Martyrs

Five years after “Saint Ange” (2004), Pascal Laugier – also credited with the story concept and screenplay – pulls off a noteworthy leap forward, delivering what might reasonably be considered the pinnacle of French-language horror in the new millennium. A high level of violence pervades the film from start to finish, but “Martyrs” has the distinction of framing it in a solid concept that elevates it above simply violence for its own sake. Indeed, by choosing to use a single house as the base of operations for a limited number of characters, the director manages to sketch a terrifying portrait of an organization steeped in inequity and using its authority to justify cruelty towards the weak and powerless in the name of cold, hard metaphysical conjectures.

In this sense, the theory – laid out in almost didactic tones – of the martyr as a means of achieving higher levels of consciousness takes on truly chilling connotations given that what lies behind the unprecedented suffering being inflicted on the captive girls is simply and solely a gnoseological process implemented for the benefit of individuals who are completely indifferent to others’ pain and suffering. Basically, they’re torturing and mutilating the girls not for “pleasure” but for “knowledge” (everything revolves around the conviction that an individual subjected to martyrdom would be able to provide an account of the world beyond life), and it’s this distinction that separates “Martyrs” from the vulgar sadism that largely characterizes the torture porn of its era. Additionally, the fact that it’s seemingly normal, run-of-the-mill people lucidly planning and perpetrating such atrocious cruelty on their designated victims further accentuates the bleak pessimism of a work that’s gloomy like few others.

An excellent film from a technical point of view thanks in part to the outstanding contributions of special effects artists Carmelle Beaudoin and Jacques Godbout and makeup artist Donato Grassi. The two female costars turn in rather convincing performances as well. Among the most effective scenes, we would the cite Lucie’s violent entry into the house, as well as the exhausting “martyrization” process that poor Anna is subjected to – roughly twenty dialogue-free minutes that leave their mark.

The sardonic ending is brilliant.