Martyrs Review

[mikejet]

I really do know what to say about this. I do know that it will either piss you off or you will believe you just watched something of greatness. I'm in the later but I can see very clearly why people might hate it.

It's very harsh and there are some very interesting choices made. It's NOT another Hostel type movie though some may put it in that arena.

I will give a general idea of the plot:

Girl is found and she has been through a traumatic experience. 15 years later she goes to the house of a family and brutally murders them all.

Something horrific happens next.

I really don't want to talk about more until you watch it.

[mikejet]

Anyone else seen this yet? If you have I have a question:

[Show spoiler]Did she really see anything or not? Both would be explanations for the suicide by the organizations leader. If she didn't then she would kill herself because all those people suffered in vain. If she did see something then what she saw could cause her to kill herself too.

This movie has been troubling me since I have seen it. I actually had to watch another movie to offset this one for a while.

[jkwest]

Its in my queue, Mike...I'll let you know in a month...

did you see this in the theatres?

[GORT]

After reading an in depth review of this movie I will pass on it.

[mikejet]

Originally Posted by jkwest

Its in my queue, Mike...I'll let you know in a month...

did you see this in the theatres?

I wish it was in theatres. Don't think it got a domestic release. I borrowed a copy from a friend that had it. I want to get the Blu-ray of this.

I will recommend having a romantic or lighthhearted comedy ready for viewing afterwards.

[mpstjohn]

I'll be ordering this from amazon.ca, so I'll be expecting to see this some time next week.

Like "Inside" it will probably take a couple of viewings just to get all the way through it. Still excited though.

[mikejet]

Originally Posted by mpstjohn

I'll be ordering this from amazon.ca, so I'll be expecting to see this some time next week.

Like "Inside" it will probably take a couple of viewings just to get all the way through it. Still excited though.

I loved Inside but this is a whole new monster. I get Inside and the way you should feel about it. I don't understand Martyrs yet.

[Blaumann]

Thanks for the review. Held the french Blu-ray in my hands last weekend in a store, but decided to wait for the price to drop. This is definitely on my list.

[mpstjohn]

Originally Posted by mikejet

I loved Inside but this is a whole new monster.

I understand that.

From all that I've read on this so far I'm expecting something closer to "In A Glass Cage" in terms of the handling of a dark subject matter. At the same time "Inside" is the most often compared film when people bring this up.

[mikejet]

Originally Posted by mpstjohn

I understand that.

From all that I've read on this so far I'm expecting something closer to "In A Glass Cage" in terms of the handling of a dark subject matter. At the same time "Inside" is the most often compared film when people bring this up.

Which makes sense because of the brutality apparent in both films and the fact that they represent the new age of French horror.

[mpstjohn]

I received this from amazon.ca a few days ago. I'm still trying to get through it.

Surprisingly enough, the scene already shown in the trailer, that re-introduces Lucie fifteen years after her abduction (which would mean this film actually takes place in the mid-80s) didn't really phase me.

It was the film's first real twist

[Show spoiler](about fifteen minutes later)

that really jarred me though, and the point this film stopped being your typical French new wave horror, and it became an amalgam of Inside and (at least in its approach to the dramatic components of the story and the musical score) an early David Cronenberg film. The music sounded an awful lot like Howard Shore to me, although I'm certain its not him.

Before seeing this I anticipated something dark in a sort of In a Glass Cage kind of way, the strange thing is the director doesn't really seem to apply himself until that first big reveal, his technique is very restrained before that point and quite frankly nothing special. Its as if he wanted to lull the audience in a false sense of security ("don't worry its just gore") before that point only to tether you emotionally to characters who seem doomed from the start.

I'll include a complete review when I finish this film. So far this film is the epitome of perfection.

[mikejet]

I want to know what you think

[Show spoiler]after she is taken to the point of being a martyr and why the leader commited suicide.

[mpstjohn]

Originally Posted by mikejet

I want to know what you think

[Show spoiler]after she is taken to the point of being a martyr and why the leader commited suicide.

Do you mean Lucie?

[Show spoiler] From Lucie's point of view she didn't kill herself, the woman she abandoned fifteen years earlier cut her throat. She didn't knowingly inflict harm on herself.

[Show spoiler] Right now I'm at the point in the film where Anna is pulling the staples out of the abducted girl's helmet. Anything after that point is unknown to me.

I'll be getting back to this movie when I get off work later today, and see how far I get this time before wincing and hitting the stop button on my PS3 again.

[mikejet]

Originally Posted by mpstjohn

Do you mean Lucie?

[Show spoiler] From Lucie's point of view she didn't kill herself, the woman she abandoned fifteen years earlier cut her throat. She didn't knowingly inflict harm on herself.

[Show spoiler] Right now I'm at the point in the film where Anna is pulling the staples out of the abducted girl's helmet. Anything after that point is unknown to me.

I'll be getting back to this movie when I get off work later today, and see how far I get this time before wincing and hitting the stop button on my PS3 again.

Let me know when you finish and we can really discuss it. This movie is really two in one. You will see.

[jkwest]

I just finished this mike...

Wow...I was going to post in the morning, but, I couldn't wait. This is one of the most intriguing movies I have ever seen in my life...

[Show spoiler]I believe the leader killed herself because of what Anna told her...and, everything they have been hoping for was in vain. She couldn't bring herself to tell the other "members" and took her life....or, she didn't want to share the wealth of information with others...I haven't yet decided which one I think it is.

This is one of the most original films I have seen in years....I will be purchasing this film. One of my all time favorite movies.

Thank you for recommending it. Let me sleep on this and maybe I will have some more insight for you.

[jkwest]

[Show spoiler]there's nothing more horrifying than knowing there's a heaven but you are not going to get in.

I think thats why the old lady said, "Doubt" to the guy through the door before she blew her brains out..Anna told her that there was a Heaven, but, Mademoiselle wouldn't be getting in due to the evil things she had done...

fine..I'll go to bed now..

[mikejet]

Yeah I can't stop thinking about this movie either. I mean talk about misdirection! It's a great movie that you can watch in a group and EVERYONE will have someonething different to say.

Even people who don't like the ending will have a definite opinion on the film.

This is why I love the new wave French horror. They really are pushign the boundaries of what's possible.

[Show spoiler]I'm leaning more towards the fact that she told her that there isn't anything on the other side. It would explain the suicide better. But that doesn't mean you can't argue for any other position of what was said and why she shot herself. The ending is so open to interpretation.

[Moefiz]

I'll give this one a shot...its 14.99 at Best Buy this week...

[mikejet]

Originally Posted by Moefiz

I'll give this one a shot...its 14.99 at Best Buy this week...

Highly recommended. I was going to reply but the other thread got deleted.

Be ready though. Like I said make sure you have another movie to follow up this one. There is one section of the movie that will just, well, it affects people in different ways. It's not like a Hostel type thing. This is different.

[Moefiz]

Originally Posted by mikejet

Highly recommended. I was going to reply but the other thread got deleted.

Be ready though. Like I said make sure you have another movie to follow up this one. There is one section of the movie that will just, well, it affects people in different ways. It's not like a Hostel type thing. This is different.

I'll pick it up this afternoon and look at it over the weekend, the other thread has been retitled.