Review of Martyrs (2008) by Wayne K — 02 Dec 2015

A film that split audiences when it was released had a very similar effect on myself. To begin with I was very optimistic, witnessing an opening that suggests the film intends to analyse the mind of one who has endured prolonged systematic abuse, the effects it has on their current life, the interactions with people around them, a true friend who tries to understand them and help them cope with what they've been through and still have to face on the road to recovery.

It has potential, and may have been very interesting, but when I was subjected to a series of jump scares, gory deaths and that classic movie trope of imagining something horrible is happening only to discover it's a dream, my optimism sagged.

It's elevated somewhat by a powerful lead performance and some of the most convincing make up I've ever seen in a film. But like The Human Centipede, it takes a premise that's silly but strangely plausible and suffocates it under a blanket of unpleasant images and ceaseless violence.

But while Centipede was an equal opportunities gore-fest, here the brutality is doled out solely on the female, giving the film a strong air of misogyny that makes things more than a little uncomfortable.

The spiritual philosophies in the movie are poorly explored and simply don't justify the last half hour, which looks it was filmed by a real life torture murderer. The camerawork is often clumsy and characterisation is virtually non-existent.

I wouldn't watch it again & I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anybody. Expect maybe someone I didn't like very much.