Martyrs (Eureka! Masters of Cinema UHD)

Written and Directed by: Pascal Laugier
Cast: Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï, Catherine Bégin, Robert Toupin, Patricia Tulasne, Juliette Gosselin, Xavier Dolan
Running time: 99min
Year: 2008
Certificate: 18

I frequently find myself thinking back to the French New Extremity movement of the 2000’s (something I discussed in my September review of Marina de Van’s In My Skin) – as a horror fan, here was a modern movement which set out to discover increasingly more provocative subject matter, sometimes lacing it with social commentary, tapping into both arthouse and grindhouse aesthetics which started at a time where it was becoming increasingly easier to get access to foreign films on DVD and even through services like Film 4. But while films like High Tension, Inside and Ils elicited varied responses from viewers, ranging from disgust to praise, one film stood out among the crows as the poster child for the entire movement – Pascal Laugier’s Martyrs.

A film which hits the ground running, Martyrs opens with a brief scene of calm; a family breakfast. Everything seems normal, the parents and children going about their lives completely oblivious to the chaos that is about to unfold when Lucie (Jampanoï) knocks on their door and mows them down with a shotgun. The rug pull which follows starts the ball rolling for a film which gradually ramps up its intensity, violence and narrative reveals across a remarkably lean run time.

In fact, watching Martyrs for the first time since probably around 2010 I found it fascinating just how lean Laugier manages to keep things. For one, we spend the majority of the run time with a very small cast of characters, the film mostly focussing on Lucie and her friend Anna (Alaoui). The plot of Martyrs would be incredibly easy to spoil but, at its core, it’s a brutal and savage exploration of vengeance which manages to blend elements of psychological and revenge thrillers with a dash of monster movie before transcending everything into something utterly unexpected and utterly unique. The film plays a blinder of “show, don’t tell”, frequently flipping between past and present and often zigging when you expect it to zag and It constantly changes what you think it’s about to the point that the final reveal is guaranteed to be unexpected for first time viewers.

Martyrs is particularly notorious for its extreme violence and gore and it has to be said that in this respect the film is both spectacular and unsettling with claret coating nearly every shot, underpinned by some superb makeup effects. It’s absolutely exploitation cinema, but it eschews the usual grindhouse aesthetic for something that’s often intimate, truly focused on its characters and their stories. Make no mistake – this is not a happy tale. Martyrs will frequently put you through the ringer and then give you a thoroughly good kicking when you come out the other side. Even having seen the film before, knowing what was coming, the final 30 minutes was still an utterly gruelling watch.

Director Pascal Laugier shoots all of this with a constantly moving handheld aesthetic, filling the frame with muted colours that let the blood take center stage. All of this looks fabulous in this new 4k restoration, released by Eureka! through their Masters of Cinema series, allowing the film’s grit and grime to truly show through.

Yes, Martyrs is not an easy film to watch and certainly not a film for the faint hearted or squeamish, not just for the extent of the violence on display but also for the fact that the victims are almost entirely women. Nothing is off the table here, from torture, self mutilation and child abuse to the wholesale slaughter of an entire family. This also includes an uncomfortably long scene in which a character is shown photos of actual atrocities, death and serious injuries, something viewers may find even more uncomfortable than the simulated, fictional aspects of the film. And yet it’s constantly the end of the story that’s stuck with me all these years, something I sought to evaluate further in this rewatch. There’s a twisted spirituality to the story which begins to emerge in those final moments with a denouement that is utterly ambiguous but absolutely thought provoking. Some viewers may find this frustrating, particularly having sat through the film in all its savagery, but it’s a plot point that I’ve certainly come back to multiple times and one that my film friends and I have frequently dissected over the years.

Martyrs is a challenging film, one that’s thoroughly unpleasant in its subject matter, but also one that forces the viewer to confront the ugliness of the world head on, questioning established truths, faith and humanity. It won’t be for everyone, but in this writer’s opinion it’s absolutely essential viewing for anyone with an interest in the more extreme side of horror cinema.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Limited Edition Hardbound Set [4000 copies]
• Dual format edition including both UHD (Region Free) and Blu-ray (Region B)
• Limited edition hardcase featuring new artwork by Nick Charge
• Limited edition 100-page book featuring new cover artwork by Nick Charge and writing on Martyrs by film critic Anton Bitel and horror scholars Reece Goodall, Steve Jones, Mary Going and Laura Mee
• Limited edition fold-out poster featuring new artwork and original poster art
• New 4K restoration by Eureka Entertainment from the original camera negative
• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation presented in Dolby Vision HDR (HDR10 compatible)
• Original French audio (5.1 and stereo options)
• Optional English subtitles, newly revised for this release
• New audio commentary with Nia Edwards-Behi, co-director of Abertoir Horror Film Festival
• Revisiting the Belford House – new interview with lead actor Mylène Jampanoï
• Beauty and Brutality – new interview with New French Extremity expert Alice Haylett Bryan
• Over Her Flayed Body – new video essay on Martyrs and body horror by Xavier Aldana Reyes, author of Contemporary Body Horror
• Organic Chronicles – archival feature-length documentary on the making of Martyrs
• Archival interview with director Pascal Laugier
• Archival interview with special effects designer Benoît Lestang
• Stills Gallery
• Trailers

This limited edition release of Martyrs is full of some enticing bonus features for viewers wanting to dig deeper into the film, it’s production and indeed its legacy, with new essays and interviews providing some interesting reflection on the film and its themes. All this is packaged in gorgeous new artwork which is becoming the norm for a lot of these modern prestige re-releases, complete with some physical goodies and an affordable price tag for collectors.