Martyrs Review

Ah yes, modern horror, it’s so random to see good pieces of horror in the modern era. I can count on my hands how many films I’ve seen that have been good from modern times. Then again, I’ve reviewed a lot of bad movies on this site from yesteryear, so maybe I’m just tired. This 2008 horror film that was produced by the French is one of the most brutal pieces of film making I’ve seen in a while. The film I will try to review, because we all know I’m a terrible reviewer is Martyrs.

The film begins with a creepy scene, a woman is running from what appears to be a prison or a warehouse and she has been terribly abused from the looks of it. When placed in an orphanage our heroine meets a friend, and the two friends have a weird kind of relationship. The movie turns quickly into a revenge plot with identity crisis thrown into the mix. Lucie (the opening victim) finds the people that did her wrong and with the help of Anna goes through a killing spree of epic proportions. This type of brutality and gore is sick, and sometimes just uncalled for. The problem I had with it was not so much how graphic the film was, but rather how there was the use of a “demon” that was only visible by one of the girls. I didn’t know what to make of that part of the film, and actually felt a bit odd about the whole thing.

As the scenario progresses a secret room is found and alongside the underground of this home are lines of chambers with women that are disfigured and bloody, abused and sickening. I couldn’t believe that the film took this sort of turn because it seemed to have ended with the aforementioned revenge plot. As the film continues Anna becomes the latest subject in what seems to be an insane experiment, and we get treated to more gore the likes that Hostel 2 wouldn’t even know what to do with.

The ending left me stupefied, and I was ready to hit the television. I didn’t like the stupid ending and the use of gore to prove that there is some sort of scary side of dying. Oh right, the last sequence was cool, I won’t give it away, but there is a message to the film that really plays with your head to the point where you’re going to wonder why you saw what you saw, and what the message truly is. I’m assuming Alex Jones would love the ending because he would twist it to say that is exactly what the New World Order and Illuminati are doing.

Martyrs is the hardest hitting movie I’ve seen in a long time. It seriously tore the house down with gore, sick and punishing gore, revenge, and all from a female perspective. Not since “Run Bitch Run” have I cheered so much for the women in the film. But after all the cheering, the movie takes one of the most sinister turns, making it a sick and twisted journey of the mind. The final credits were disturbing, and well, the film does pack one hell of a punch. I couldn’t believe I missed this one, and you’ll most likely enjoy it. They are making a remake of this one, so look out for water downed American version from the guys that brought you Twilight. Otherwise, wow, what a sick movie, a sure winner for Scary Film Review, that’s for sure.