“Martyrs” is a movie that I’ve heard whispers about for a long time. It seems like every time I would meet a fellow horror enthusiast or come across a list of must-see and shocking horror films, “Martyrs” was always there.
When Zach and I first started talking about our mutual love of horror, he was quick to recommend “Martyrs” to me as well. That was the final recommendation I needed. I went home, purchased it on iTunes and sat down to finally watch this movie that I had heard so much about.
Now, before I go any further, let me say this: this post will be absolutely filthy with spoilers. There is absolutely no way I can talk about this movie like I want to without giving vital plot elements away.
That being said, let’s begin.
“Martyrs” opens with a young, battered, and bloody Lucie running and screaming through an industrial neighborhood as she escapes people who have kept her captive and tortured her for unknown reasons. Once she recovers, she is placed into an orphanage where she befriends Anna and struggles to overcome her violent past - a violence which manifests itself in the form a truly terrifying, broken, and twisted young woman who we later learn was also being held in captivity and whom Lucie failed to rescue.
This apparition repeatedly attacks Lucie - running razors down her arms, slamming her head into walls - but in reality, it is Lucie’s own guilt causing her to do these things to herself.
In an effort to quell her agony, she locates the man and woman who tormented her in her youth and murders them and their young children. Soon after, she is again attacked and comes to the realization that she will never be free of her demons and elects to slit her throat and die in Anna’s arms.
Soon after, Anna discovers a secret basement in the home of Lucie’s tormentors which leads her to another victim. As Anna realizes that everything Lucie told her was true, she is attacked by strangers who burst into the home, handcuff her to a chair, and introduce her to an older woman known only as “Mademoiselle”.
This is where “Martyrs” transforms itself from a somewhat typical horror/revenge film into something totally unlike anything I’ve seen before. Mademoiselle reveals herself as a leader of a cult who believe that once the human body had endured enough continuous and significant pain, they transcend themselves and gain a window into the afterlife. It is their desire to know what lies beyond that leads them to kidnap young woman (whom they believe gain a greater ability to transcend over men and older individuals) and abuse them until they, ultimately, let themselves go.
Anna is chained up and over days and days she is slapped, punched, and kicked until she routinely passes out. She is given enough food and water to keep her alive but no more. As time wears on, she stops fighting - she becomes complacent. The cult then deems her ready for the final stage; Anna is flayed alive. We watch as she is strung up on a cross-like apparatus and there, it seems, moves mentally into another world.
Mademoiselle is called to speak with Anna about what she has seen - to hear what waits for us in the afterlife. After a few hours, Mademoiselle retires to her room where she asks an associate if he believes in the afterlife. The man says “no” to which Mademoiselle responds “keep doubting” and then shoots herself.
And that, my friends, is “Martyrs”.
When the movie was over, I was left not really knowing how I felt about it. More truthfully, I felt nothing. I hard a very hard time wrapping my head around everything I had witnessed in the last 90 minutes. Then, as I stood up and went about the rest of my evening, I suddenly felt very nauseous. I truly felt like I was going to be sick.
The only other horror movie that gave me a physical reaction like that was the “dog bowl vomit scene” from “Audition”. And “Martyrs” got to me in a very different way. It was a combination of what they did to Anna - and knowledge that there was no way that she would survive her torment - and the ultimate realization that it was all for nothing. Anna saw nothing. No afterlife waiting for us. Nothing at all. Everything was meaningless.
The ending has been argued and debated by seemingly everyone who has seen it but after days of thinking out it, this is the ending that I believe to be true.
In addition, now that some time as passed, I’m able to really think about what I thought about the movie - I mean, was it any good? Or was it just shocking?
-large-picture.jpg)
Thing is, “Martyrs” is a good movie. It’s a great movie. But it’s almost a shame because I can’t think of a single person in my life that I would recommend this film to. Even my boyfriend who I often force to watch horror movies with me - there is no way I will ever show him this. I don’t mean to sound like an elitist asshole here, but this is not a movie that I think a lot of people can handle. It’s also a movie that a lot of people would probably write off as torture porn.
Let’s talk about that one for a second.
So, I’m not a person who enjoys movies about people being tortured. Yet, I really enjoyed “Martyrs”. Why is this? Well, a good part of it has to do with how it was filmed. “Martyrs” is a really beautiful movie. There are some wonderful shots, great effects and amazing acting. Which already takes it worlds beyond movies like “Hostel”.
But the biggest reason why I think I enjoyed this movie so much is that “Martyrs” isn’t torture porn. Torture porn is about suffering. It’s about the exploitation of human fear. “Martyrs” is not a movie about suffering and torture, though there is suffering and torture in it. It’s a movie about pain and Anna’s journey.
We are never subjected to scenes of Anna begging for her life or being sexually assaulted. She is never humiliated or dehumanized. She is a vessel. There is a moment towards the end when one of her captives holds her chin, looks into her eyes which are bruised shut at this point, and gently tells her that her suffering is almost over - like the people who were doing this to her want to to know it’s finally coming to an end; she is finally going leave this Earth and gain access to the afterlife.
That does not make this film an easier to watch.
Before I started writing this, I sat down to watch the movie again and could not deal with the last 20 minutes. Even knowing what was coming, I just couldn’t.
I do so very desperately want to talk with other people about this movie but, as I said before, it is not a movie for most people.
However, if you’re a fan of the genre and want to see a violent horror film with a deep and unforgettable message, then check it out. I am certainly glad that I finally did.
