Martyrs

Martyrs (2016) is yet another pointless remake that is completely inferior to the original. Have you ever heard one of those trashy Kidz Bop covers of a pretty good song? This remake is like a Kidz Bop version of a heavy-metal song. The entire movie just put a foul stench in my mouth. It is neutered down to its core. There isn't anything disturbing, horrifying, or shocking like there was in the original. Hell, there isn't even a lot of blood in this one. It's hard to just simply describe how horrible it is, so I'll just use another analogy. Let's say the class genius is taking a test, right? So the big class goofball decides to sit down next to him and cheat off his test. He copies most of the test, but then there's the essay section. The smart kid is moving along with it, writing in his own unique way. The catch is that he writes really fast. So the dumbo has to quickly copy down everything he's writing. After they finish, the smart kid has a pretty good essay but it's not his best work. The noodlehead kid has an incomprehensible copy of the smart kid's essay, so much so that sentences are out of order, and the essay prompt isn't even answered. Even if you take the original out of the equation and call this remake an original movie, it's still garbage. One of the saddest attempts at a remake I have ever seen.

Being a huge fan of the French 2008 movie "Martyrs", I had strong doubts about the quality and necessity of a remake. Still I tried to push all those negative feelings aside and give the movie a fair shot.

Like the original, it starts out when the young girl Lucy escapes from a terrible situation unknown to the viewer. She lands in an orphanage where she meets her best friend Anna while being haunted from the past. Ten years later, Lucy kills a family claiming they are her former capturers.

One aspect I love about the French version is, it basically consists of two stories with the turnaround in the middle of the movie. The remake adapts the first half of the film more or less faithfully though clearly worse than the original and the second half deviates completely from it. With those drastic changes it feels more like one consisting story rather than two. They tried to create a new story instead of copying the French movie shot for shot and the attempt of doing so I appreciate about it. Still the second part fells illogical and is a mess. For me it does not work and felt even cheesy sometimes.

The acting is not exceptional but also not terrible. It has some beautifully shot scenes but there is some shaky cam in it which is bothering. Furthermore the movie is a lot less violent and gory which basically is okay but leads to some illogical moments in the second half. Also there are some genuinely boring moments considering the short running time and overall it is a lot less emotional than Pascal Laugier's Martyrs. Especially an aspect from Lucy's struggle with the past is left unresolved and you care a lot less about her.

Over all, I think someone who has not seen the French version or does not like extremely brutal movies can watch this toned down version and might actually enjoy it for its story. Fans of the New French Extremity masterpiece should stay away from the remake and everybody else I clearly advise to check out the former one!

I recently saw the original 'Martyrs' and absolutely loved it. That French film from 2008 was very close to a horror masterpiece. It was original, disturbing and clever. An absolutely marvelous film. So of course the Americans were going to have a go at remaking it - I'm just surprised it took them so long. Now, there are a number of reasons you might remake a film. You could think there were areas that could have been improved on in an otherwise good film, or you might simply want more people to see such a wonderful story. Whatever your reason is for doing it though, one thing is absolutely crucial - you must maintain the quality. Otherwise you are doing a massive disservice to the original and tarnishing its name. Sadly, that's exactly what the 2015 version of 'Martyrs' has done.

The first 3/4 of the film remain extremely similar to the original, almost feeling like a shot-for-shot remake at times. During this phase the movie isn't actually half bad. The same intensity isn't quite there and the acting is step down, but it could be considered a passable film up to that point. Then the final 1/4 begins and it all starts to unravel. This was always going to be the segment that determined how good this film was going to be, because it was the segment that made the original what it was. Everything that made the original ending great was basically removed and replaced with inferior ideas. I would've preferred to see zero creativity used and simply a shot-for-shot, word-for-word remake created, simply because people who see this instead of the original are going to get a bad taste in their mouth, when they should have exactly the opposite.

This remake of 'Martyrs' never dares to be great, and that it why it isn't. Whether they were afraid American audiences wouldn't be able to handle the gruesome violence and ambiguity of the original I'm not sure, but if that was the case it makes zero sense because the only people who are going to see a film like this are the ones that can handle it. It's a terrible shame this movie was ever made. If it's not too late and you haven't seen either version yet, I implore you to choose the French original. It'll be the wisest decision you ever make.

I would have to say that this is not really as good as the original.

There was little character development at the beginning so you don't really get to know these two. I was not a fan of either actresses although I have seen them in other shows/movies and they were decent.

I think most American remakes do not live up to the original. While, this may be a reimagining, it is loosely based on the original. This is another remake that should not have been done.

The original film is one of my favorite horror movies, so I went in with very low expectations. I was very nervous to watch a remake, especially of a film that was so brutal, heart wrenching, and yet beautiful at the same time. Even though I had low expectations, I was still disappointed. They changed too much, and it wasn't as beautifully done, or as brutal as I expected. If I had never seen the original I may have actually enjoyed this one more. This is one of those movies is recommended to people that enjoy American horror movies, and don't want to read subtitles. But if you love horror movies, and don't mind reading a little, then this one would be a let down to all of the amazing foreign films out there.