterlife is Mademoiselle's life work, so important to her and the cult that they are willing to do anything.
The beauty of the movie (which some viewers have completely missed), is that when Anna whispers to Mademoiselle, we think Mademoiselle wins. We think Mademoiselle gets what she wants. We think Mademoiselle is going to tell the glorious news to the gathering cult. And we think Anna has been reduced to nothing more than a used, mindless, unthinking tool.
But then comes the twist: "Keep doubting...bang!"
And we realize we were wrong.
Anna purposely lied to Mademoiselle and said there was no afterlife, she saw nothing. It is the one and only thing that Anna could do that would destroy Mademoiselle. Despite her pain throughout the ruined shell of her body, she retained enough strength and humanity in her mind to use the one and only chance she had.
Anna was the first to speak, and what she spoke convinced Mademoiselle that there was nothing, that her entire life was a futile, evil quest for nothing. Mademoiselle gave up, overcome with guilt and worthlessness, and killed herself.
The cult departs, defeated. Anna wins, the Martyr sacrificed and not one other girl will ever be tortured. With a simple whisper she destroyed her captors, finally avenged her friend, and saved countless girls from falling into the same fate. There is some foreshadowing of this in the very beginning of the movie, when young Anna tells the doctors she knows she is there to help Lucie, and to find the bad people who hurt her.
It is this unexpected display of strength, loyalty, endurance and sacrifice of Anna, a true martyr, that elevates the movie to a level far above the horror genre."
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I like your review set up. Fight the Spoilers!
ReplyDeleteBut on this film I think you are giving into the hype. I think an A- is generous. Don't the jumping plot goals bother you?
I reviewed this movie also for my blog. I would love some feedback from another critic. I'm still trying to get off the ground.
http://horrormoviemedication.blogspot.com/2013/02/martyrs-its-type-of-movie.html
This movie was pure crap honestly.
ReplyDeleteI understood the movie in its entirety yet it does not deserve the recognition it gets whatsoever.
Horror as of late has been dreadful, but SAW was better than this and that was crap (SAW 2 on the other hand was great).
Overall: I rate this movie an "F" and to give it a definite pass.
Watch Braindead/Dead Alive instead.