Martyrs (2008)

Genre: Horror/Drama/Thriller
Directed by Pascal Laugier
Written by Pascal Laugier
French w. English Dub/Subtitles

/5

(Watch the Trailer Here)

The Deal...
As a young girl, Lucy spends years imprisoned and severally abused before making a daring and seemingly-impossible escape and taking refuge at an orphanage where she is haunted by the images of her captors and their brutality. Here she makes a lifelong vow of friendship with fellow orphan, Anna. "Martyrs" takes place fifteen years later. The girls are still inseparable. Anna has grown into a decent and rational adult, but is subject to the whims of the violent, irrational creature that Lucy has become. Bent on finding and killing the monsters that starved and tortured her as a child and haunted by the yurei-like ghost of a disfigured woman, Lucy leads Anna into a labyrinth of vengeance, bloodshed and malice where she soon falls prey and prisoner to a mysterious organization bent on turning young women into "martyrs:" a being that is transformed through suffering.



Did Wrongs:
Let me begin by pointing out that I watched this particular film with English dub instead of subtitles. This is something that I'd rather not do as dubbing is often sub-par and a bad voice-over makes good acting seem less than spectacular. I'm unhappy about this, but I don't believe that the full movie is not available on the internet with subtitles.
Any novice or amature at watching horror films knows that it is not the degree of violence or lack thereof that translates into a good movie. Suspense and fear are better achieved through music, lighting, body language, tone, plot, dialogue, etc, than through an excess of brutality and gore. I feel that "Martyrs" contains a great deal more violence than is necessary, especially because it possess a plot that is eerie all on its own, without the help of severely beaten victims, numerous slashes and stabbings, and a multitude of shotgun bullets to bodies and heads. I am a fan of violence in horror movies, but there is a fine line between what looks good and makes sense, and what is just excessive and ridiculous. "Martyrs" walks that line with treacherous footing.
The plot of this movie is very obviously uneven. The actual purpose of the movie is unclear for about the first 40 minutes - hour. The viewer is led to believe that the central plot of the movie is Lucy's obsession with finding her abusers. Don't be fooled: it's not.
What I felt took away from this movie was my [mis]understanding of the word "martyr." I'm certain that when the majority of people hear this word, they think of a martyr as a fanatic, or someone who gives their life for a cause. In this film, however, the word "martyr" is meant to be understood as a literal translation of its root (Greek "μάρτυς" or "martys") meaning "witness." However, the viewer isn't informed of this alternate meaning until the very END of the movie. It would have made much more sense to put some text at the beginning, as "martyr" taken in any other way does not make sense in the context of the movie.

Did Rights:
This movie was interesting, at the very least. The ending was very good, albeit predictable, and the acting was also good, especially Morjana Alaoui as Anna.
It was compelling enough to keep the viewer constantly questioning Lucy's sanity or insanity, and to stir emotion when certain revelations were made, or plot twists presented themselves.