The film starts showing a young girl, Lucie, running from a warehouse, beaten and half naked. After this she is put in a youth home where she befriends another girl, but is still troubled by the events that took place in the warehouse. Fast forward 15 years and both girls are going out to seek revenge on the people that did what they did to Lucie. But Lucie is still dealing with a very present face from the past.
Apologies if that last paragraph sounded slightly vague, but it's hard to put across what happens in the film without giving too much away, it's best to watch the film knowing the bare minimum, like I did. The above describes the first 15 minutes or so of the movie, and after that it descends into one of the most disturbing films you will ever witness.
This is where you shouldn't balk at the word 'disturbing'. It really, really is, but at the same time it's brilliant and unforgettable. The film is so well made it is one of those rare films that transcend its genre. This is no regular horror film (not slighting the genre at all, but this is something else)
But, I guess if you are of a nervous disposition this isn't for you. Contrary to what you may think this film shows no scenes of sexual abuse whatsoever. Disturbingly, this is not why Lucie was being held in the warehouse. As the reasons for this make themselves clear, you almost wish they were. It's brave, but incredibly hard to watch at times stuff (there was one part where the thought crossed my mind that I'd have to turn it off soon).
Again, apologies for being vague and not covering as much ground plot-wise as I sometimes do in these reviews, but you really owe it to yourself to get this film and watch it as soon as possible. You may not thank me, but you won't be able to deny its power.
*****
Brave, Disturbing, Brilliant, Horrific, but overall unforgettable. You will never see anything like Martyrs again, that's for sure.
1 comment:
Just watched it... still in shock... review to come if I can bare to relive it... :-s
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