Movie Review - MARTYRS

It's rare that I see a movie that blows me out of my seat. I don't mean that in a good way, either.

Martyrs is one of those movies.

This French film (with subtitles) has been causing controvery ever since its debut. I read a lot about this film before I Netflicked it. (Hey! I just invented a new verb!) I wanted to see if all the hoohaw was up to snuff.

Oh. My. God.


Let me see if I can give you a relatively spoiler-free synopsis.

Imagine there's a group of fanatics who want to know if there really is a heaven. Or, if there's any plane of existence after death.

But in order to find out, they resort to kidnapping and systematically torturing young women in the hope that one of these women will achieve "martyrdom".

The title is taken from the Greek definition "witness". In other words, these women, once they reach the edge of death, are able to achieve a plateau in which they can literally see past death and into the "other plane" that these fanatics are certain exists. And those fanatics will do everything it takes to get a first-hand account of a description of that next plane.

The film opens with Lucie running from where she had been held captive and tortured by a group of these fanatics. Fifteen years later, her and her only friend Anna are out to get revenge on those people who literally shredded her life.

When this story begins, you don't know the whole story. So when Lucie goes on her rampage, you don't understand the background. You get the full story in the second half of the film, which will tear at you without mercy.

This movie's subject matter is sick and depraved. Nothing is slicked over. The last fifteen minutes will give you nightmares. And the ending is left to your own interpretation.

My final verdict?