That moment when you’re feeding your infant daughter and watching a horror film, and that film is Martyrs (2008) and you think……well, this ain’t right.
Directed by Pascal Laugier, Martyrs is an extremely intense horror film from France. Note to self, dubbing is pathetic, if you can watch this film with subtitles, I expect it’s even more effective. The story opens on a young girl, disheveled, beaten, clearly a victim of abuse and torture, escaping captivity.She is Lucy. Lucy is brought to some sort of children’s home, and we are privy to grainy home movies of her progress. A friendship forms with her roommate, Anna. Lucy gives no information as to who held her captive, nor how they could be tracked down. Lucy is haunted by inner demons you wouldn’t believe, and her wacky nightmares might just inspire your own.
Fifteen years later, Lucy exacts her revenge. How she gets to this point really doesn’t matter in the grand scope of the film. What began as the tale of an abused girl has become something else entirely, as Lucy and Anna are thrown ever deeper into this world of torture and depravity. I don’t want to give away details. This movie packs such a punch if you go into it blind, I refuse to lessen that impact, but let me be clear, Martyrs is not a film for the faint of heart. If you walk away from this one without at least a shudder in your soul and a distant feeling of unease, you’d better get your head checked, friend.
Martyrs is not ‘torture-porn’ in the vein of Hostel(2005), Saw(2004) or many others that focus on the guts and gore. Don’t get me wrong, if blood gets to you, move on friend, this is not for you. Even if it doesn’t, it just might by the end of this one. If you think you can imagine horrors like this, you can’t. And if you can, I don’t think I want to hang out. Martyr’s has a much deeper story, and some concept of a greater good, twisted though it truly is. It doesn’t go so far as to confuse the audience on who is and isn’t the villain here, but the methodical, all business process of this underworld makes some sort of eerie sense.
The film puts the audience on level with the victims featured. We are led step by step along their path, through the atrocities they face, and forced to feel what they feel. We are shown weaknesses and strengths, horrors and the occasional slight moment of humanity. Amidst the terrors, these snippets of kindness feel immense, and honestly are all that serves to lighten the tension in your chest and let you take a deep breath again. All before shoving you deeper down the rabbit hole into madness you never even pictured.
Fear and isolation, and what it can and will do to the soul, is what we are forced to face in this film. You will not, and should not, walk away unaffected. Maybe I’m getting weak in my old age, but I think I’ll go watch Bambi now.
Life Lessons for my child:
1. Stay away from crazy people, even if they’re not crazy after all.
2. Always call the cops.
3. Keep your brain sharp, you never know when it’s the only company you might have.
4. Don’t talk to strangers.
5. While we’re at it, maybe just stay home, all the time, with your mom, and never talk to anyone. Kay?
The Dark and Stormy Night 