Martyrs is a 2008 French horror film written and directed by Pascal Laugier.
An American remake of the film was released in 2015.
The film has been associated with the New French Extremity movement.
Reviews:
“For those brave enough to enter Pascal Laugier’s bad, bad world, there’s a balls-achingly brutal horror film waiting to be experienced; one that’s deeply disturbing, profoundly moving and somehow, eerily beautiful.” Eye For Film
“Writer/Director Laugier has created a scarifying feature, an endurance test that takes the audience into realms they would not ordinarily enter. Martyrs is a challenging and confronting film, stretching what is possible in extreme film-making, and may leave some viewers cold but definitely moved.” Digital Retribution
“Although Martyrs will undoubtedly be compared to Inside in terms of its intensity, the film is a bastard unto itself that manages to surpass its comparisons on all levels. Director Laugier has presented an experience that is both cinematically stunning, yet emotionally devastating, and with all the subtleties of a barbed wire enema.” Dread Central
Buy: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com
“Relentlessly unpleasant but lingeringly thought-provoking, Martyrs is a profound meditation on metaphysical violence and the nature of human sacrifice. Such an ambitious melding of high-art concepts and grindhouse histrionics has rarely hurt so much.”Mike “McBeardo” McFadden, Heavy Metal Movies
Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
“What begins as a quest for revenge against a group of bourgeois sickos morphs into wrenching exercise in cult sadism, with one young woman’s pain opening the door to the transcendent. It’s either a bruising allegory for real-world torture or an irredeemable trip to the far end of exploitation. What it’s not is forgettable.” Rolling Stone
Cast and characters:
Morjana Alaoui … Anna Assaoui
Erika Scott … Young Anna
Mylène Jampanoï … Lucie Jurin
Jessie Pham … Young Lucie
Catherine Bégin … Mademoiselle
Isabelle Chasse … the Creature
Robert Toupin … Father
Patricia Tulasne … Mother
Juliette Gosselin … Marie
Xavier Dolan-Tadros … Antoine
