A difficult film to review. The first two acts are grim stuff, but well-plotted, tense, and riveting in a sick sort of way. The last act...well, it's as depressing as anything I've ever seen. I can understand the thematic reasons for including it, but the payoff feels kind of cheap. If you gauge the film on emotional effect (i.e. its ability to horrify), then it clearly succeeds. But if you want some justification for these unpleasant feelings, its disappointing.

So brutal, it's beautiful. It's rare, especially nowadays, that someone can use this particular subset of horror as a tool to drive another, more overarching, message home. In closing, Martyrs is so much more than the films that paved the way for it.

Haunting, to be sure, but flawed. Figured the first half was going to lead somewhere else, but once it became clear what was going to happen, it felt unnecessary to have it go on for as long as it did. Unfortunately, Martyrs' story is just too contrived to get properly sucked into; wish they'd have gone down a different path with that second act. Adore the direction and the visuals, though, and it definitely got under my skin in a way no other movie has.

Don't read anything about it. It works best if you don't know anything about this movie. Watch it, but be prepared that you might want to quit the viewing.

Interesting piece, if somewhat difficult to stomach. Pascal Laugier here carves out an edifice of tortuous proportions, and it is a hard film to enjoy. However, the talent on and off screen, plus a truly unexpected ending help to create a thematic landscape which, though difficult to endure, is ultimately worth it!

I'm torn when it comes to this particular film. On the one hand, it's certainly well made. The torture scenes are convincingly brutal, and the make-up artists definitely did their research. On the other hand, there is very little to the actual plot. The reasons as to WHY these people are being tortured are exceptionally flimsy. The mind of god? Spare me. The wallbanger ending also detracts heavily from my score, leaving me with a perfectly even 50. Not bad, not good. YMMV.

Icky and sticky. I'm getting the feeling the "New French Extremity" is just French directors constantly trying to one-up each other. In my opinion, it peaked at "Irreversible."

Martyrs managed to convince me that horror movies do not have to be scary in order to impact the viewer. It managed to get a deep message across, without being too apparent about it. There doesn't appear to be scenes that needed to be omitted, as they all have a reason to be there. The story is separated into two main parts, with the first only making complete sense after viewing the second. It ties everything together well, and manages to be the unforgettable experience.

decent horror. I liked it.

Interesting movie, the "plot twist" was quite interesting, I really liked it.

Incredibly tough-going film that's pretty harsh on it's audience as much as it is on it's characters. If you think it's getting too much, just keep watching because reasons and explanations for all this torture and violence are to come, but I'd still not recommend this to anyone who isn't a horror (gorror) film.

Martyrs actually manages to do what so many others only claim to do: deconstruct graphic violence. Superficially, bits of it look like yet another torture porn film, but is a lot smarter than that, with a lot of interesting psychological insight, unreliable narrators, and protagonists that you really feel for. Ends up owing more to Brazil and Funny Games than to Saw, even though it is VERY violent. Something of a modern horror masterpiece.

In the pantheon of French ultra-violent movies, Martyrs is Hephaestus...if that makes any sense. Slick directing, wonderful acting, and enough questions left unanswered to leave you with that sense of uneasiness when the ride is over. However, it all seemed a little too predictable...and the dubbing was atrocious. I, personally, enjoyed "Inside" far more than this.

Impeccably made. Possibly the best 'horror' film of the modern era. At the same time Martyrs is the first movie I've seen which genuinely fits the moral panic moniker 'torture porn'. From the opening scenes of a small child's terror at an invisible threat, to the finales decent into incomprehensible violence and grotesquery, Martyrs is a dark feast of unforgettable images and nightmarish ideas.

Thankfully not "torture porn" but a truly disturbing journey into the darkest realm of existentialism. Sure, not for the faint of heart, but finally, not for the faint of mind, either. Saw it months ago and it still leaves not only a bitter scar in my mind, but the desire to see it again and wrap my head around its frighteningly subversive themes.

so brutal but i was definatly satisfied for with the excuse for the brutality

This is a tricky one to review because the first half is outstanding, but the second half gets lost. It's not for the faint-hearted, and it's easily the most confronting and gory film I have seen, but it's also brilliantly acted. A very interesting concept relating mostly to death itself and the journey that two girls take. I was disappointed in the second half as its nowhere near as good as the first, but necessary in the story they are telling. Overall a great film, but a hard one to sum up!

I have absolutely no idea how to rate this film. As a viewing experience, it is hard to breath normally through most of it. As a piece of cinema, it was well made, scored and acted. As for being a film with a message, I am not totally convinced that the hammy performance of the lead baddie, and a pseudo-intellectual ambivalent ending actually is a good enough reason for the other 95% of the film. One thing for sure, it is NOT some sort of genre masterpiece, but as a horror ... not bad at all

One of the most polarizing and depressing films of recent years. From the very first scene there is no joy to be found, instead replacing entertainment for emotional brutality. If the last twenty minutes doesn't even make you angry, you're not human.

09 mayis 2011 & wtf?

Seriously disgusting, I think it's easily the most repulsive film I've ever seen. And the ending is not worth the torture throughout the movie.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire.. this film just doesn't let up.

I'm not sure how to go about this...On the one hand, it properly possesses a nihilistic tendency found in films of the recent New French Extremity movement. On the other hand, however, it seems to lack the emotional and critical capacities which films by such makers in the genre, such as Noe and Dumont, have. The concept is an interesting one, but the execution pushes it further into the realm of mindless torture porn than anything else. Could be worse, yet it ultimately could be better.

Considering that this has been described by some as an unrelenting assault I can't help but think I've become rather desensitised to this sort of stuff... Still I found it engaging enough, even if it is pretty silly at times.