Producer Jason Blum has since said remaking Martyrs (2008) "destroyed the original in every way and [the remake] never should have existed."
Pascal Laugier, the director of the original French Martyrs (2008), felt that selling off the remake rights was a poor decision: "I had a bad contract, I didn't even get paid for it! That's really the only thing I regret in my career: That my name is now associated with such a junk film and I didn't even get a cent for it! I tried to watch it but only got through 20 minutes. It was like watching my mother get raped! Then I stopped. Life is too short. In the American system, a movie like Martyrs is just not possible - they saw my movie and then turned it into something completely uninteresting."
Originally meant to be made in the late 2000s under Twilight (2008)-producer Wyck Godfrey, and with Daniel Stamm directing. At one point, Twilight star Kristen Stewart was rumored to be sought as the main lead, but her participation was later denied. Stamm eventually left the project over budget issues. It was picked up by Blumhouse Productions and The Safran Company for a 2015 release instead.
Technically an independent film (not a studio film) and shot in less than 20 days.
Directors Kevin Goetz and Michael Goetz mentioned that they were aware of fans' apprehension over this remake and the possible backlash, but their job was "to focus on the script that was given to us". They claim the movie is more of a re-imagining than a remake, with the hope that it will shine a light on the original, which is a film still largely under the public radar: "This film and this screenplay have a glimmer of hope in the fact that these two women will do whatever it takes to survive."