Martyrs

Directed By: Pascal Laugier

Starring: Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï, Catherine Bégin

Synopsis:

A young woman's quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tortured her as a child leads her and a fellow victim into a spiral of depravity, ultimately ending with the terrifying truth as to why she was kidnapped in the first place.



Review:

Every so often, a movie comes along that takes pre-existing elements of a genre and turns them on their head. This extreme French film is one of these movies. It is intelligently structured and the plot suggests underlying subtext and substance in a way that no other movie of its type can match so far.

The story begins in the 70s as we witness Lucie escape from a period of abuse and torture. She recovers in an orphanage where she meets and befriends Anna. Anna has also suffered abuse and empathises deeply with Lucie to which she forms a strong bond. Fifteen years later, Lucie is still haunted by the demons of her incarceration, seemingly literally, like a Japanese horror: haunted by a demonic girl that continues the abuse upon her body.

We’re introduced to an ordinary family having breakfast in a scene that is natural and homely, before Lucie arrives and kills them all with a double barrel shotgun, in a powerhouse of brutality. This is where the movie might immediately lose viewers. The impact of the murders is matter-of-fact but powerful. Lucie is convinced that this family were responsible for her abuse fifteen years previously. At this point, we the audience can’t see how they could have and we put it down to Lucie’s psychosis. This is backed up by the reveal that Lucie is imagining the demonic dead girl that cuts her with a razor. Anna arrives to see the aftermath of Lucie’s killing spree with a revulsion and horror that leads into the rest of the movie. To say more would be to reduce the viewing experience if you have not already seen the film. Some of the following section of the review will only make sense to those that have seen the film, so sorry in advance for deliberate avoidance of the actual plot.

From the director that gave us the making-of documentary for Brotherhood of the Wolf, Martyrs is a hard film to recommend. It’s very good and will, I think, be seen as one of the most disturbing movie experiences for some time. For this reason, it’s not going to have mass appeal. None of the subtext can be processed during the film meaning that the notorious 15 minute torture sequence is visceral and hard going. The clinical detachment by which the abuse is carried out means that we feel every bit of this abuse, unlike most films of it’s perceived type. “Perceived” because this is not another survival horror in the vein of the current crop of “torture-porn”. I’ve never liked that label but it tends to be given to films like Hostel, Switchblade Romance, Interieur, Frontiers, to name but a handful.

There is a distinct duality to the movie where the viewer is given clear signposts as to where they think the movie will go. These signposts are red herrings that interrupt viewers going into their comfort zones of known horror movie conventions. The tension never lets up which makes for an exhausting experience that leads to the torture sequence mentioned above. At this point I found myself pleased because witnessing the events made me uncomfortable, feeling as if I was a voyeur. I was pleased because it reassured me that I don’t find the abuse of another human being something to be taken for granted or enjoyed. I repeat that this movie does not give the viewer the benefit of distancing themselves from the proceedings in the same way that something like Frontiers does. So, there is no escaping facing one’s own views on what is truly “the line” that may or may not be crossed. The horrifying events point to our familiarity with real life cases of abuse which make the experience that much more unpleasant. The third act alludes to Nazi experiments in my view but could potentially touch a nerve on a variety of real life incidents.

The final denouement is what makes the movie; it pays off the horrid journey that has been undertaken. The viewer is left with his/her own interpretation as to what has been the aim of the people controlling the events that we have been witnessed (again, sorry to be cryptic but to say too much will spoil the experience for those who have not seen the movie). Ultimately, the overall message within could be metaphysical, sociological or political in its undertones. Strangely, the themes of martyrdom seem to try to vilify what has been transpired and that is the only (possible) failing of this movie. I like to think that it is up to the viewer to work out the very nature of the events and come to their own conclusion.

Verdict:

This is not a movie to be enjoyed in the way that we enjoy most films. I argue whether it should even be classified as “horror”. It certainly does horrify, more so than most, but we normally associate horror movies with a bit of fun. This is not fun. If you’ve seen Irreversible, you might know what I’m getting at. However, it is an important movie because it makes us feel. It’s intelligent and uncompromising, therefore the score. I await with interest and amusement at what Laugier does with the remake of Hellraiser. Did producers see part of the end of Martyrs and think “That’s the man for the job”?

7/10 (Wayfarer)

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