Martyrs: Review By Bryan Yentz

So this is it… This is the film by which all new horror should be judged… This is one of “the most ferocious horror films ever made”… This is it… This is the film that divided audiences, caused one man to faint, a woman to throw up, made others leave in disgust… This is it… Wait… This is it? This is the film that was so shocking, so emotionally destructive, so brutal, so violent, so blah, blah, blah… Really? Was I watching the same movie as these people?

Okay, so if you remember one of my recent reviews for Frontier(s), you’ll remember that I began my review by briefly talking about the French new wave of horror that is mauling the globe. Well, I did that in preparation for this lil’ flick---which has been practically labeled the pinnacle of it all. The absolute in tolerance, audacity, and brilliance. So yeah, I’ve waited far longer than I should have, finally got my copy, finally was able to sit down without all of the hype---and watch it… Just watch it. And what I got was a horror experience that hits on many of the best cylinders, but baffles with the last few… And for all of the wrong reasons. Mainly I’m confused where so many are either repulsed or in awe at its greatness.

Beginning in the 1970’s an abused girl named Lucie escapes her captors and winds up at an orphanage. While here, she befriends a girl named Anna and the two become nearly inseparable. Jump fifteen years later and the girls are now young women who believe they’ve discovered the whereabouts of the people who tormented young Lucie as a child. And that’s where I’m going to stop because unlike a small synopsis like this; the trailers and… Well, everything else showed and explained WAY too much. So for people that want to catch up on this one, (and possibly be surprised), that’s all I’m going to give away.

Now, taking that brief plot into consideration, this film is practically three films in one. This is a huge positive, but it also becomes one of the film’s biggest problems. On the one hand you have a revenge flick, on the other; you just about have a monster movie, and the third (presumably someone else’s hand I guess)? Well, this tiny section is where everyone seems to be split. And all I can say is… Well, duh… What did you expect to happen? It’s here that everyone becomes so taken aback by its suddenness, brutality and hopelessness. And this is where my puzzlement starts. On a structural, narrative level this is HOW the film would have to play out. If a film blatantly hints at something in the first few seconds of its opening, the only---ONLY---way it can be explained is if it comes back to it---if the film comes full circle. And this is what I don’t get. It’s like audiences just shut down during the film’s opening, and then snapped back to attention during the finale. If you look at nearly any positive review for this film, they all state the same thing about how much of a “left turn” Pascal takes in this third act. I just don’t see how that is. It’s something that was already within the narrative---already shown---where is the surprise in seeing that the film came back to it? I mean, if it hadn’t, everyone would have reamed it for not explaining… Can’t have it both ways people.

This “third film” of sorts is my biggest issue with the film because it feels as though I came in halfway into another film that lasted only 15-20 minutes. This portion of the movie not only winds up feeling like a cop out, but it ruins any emotion I had going for the character(s). The movie is only an hour and a half long, and character building comes through immediate conflict rather than meaningful development. While this works on one level, is doesn’t allow me as the viewer enough time whatsoever to become emotionally invested at all with the characters. Is it horrible what these characters go through? Absolutely. But it would be for anyone in that situation as well. And since the movie is constantly trying to shift gears, by the time it arrives at its conclusion, I felt such a huge disconnect with either of the characters that… Well, I just didn’t care as much as I truly wanted to. Pretty much, as soon as I began relating to a character---BAM---onto the next segment.

Another aspect to the film that has garnered much attention is its somewhat spiritual approach to all of the bloodshed. The film deals with blood-coated themes of transcendence, grace, and what actually lies beyond death. Sadly, while this invalidistic take on abuse is interesting, nothing really comes from it and merely serves as a weak means to finishing the movie on a dismal note. Pascal even stated that he didn’t have a conclusion to the story when he originally wrote Martyrs. Well, here it shows.

The film also suffers from some convenient writing. Now, with any book, movie or videogame, we---as the viewer---are asked to just accept certain things so that the story can just be told. This really isn’t an issue all of the time, but with Martyrs, it’s a biggie. The movie practically takes place at one location---one home, thus it had to be written that both Anna and Lucie remain there for everything to play out as it should. The problem? Nothing is done to actually make them, or give them any reason to stay. Because of this, so much suffering would have been extinguished had just one of the characters said, “Hey, there is absolutely no reason to stay here… Wanna go do something? Y’know? Like not wait for the antagonists or anyone else to show up?” Seriously, the characters actually remain at this location---even going as far as to change clothes and sleep there (if you see it you’ll understand what I mean). Now, I personally can overlook this , but the fact that such a simple decision for the characters would have changed everything for the better… Well, it just feels like another cheap-trick to keep the ball rolling.

And the violence? This is another portion of the film that many can’t handle. Much like Frontier(s), if the constant discussion about this has done one thing; it’s made people who haven’t seen it expect so much worse than what they’re actually going to see. This is in large part due to Pascal’s excellent direction. For the first hour of the film, the violence is sudden, vicious and bloody. It catches viewers off guard, just as something of this nature should. It doesn’t dwell on it---once it happens, it’s done with it. Towards the end though, as the story shifts, so too does its presentation. Once again, the finale is the dividing point. At this point, the physical horrors are approached through rather long shots comprised of multiple fade-ins and outs, as well as sudden cuts (which are a definite blessing for one of the final sequences). Now while it can be argued that this allows many of the moments to linger in the viewer’s head as long it’s lingering for the character on screen, these portions simply go on too long; trying to play out like the ten-minute rape scene from the other French flick “Irreversible”. I can understand wanting your audience to feel a certain way, but it gets to a point where it stops developing the story and just adds more to the torment, which has already been prevalent for so long. People are stricken by Pascal’s means of displaying violence, but I can’t really understand them being so affected by it. I agree that the actual content and themes are horrible, brutal, disturbing, and so on, but I just wasn’t stunned by everything going on. Like movies such as Frontier(s), I’m more surprised at what I’m not shown. Really, outside of the somewhat gratuitous sequences I discussed above, the violence and physical abuse is nothing you haven’t seen before. That doesn’t undermine them at all, I just think that if you’re a person watching a movie like this, there’s a certain level of tolerance that goes with it. In fact, I watched it with a friend who actually dislikes horror films. I was a bit surprised when he wanted to watch it with me, but he had no problem whatsoever towards anything violent that occurred onscreen; he was actually expecting far worse.

I know I’ve been pretty harsh on it so far, but the film does have its perks. The first hour or so is excellent. It’s unrelenting, unflinching and actually somewhat terrifying. Revenge kicks into high gear, guilt and hatred are personified, disturbing images abound, and Pascal’s direction as well as cinematography by Nathalie Moliavko-Visotzky and Stephane Martin is expertly handled. Everything here works as it should to compel the viewer to keep on watching despite the drastic increase in cruelty and an ending that left me thinking, “That’s what I was waiting for?”

Performances by Morjana Alaoui and Mylene Jampoanoi are also exceptional as each displays an amazing ability to convey their broken characters through word and action. I particularly loved Lucie’s insane, destructive behavior---especially when she’s simply gazing at her contorting, blood-soaked hands in a wondrous trance. Subtle moments like these allowed me to know and understand these characters and what they were going through, but I just wish that I would have been given more time to actually care for them as well.

Another definite positive is Seppuku Paradigm’s musical score. Simply stated, it’s amazing. Some scenes captivated me just because of the composition alone. In many ways, it reminded me of John Murphy’s work from 28 Days Later and Sunshine---almost like some weird meshing of the two. The music adds so much on a visceral and emotional level that it’s almost worth seeing, just so you can hear what they’ve developed. Seriously, some scenes would have felt completely empty without the attribution of Seppuku’s audible goodness. It adds a completely other element of emotion where otherwise it would have been lacking. Also it should be noted that Goldmund’s “My Neighborhood” is used to brilliant effect during the harder to watch moments towards the end.

This film is a definite mixed bag and one I’ll have to watch again to see how I truly feel about it. It’s definitely not the horror godsend it was so rashly made out to be, but it does stand above the pack, simply because of the routes it takes that divert it from the typical formula, as well as what we as viewers have come to expect from the genre.

On a side note…

I always appreciate seeing feedback from readers, but if you’ve seen this flick, I hope all the more that you comment. I honestly want to understand how everyone else feels about this film.