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 House of Voices, 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

Anna: I miss you.

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Connections

Remade as Martyrs

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Soundtracks

"Your Witness"
by Sepukku Paradigm

User Reviews

Brave, brilliant, brutal...

Having missed the opportunity to catch this at the Midnight Madness showing in TIFF08, I decided to go against all stated horror movie rules and watched this today around midday at a complex in downtown Toronto.. It's difficult to know what to say about this movie really; like a birth or a death, you really have to experience it yourself and draw your own conclusions. What I will say is that as a committed horror freak, rare is the occasion when I tense up and watch a film contorted, somehow trying to protect myself from what I'm putting myself through.. It contains enough tough to see horror/gore to satisfy the bloodhounds (though it doesn't feel like another attempt to up the gore ante for the sake of it, thankfully) and then - if you can watch it and many couldn't - transcends the genre totally with a jaw-dropping final act which if you're interested in the human condition and the capacity for seemingly normal people to do incredibly bad things will have you asking questions for some time to come and recognising that when horror and ideas mesh successfully, the result can be breathtaking. Absolutely not enjoyable but there again if you go to see a horror flick at a film festival and you know beforehand that it originally received an X-certificate in France, kicking up an almighty stink in the process - well, you know that an open mind is the least you can bring to bear. With that in mind I would recommend Martyrs as a film of incredible tension, harrowing physical violence and indelible imagery; unsurprisingly, the director name-checked Dario Argento during the Q&A as a major influence in his youth and there is a clear and confident signature in the work which suggests some parallels can be made between the two film-makers. I loved this movie and for those who have already posted comments good, bad or indifferent (and I really can't imagine a neutral response!) I hope like myself you have come away with a genuine sense of having seen something the like of which we are unlikely to see for some time..