Martyrs (2008)

Martyrs

IMDB rate: 7,1

Genre: Survival, Torture

Starring: Morjana Alaoui, Mylene Jampanoi, Catherine Begin

Martyrs is one of the most surprising movies I've seen in years, I've wanted to watch it for a long time, but I never came to it. I heard a lot about this movie, things like that it was just as shocking as A Serbian Film and that it was a movie that would be hard to watch. I was surprised that such a movie had a 7,1 score on IMDB, because torture and stuff is usually not a genre that gets high rates. 

Well, the movie, I think it was quite amazing. The 7,0 score on IMDB is definitely well deserved. But I'll have to admit that it was a different movie than I expected. I expected even more gore, cruelty and things like that. The movie is definitely not worse than A Serbian Film, even though Martyrs is called a torture porn, it's nothing like A Serbian Film. Yes, there is a lot of torture, but there is not any porn of some sort. Even though there is nudity, it's definitely not like A Serbian Film. I'm comparing these two a lot because A Serbian Film is in my opinion the most cruel movie ever made. And I think this one definitely comes on number 2 at the moment (I haven't seen any movies worse than these yet). So I think that's good comparing material. Don't get me wrong, the two movies have a whole different story and purpose, A Serbian Film is all based around torture porn and family, while Martyrs is about torture, revenge and the after-life. I hope I explained it right, because it might be a bit confusing the way I'm saying it ;).

Fifteen years after a horrifying experience of abduction and prolonged torture, Lucie embars on a bloody quest for revenge against her oppressors. Along with her childhood fried 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.

I think it's a good thing that I've waited a day before I wrote this review, because I had some thinking to do about the things that I didn't get. The puzzle pieces all fell to place and the movie seemed a lot clearer. I think it's a good idea to watch this movie again, because there are still some small things that I didn't get. But for now, I think it was an amazing movie.

The acting was incredible and convincing. Because it's a movie from France I didn't know any of the actresses/actors in it, but it might be possible that they are very famous in their country. The camera work in this movie is also amazing, it was shot exactly right. And the music was very suitable. At one point my boyfriend said that he didn't get why the movie was all nice and sweet while the girl was left tortured. But I thought it was amazingly chosen because right before that moment there was mentioned that she just had to let it go, instead of resisting everything that happened. So in that moment, she didn't care what happened anymore, and the music was emphasizing that.

This movie is absolutely not the torture that you've seen in Saw. This is worse, but on a different scale. Martyrs seems to be about torturing, but it haves a bigger purpose than that. In Saw you're feeling disgusted, and you're hoping that the people will get away, because you know the story. In Martyrs, you're also disgusted, but you're desperately waiting for the reasons behind it, and believe me that is a surprising story. The movie turns in a few seconds time from a torture gore flick into a sad and rather depressing reflection of human suffering. 

I had many feelings while I watched this movie. First I thought it would be some sort of Captivity. A girl locked in a room, growing old. I was wrong. After that, I thought it would be about the same girl, taking her revenge. I was wrong again. And after that, I was convinced that it was about the supernatural creature that follows the girl. And guess what? I was wrong again! My point is that the movie seems to be going many directions at first, and you don't know what the whole point of the movie is in the first half. I'm not sure if this is a bad thing, it was not bothering me because I kept wondering what the story will be about eventually. But I can understand that many people don't like these vague aspects of the movie. 

I think the movie is definitely underrated by many people. Maybe it isn't really surprising, because it's just not a movie for everybody. If you are going to watch this movie, bear in mind that there are many parts that might need a strong stomach to watch.

Movies like Saw and Hostel are torture on a whole different level than this movie, so don't think they are comparable. I'm not really sure what I can compare this movie with, so it's hard to say what movies are a bit a-like. 

I can only say that if you don't have a strong stomach, than this movie is not suitable for you. 

My personal rate: 8/10

A Serbian Film (2010)

A Serbian Film (Srpski Film)

IMDB rate: 5,3

Genre: Survival, Thriller, 

Starring: Srdjan Todorovic, Sergej Trifunovic

Let's start this review with saying that this is absolutely not a movie for people with a weak stomach. I think it's one of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen. And I know many people will disagree with me, but I think I actually somewhat liked the movie. It's definitely not the best movie I've ever seen, it's way too disturbing for that, but I don't think it was that bad at all. This is, if you can get through it.

There are a lot of gore movies, and the one movie is even more disturbing than the other, but I think A Serbian Film topped them all. I saw the movie once, and it was quite some time ago, I bought it, but I still can't get myself to seeing it again. Simply because the content of it is way too disturbing. Although it has been some time since I last saw it, I still remember almost everything, because you simply can't 'unsee' it.

As I already said, many people will disagree with me about liking this movie. But I'll explain why I liked it so much. The acting in this movie is incredible. Playing with this kind of content, and still acting like these actors is amazing. I almost thought it was all real, instead of a movie, it was just that good. The camera work was very impressive, a good dialogue, and some very disturbing scenes. There are about four scenes in this movie, that are unforgettable. There is a music playing in this movie, and every time you hear this music, or something that sounds like it, you'll think of these disturbing scenes.

The movie is about a retired porn star Milos, he is married with Marija and they have a little son together named Peter. The family is facing financial difficulties, but Milos get contacted by the porn actress Lejla that offers him a job opportunity in an art film. Milos is introduced to the direct Vukmir that offers a millionaire contract to Milos to act in a film. However, Vukmir neither show the screenplay nor tell the story to Milos. Milos discuss the proposal with Marija and he signs the contract. But sooner he finds that Vukmir and his crew are involved in sick snuff films of pedophilia, necrophilia and torture and there is no way back to him and maybe it's too late to protect his family.

I thought a lot about this movie, mainly because of the disturbing scenes, and it made me think that this movie is not only about the nasty scenes. It actually has a message. It had something to say about, money, art and mainly about family. How far are you willing to go for your family? And of course, this goes very far, mainly without the knowledge of Milos himself. But this movie says it all, only on a very other way than any other regular movie. 

This movie looked so real to me, that it made me uncomfortable. The gore effects are incredibly well made. And that's why it's hard to watch. It's almost a real found footage film.

I am not sure if I can recommend this movie, simply because it's more than that. If you're going to see this movie, you'll have to do this with an open mind. I think many people don't appreciate (which is understandable) the message of this movie. Also, you need to have an incredibly strong stomach when watching this, because it's not just another gore movie. This movie contains torture, pedophilia and necrophilia, a lot of sex and a lot of nastiness. Be aware of this when you start watching this, because there are a lot of scenes that you won't forget that easy.

My personal rate: 7/10

I think it's better if I don't put a trailer up for this movie ;).