Martyrs (2015 film)

Plot

Ten-year-old Lucie (Troian Bellisario) flees from the isolated warehouse where she has been held prisoner. Deeply traumatized, she is plagued by awful night terrors at the orphanage that takes her in. Her only comfort comes from Anna (Bailey Noble), a girl her own age. Nearly a decade later and still haunted by demons, Lucie finally tracks down the family that tortured her. As she and Anna move closer to the agonizing truth, they find themselves trapped in a nightmare - if they cannot escape, a martyr's fate awaits them.

Cast

Production

The project dates back to at least 2008 with the director of the original, Pascal Laugier, negotiating for the rights for an American remake. Daniel Stamm was set to direct at this time but later dropped out due to budgetary concerns. Specifically he worried about "plateauing", saying that "if you're a filmmaker who makes two movies in the same budget bracket, that becomes your thing. You are the guy for the $3 million movie, and then that's all you do", further elaborating that his agent advised him against making the film for this reason.

Screenwriter Mark L. Smith had stated that he tried to avoid showing as much of the violence on screen as possible which he stated resulted in "less about watching someone be tortured and more about trying to save a friend." he has stated that he chose this route because " it’s more just my taste." Early on Kristen Stewart was considered for a role, though her presence in the film was later denied by Stamm.

Release

Anchor Bay Entertainment acquired all North American rights for Martyrs from Wild Bunch after the film premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. The film was later screened at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival in Los Angeles in October 2015.

Reception

Martyrs was panned by critics. It currently has a 7% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 27 reviews with an average of 3.3/10, and the film has a 19/100 on Metacritic indicating "overwhelming dislike". Kalyn Corrigan wrote that "aside from creating a much tamer version, the 2015 Martyrs headed by the Goetz brothers feels too similar to the first film, bordering on a shot-for-shot remake that doesn’t really bring anything new or worthwhile to the table in order to justify its existence".