Review: Martyrs (2015)

In 2008, writer/director Pascal Laugier unleashed possibly one of the most soul-wrenching films of all time, Martyrs. This movie burrowed into your mind to find all your happy thoughts and snuff them out. Its atmosphere, pacing, tension and nuance were almost unbearable by the end. Then, in 2015, the American remake you’re about to read about here was released, and it was none of that. I cannot say that I enjoyed the original, as it was overall profoundly unpleasant, but I respect what it managed to achieve. 

Here, we first meet Lucie when she was a young girl who escaped capture and then, for some reason, just tossed into a religious school instead of counselling. There, she meets Anna, and the two of them bond as Anna pledges to keep the horrors from finding Lucie again. Many years later, Lucie is on a quest to find and destroy the people who did this to her and finds them, for better or worse. 

Why?

Just why?

Yes, the original is a French film, but subtitles and dubbing exist. There was no reason to make this as the 2008 film, far from dated, still stands on its own (not that I have the will to put myself through it again). Here, we get, more or less, a semi-remake (introducing new elements that are universally worse) that somehow lacks all of the soul entirely from the original. They even manage to completely fuck up the ending and rob it of its original power. Hell, this movie could have passed for PG-13… 

The ending of the original has been debated endlessly online, and I cannot imagine anyone would care about this inept interpretation. Even one of the major producers, Jason Blumhouse has been on record saying the film was a mistake.

Why?

I’m not going to spoil the ultimate point of the film. There are some things you need to see for yourself. However, if you think the whole scenario is a little far-fetched (I mean beyond getting revenge on the people and then camping out AT their house and being surprised you got caught again), all I say is watch the news. Religious zealots like the ones in this film, I have little doubt, exist. Are they systematically doing the things shown here? Unlikely. But possibly not too far from it. 

If you have a happy cloud above your head, a bunny in your thoughts and want to make it rain and boil said bunny.

Watch the original.

Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.