Martyrs

Plot

A young woman's quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tormented her as a child leads her and a friend, who is also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.

Release Year: 2008

Rating: 7.0/10 (22,805 voted)

Director:
Pascal Laugier

Stars: Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï, Catherine Bégin

Storyline
Fifteen years after a horrifying experience of abduction and prolonged torture, Lucie embarks on a bloody quest for revenge against her oppressors. Along with her childhood friend, Anna, who also suffered abuse, she quickly descends, without hope, into madness and her own delusions. Anna, left on her own begins to re-experience what Lucie did when she was only twelve years old.

Cast:

Morjana Alaoui
–

Anna

Mylène Jampanoï
–

Lucie

Catherine Bégin
–

Mademoiselle

Robert Toupin
–

Le père

Patricia Tulasne
–

La mère

Juliette Gosselin
–

Marie

Xavier Dolan
–

Antoine

(as Xavier Dolan-Tadros)

Isabelle Chasse
–

La Créature

Emilie Miskdjian
–

La Suppliciée

Mike Chute
–

Homme
/
Bourreau

Gaëlle Cohen
–

Femme de main

Anie Pascale
–

La femme

Jessie Pham
–

Lucie Jeune

Erika Scott
–

Anna Jeune

Louise Boisvert
–

Mère d'anna

(voice)

Taglines:
They did not finish to be alive…

Details

Official Website:
Official site [France] |
Official site [Japan] |

Release Date: 3 September 2008

Filming Locations: Québec, Canada

Box Office Details

Budget: $6,500,000

(estimated)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Did You Know?

Trivia:

In Pascal Laugier's previous film
House of Voices, the main character is called Anna Jurin. In Martyrs, Anna is one of the female leads' character names, whilst Lucie Jurin is the other.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes:
As the mother is kicked into the pit, a body flinches to brace itself for the impact of the mother falling on him.

Quotes:

Anna:
I miss you.

User Review

Finally a movie that martyrs…

Rating: 9/10


i was lucky enough to see this masterpiece at Frightfest this year.

Pascale Laugier's worried about this movie. He was apologising to
people who despised it, he was profusely thanking the people who liked
it. He is the modern day equivalent of Victor Frankenstein. He knows
that he has created a monster and doesn't really know how to deal with
it now that it's being released upon the world.

Martyrs truly is a monster. It's a ground breaking, brave, stunning,
brutal & moving piece of work that is guaranteed to divide audiences
everywhere it gets the chance to play. Even at a genre event like
Frightfest the audience reaction ranged from 'loved it' to 'hated it'
to people actually going outside of the cinema to be physically sick
(really). For me it was the highlight of the festival and i absolutely
loved it but I don't believe it's a movie that anybody will truly
'enjoy'.

As others have already given away too much of the story i won't bother
with a synopsis as Martyr's is definitely a dish best served cold. Not
knowing what to expect makes this a refreshingly shocking piece of
celluloid that will hopefully astound you with it's gutsy originality.
Written by the director during a fit of depression (that he did not
elaborate on in the Q&A) it is an almost schizophrenic movie with two
distinct halves and coda of such ambiguity that it is possible to view
it as nihilistic or strangely hopeful. It's beautifully shot, really
well paced and contains outstanding performances from the two female
leads.

This movie is inevitably going to be compared to Hostel and other
movies in the horribly monickered 'torture-porn' genre and that is a
genuine mistake. Martyrs bears more resemblance to movies like Nacho
Cerda's Aftermath as there is nothing here that is designed to be
titillating. The true horror lies in the the clinical detachment of the
antagonists. In the end, despite all the on screen violence (and there
are some truly brutal scenes on display here in the movies second act)
the prevaling reaction that this movie elicited in me was not one of
revulsion but one of true sadness. Martyrs really is a truly brilliant,
surprisingly moving film and one that will remain in my mind, jostling
for attention with my other thoughts for a very long time to come.
Thankyou Pascale Laugier for creating a monster that i love…