just watch it!

Brilliant and touching

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

I wish I could review this movie without comparing with the original, but I don't see how I could do that. As often is the case when Americans attempt to remake movies from other countries, they fail. Such is certainly the case here. Although the directors tried to make the excuse that they was re- imagining rather than remaking, they obviously failed to understand what made the french original so extraordinary. There is no depth to the characters in this version. The directors fail to make me feel for the protagonists. In fact they fail to make me feel anything at all. The long and cruel journey of the protagonist is completely lost.I don't see the point in the use of excessive violence or gore for the sake of chock in movies. The original version of Martyrs was gory and violent but it was not included for the chock value. The explicit cruelty had meaning, to make the audience understand the suffering of the main character and the amazing ending. This version is more of a family friendly action movie in comparison, and in reducing the most of the violence and cruelty, the movie completely loses the impact of the original. Even more annoying is the assumption that Americans are stupid and need everything explained in detail. Whereas the original made me think and feel and not forget, this version did not affect me at all, and in the moment of writing I'm already forgetting it. Had I not seen the original I probably would not say it's not a terrible movie, just bland. But having seen the French masterpiece, this version certainly is terrible in comparison.So to summarize: If you want to see a good movie, watch the French 2008 original! And if you have already seen that, then watch it again instead of this mess.

I am literally watching this as I write this review. I started writing about ten minutes in, and finished rolling the credits, because I kept getting gripped to the screen. Never written a review before, but as this is a remake of one of my faves, I felt I should cast an opinion. I always want to encourage the appreciation of art, so I'm not going to Crap on the remake just because the original is so good.Firstly, as I said, I love the original, in my top 5 and one of the films I drop when people fancy themselves as a movie buff, or a horror enthusiast. To which I usually get a blank response. The original is so well shot. To me its like the director is flaunting his competence of all styles of horror. Not to fulfill an ego, but to purposely mislead the watcher into thinking they are in a 'style' of horror they know, creating a sense of security, only to be pulled out of it into another style over and over. Creating constant disorientation and confusion. A perfect state to have your audience as a horror director. It starts with themes of confinement, containment and abuse only to fast forward a month to crap you up with a weird creature tormenting the previously abused. Is it real? Is it in her head? Confusion. Then, fast forward again, ten years, and a seemingly nice suburban family get absolutely point blank shotgun massacred. Revenge style. Then this sense of 'what have I done' fear is construed, Yet again a different type of horror\fear is achieved. Next is the fear Lucy's going to kill Anna because she doesn't believe her actions were just. But yet again a switch in styles as the girls find out Lucy was right and the family ARE sadistic torturers. Now the fear of escape grips you as the torturers appear and chase them down. Alas, they get caught and locked up and tortured, the fear of confinement, containment and abuse come full circle. Very clever. She's tortured to the brink of death to satisfy the torturous cults obsession with finding a glimpse of what the afterlife holds. Then at that brink of death, she whispers into the cult leaders ear, unheard by the audience, to which the leader responds by committing suicide. Leaving you lost, confused, appalled and bewildered. The ending is what you make of it, the smartest way to end a horror, because the meaning is left for the fear they have filled you with to answer! Personally I like to think that she told the cult leader that death is bliss for all, which is why she instantly kills herself, when really hell exists for the wicked! Her only way to win in a horrific circumstance. Now the remake doesn't seem effortlessly skip between styles like the original, to create the same affect. But the overall mood of the film is well emulated. Its shot in that indie arty American style that i do enjoy. Which reminds you that not American film is super polished and idiot proof. But then again, it does answer questions that are far more satisfying when left to be figured out by the viewer. Some really nice shots and pacing to start with. The tension is dragged very skillfully throughout. The ending was changed, but I think it had to be believable in an American setting. Maybe the point of the originals ending was lost a little, but as I said, the meaning of the originals ending is left to the individual viewers thought path. Obviously the remakes director was left with the notion portrayed in his remake. Overall, definitely watch this, if you haven't seen the original, this will make you want to. If you have seen the original, then maybe this will entice new audiences to watch it too. Then at least you have someone to talk about how sick it is with! Not a bad remake. Let the right one instead remake is better. Point break's is so much worse!

Even though I watched the original Martyrs various years ago, it's a film which is impossible to forget. That's why I knew beforehand that its North American remake would never reach the same levels of violence, intensity and anguish reached by the French version... something I would have tolerated if co-directors Kevin and Michael Goetz had respected the spirit of that brilliant film and its overwhelming atmosphere of cruelty and hopelessness. Unfortunately, that was the first thing which got lost in this "light" version, which could basically be considered "PG-13" if it wasn't for some moderately bloody scenes, which could have been eliminated without any problem, because they don't fix all the things which were decomposed in this diluted interpretation. And that's where my comparison between both versions ends because, to be fair, Martyrs (2008) didn't receive too much diffusion, and I estimate that Martyrs (2015) will be a novelty for many spectators, so I will do my best to evaluate it on its own merits. I found it a bad film, but I will at least grant it that courtesy. To start with, I found the screenplay of Martyrs (2015) poorly written, specially during the second half, when something happens which brusquely alters the premise and introduces absurd concepts, until getting to an insipid conclusion. Among the very few positive things I can say about this remake, I can mention the decent performances from Troian Bellisario and Bailey Noble. Despite them, I found Martyrs (2015) an absolute waste of time. Even taking it as an individual horror film, it's an absolute failure. Anyway... I hope the next step isn't some remake of À l'intérieur suitable for the family schedule of Lifetime.

Unlike most others, I welcome horror movie remakes. I know that most end up being trash. But there are the few that end up being decent horror movies in their own merit. Yes, I'm a fan of the original 2008 French film Martyrs. I mean I really loved the intense raw terror of the original mixed. But like most have said, it wasn't just about the terror. It had deep meaning. Which is why it has become one of the biggest horror cult classics of the past 20 years. So when I heard that they were making an American remake, I was honestly excited. The producers promised to keep the intensity of the original. This announcement was way back in 2010. So you can imagine I've been waiting nearly 6 years for this. Now the film is finally here. I will admit that the trailer for the film released online made it look very mediocre. And I knew that most other fans of the original would trash the film relentlessly regardless of its true value. It is hard to not compare this to the original. The critics reviews seem implausible too. I guess I'm the rare fan of the original that actually liked it.