Martyrs (2008)

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.

Director:

Pascal Laugier

Writer:

Pascal Laugier

Stars:

Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï, Catherine Bégin

5 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)
Louise Boisvert	...	Mère d'Anna (voice)
Jean-Marie Moncelet	...	Étienne
Jessie Pham	...	Lucie 10 ans
Erika Scott	...	Anna 10 ans
Isabelle Chasse	...	La créature
Emilie Miskdjian	...	La suppliciée
Tony Robinow	...	Docteur
Anie Pascale	...	La femme bourreau

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.

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Plot Keywords:

revenge | torture | child abuse | torture chamber | victim | 

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Taglines:

They did not finish to be alive...

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing/severe aberrant behavior involving strong bloody violence, torture, child abuse and some nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [fr] Official site [jp]

Country:

France Canada

Language:

French

Release Date:

3 September 2008 (France)

Also Known As:

Iskence odasi

Filming Locations:

Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$6,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal Horizons, Canal+, CinéCinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

Lucie: Is this making you sick? Can you smell that smell? Smells awful, huh? Every time she bent over me, I could smell that, every day. Understand? And it smelled different when she beat me.

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Connections

Referenced in Viande d'origine française (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Your Witness"
by Sepukku Paradigm

User Reviews

Existential Torture Porn?

I too saw this at Frightfest with an audience full of horror fans. Unlike all the other films of the festival, there were no cheers when characters were bloodily dispatched. Equally there was no unintentionally funny dialogue to snigger at (Jack Bauer vs The Exorcist, anyone?).

What Martyrs did have was a suggestion of the emotional horrors (rather than simply the physical) endured by someone who has been tortured. That was the first half of the film. The second half shifted plot-wise and also provided us with a motivation (however twisted) for the abuse

• far more creepy than simply entertainment for the sick, as with

Hostel.

Despite it's bleakness I came out feeling uplifted, and evidently this was the director's intention. It could have been purely because this was the only film over the course of the weekend that had any intellectual aspirations, but it did succeed in eliciting strong reactions from the hardened horror audience, both positive and negative.

The nearest I can compare this too is Irreversible, but unlike Gasper Noé's film, I do feel that I can stomach another viewing of Martyrs, and the sooner the better.