Fifteen years after a horrifying experience of abduction and prolonged torture, Lucie embarks on a bloody quest for revenge against her oppressors. Along with her childhood friend, Anna, who also suffered abuse, she quickly descends, without hope, into madness and her own delusions. Anna, left on her own begins to re-experience what Lucie did when she was only twelve years old.

Martyrs (2008)
  • Rating: (23,368 votes)
  • Tagline:They did not finish to be alive... »
  • Runtime:99 minutes
  • Director: Pascal Laugier
  • Countries:France, Canada
  • Actors:
    Anna
    Morjana Alaoui
    Lucie
    Mylène Jampanoï
    Mademoiselle
    Catherine Bégin
    Le père
    Robert Toupin
    La mère
    Patricia Tulasne
    Marie
    Juliette Gosselin
    Antoine (as Xavier Dolan-Tadros)
    Xavier Dolan
    La Créature
    Isabelle Chasse
    La Suppliciée
    Emilie Miskdjian
    Homme / Bourreau
    Mike Chute
  • Genres:Drama, Horror, Thriller
  • Producers:
    Frédéric Doniguian
    executive producer  
    Marcel Giroux
    executive producer  
    Richard Grandpierre
    producer  
    Simon Trottier
    producer  
  • Plots: Fifteen years after a horrifying experience of abduction and prolonged torture, Lucie embarks on a bloody quest for revenge against her oppressors. Along with her childhood friend, Anna, who also suffered abuse, she quickly descends, without hope, into madness and her own delusions. Anna, left on her own begins to re-experience what Lucie did when she was only twelve years old. Written by kwedgwood@hotmail.com
Martyrs
  • User's comment:Finally a movie that martyrs... by JSh0k

    i was lucky enough to see this masterpiece at Frightfest this year.

    Pascale Laugier's worried about this movie. He was apologising to people who despised it, he was profusely thanking the people who liked it. He is the modern day equivalent of Victor Frankenstein. He knows that he has created a monster and doesn't really know how to deal with it now that it's being released upon the world.

    Martyrs truly is a monster. It's a ground breaking, brave, stunning, brutal & moving piece of work that is guaranteed to divide audiences everywhere it gets the chance to play. Even at a genre event like Frightfest the audience reaction ranged from 'loved it' to 'hated it' to people actually going outside of the cinema to be physically sick (really). For me it was the highlight of the festival and i absolutely loved it but I don't believe it's a movie that anybody will truly 'enjoy'.

    As others have already given away too much of the story i won't bother with a synopsis as Martyr's is definitely a dish best served cold. Not knowing what to expect makes this a refreshingly shocking piece of celluloid that will hopefully astound you with it's gutsy originality. Written by the director during a fit of depression (that he did not elaborate on in the Q&A) it is an almost schizophrenic movie with two distinct halves and coda of such ambiguity that it is possible to view it as nihilistic or strangely hopeful. It's beautifully shot, really well paced and contains outstanding performances from the two female leads.

    This movie is inevitably going to be compared to Hostel and other movies in the horribly monickered 'torture-porn' genre and that is a genuine mistake. Martyrs bears more resemblance to movies like Nacho Cerda's Aftermath as there is nothing here that is designed to be titillating. The true horror lies in the the clinical detachment of the antagonists. In the end, despite all the on screen violence (and there are some truly brutal scenes on display here in the movies second act) the prevaling reaction that this movie elicited in me was not one of revulsion but one of true sadness. Martyrs really is a truly brilliant, surprisingly moving film and one that will remain in my mind, jostling for attention with my other thoughts for a very long time to come. Thankyou Pascale Laugier for creating a monster that i love...


  • Quotes: Mademoiselle: Lucie was only a victim. Like all the others. It's so easy to create a victim, young lady, so easy. You lock someone in a dark room. They begin to suffer. You feed that suffering. Methodically, systematically and coldly. And make it last. Your subject goes through a number of states. After a while, their trauma; that small, easily opened crack, makes them see things that don't exist. Mademoiselle: Martyrs are exceptional people. They survive pain, they survive total deprivation. They bear all the sins of the earth. They give themselves up. They transcend themselves... they are transfigured. Anna: I miss you.
  • Also known as: Martyrs (Italy - imdb display title), Martyrs (Japan - English title), Iskence odasi (Turkey - Turkish title), Mártírok (Hungary - imdb display title), Mártires (Mexico - alternative title), Marttyyrit (Finland), Martyres (Greece - DVD title), Martyrs: Skazani na strach (Poland), Mucednici (Czech Republic - festival title), Mucenice (Serbia - imdb display title),

  1. EdmondPetrus Says:
    February 4th, 2011 at 11:09 pm

    Some people are sick. they do things that are horrible.
    That is reality!! unfortunately…
    Some people make movies that are sick, and they need mental treatment. They are not creative in a good sense.
    Live is sometimes horrible enough.
    No need to make something sick!
    Try to create something that is beautifull!!
    But that is difficult for a sick mind!!
    Eli Roth is a good example of a sick mind… with no loving creativity…. The same goes for the director of this movie

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