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Martyrs

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Martyrs (2008)

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Reviews Counted:24

Fresh:13

Rotten:11

Average Rating:6.1/10

Consensus: A real polarising movie, this Gallic torture-porn is graphic, brutal, nasty and gruesome and not to everyone’s taste.

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: French cinema continues its reign as the brutal roi of international horror with this startling import. MARTYRS begins in the 1970s, with a young kidnapping victim named Lucie running through the... French cinema continues its reign as the brutal roi of international horror with this startling import. MARTYRS begins in the 1970s, with a young kidnapping victim named Lucie running through the streets, barely clothed and covered in cuts. At the hospital, she bonds with fellow patient--and abuse victim--Anna, and they forge a bond that lasts for years. More than a decade later, the violence in their lives continues, but this time they may not be the victims. [More]

Starring: Mylène Jampanoï, Morjane Alaoui

Starring: Mylène Jampanoï, Morjane Alaoui

Director: Pascal Laugier

Director: Pascal Laugier
Screenwriter: Pascal Laugier
Producer: Richard Grandpierre

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Apr 28, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen

Audio:

  • (unspecified)
  • Subtitles - English, Spanish
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Martyrs

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Perhaps more than any other horror film, Martyrs demonstrates the range of the genre's capabilities to find ways to excite, provoke, and disturb us.

Full Review Source: MovieMartyr.com | comment Comment
07/31/09
Jeremy Heilman
Jeremy Heilman
MovieMartyr.com

The film's sense of philosophy is what elevates Martyrs from the "torture porn" ghetto and places it alongside more intellectually unsettling films by men like Michael Haneke, Pier Pasolini, and Gaspar Noe.

Full Review Source: The Horror Geek | comment Comment
05/11/09
Mike Bracken
Mike Bracken
The Horror Geek

ultimately a very off-putting one-trick pony

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/29/09
Keith Breese
Keith Breese
Filmcritic.com

Martyrs is an absolute recommend, but only to those who are willing to accept the film on its own uncompromising terms. All others are advised to stay well clear away.

Full Review Source: Dread Central | comment Comment
04/27/09
Uncle Creepy
Uncle Creepy
Dread Central

Martyrs marks new ground in the horror genre - just don't take that as a sign it's worth your time.

Full Review Source: What Would Toto Watch? | comment Comment
04/22/09
Christian Toto
Christian Toto
What Would Toto Watch?

The air of pretentiousness and the whiff of lesbian chic suggest that the bunch of nihilists who produced this garbage will claim something for it. All it really demonstrates is that there is something seriously rotten in the state of France.

Full Review Source: Sunday Times (UK) | comment Comment
03/31/09
Peter Whittle
Peter Whittle
Sunday Times (UK)

A sadistic, religiose French horror movie.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
03/31/09
Philip French
Philip French
Observer [UK]

'Martyrs' is initially shocking and strong, but eventually falls apart once we are informed about what the hell is going on.

Full Review Source: ESplatter | comment Comment
03/30/09
Lucius Gore
Lucius Gore
ESplatter

Intense, disorienting, unsettling, upsetting, polarising - Martyrs is all these things but it is also intelligent, moving and strangely uplifting. If you want to be put through the wringer by a film, make it this one.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
03/28/09
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Channel 4 Film

Martyrs is a five star example of what modern horror can do, or a one star mugging of all that is decent. Forgive us if we go with the former.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
03/28/09
Rob Daniel
Rob Daniel
Sky Movies

It will most definitely divide audiences, having already done so all over the world. But Laugier has contributed a brave, brutal and original horror film for all to witness.

Full Review Source: Little White Lies | comment Comment
03/27/09
Pat Liu
Pat Liu
Little White Lies

Arthouse? Grindhouse? The Passion Of Joan Of Arc: Unrated Edition? Defying all boundaries, Martyrs relentlessly dishes the visceral pain and emerges as a work of not just ceaseless terror but also gravity and beauty.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
03/27/09
Jamie Graham
Jamie Graham
Total Film

The stylishly mounted first half zips along at a rate of knots while the gruesome make-up work will keep your gag reflex in violent spasm.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
03/27/09
David Jenkins
David Jenkins
Time Out

Martyrs is an unforgettable (not necessarily a good thing) endurance test of a movie that provides a quasi-philosophical spin on the torture porn genre.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
03/27/09
Wendy Ide
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]

You may well feel in need of a shower after sitting through Martyrs, a slick essay in Gallic torture porn.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
03/27/09
Xan Brooks
Xan Brooks
Guardian [UK]

Young women are brutalised to a place beyond pain, as part of an eschatological experiment. You really don’t need to see this.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment 1 Comment
03/27/09
Tim Robey
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph

Despite fancy writing, it's just another gore porn flick, out to shock for the hell of it and designed for loners who attend film festivals.

Full Review Source: Teletext | comment Comment
03/26/09
Victor Olliver
Victor Olliver
Teletext

O inquieto roteiro, que parece mudar sua trama de direção a cada 20 minutos, acaba fornecendo uma justificativa narrativa intrigante para toda a pavorosa violência que testemunhamos, embasando seu lado gore em uma temática metafísica surpreendente.

comment Comment
03/25/09
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

You don't have to be Catholic to shudder at Pascal Laugier's bitterly apocalyptic Martyrs, but it helps.

Full Review Source: Miss FlickChick | comment Comment
03/24/09
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
Miss FlickChick

Martyrs se veut un film vicieux qui ose énormément. Parfois même trop, d'ailleurs.

Full Review Source: Panorama | comment Comment
02/01/09
Jean-François Vandeuren
Jean-François Vandeuren
Panorama
 
 
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Latest News for Martyrs

October 29, 2008: Pascal Laugier Circles Hellraiser Redo Opens in new window
Dimension's "re-imagining" of "Hellraiser" appears to be back on track, with "Martyrs" helmer Pascal Laugier in final negotiations to write and direct. More...

July 01, 2008: Martyrs (2008): Restricted trailer Opens in new window
More...

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