This very disturbing movie does a fair job of sending chills through viewers, but doesn’t have the power to be considered top notch. After the first frightening three minutes Martyrs loses its punch, then tapers off into a psychological drama before getting into the real meat of the story. I kept hoping that it would keep my interest enough so I would not predict the awful farfetched ending, but that didn’t work. I also would have been satisfied with knowing why the main character would put herself back into the situation and have left well enough alone, but that’s the world of filmmaking.
The story starts out with young Lucie (Ever Prishkulnik) escaping from a place where she has been held captive and tortured. Turned over to an orphanage, Lucie feels hurt inside and avoids contact with the other girls. When she meets Anna (Elyse Cole) however, Lucie starts to come out of her shell and they become inseparable. Ten years go by and we find Lucie (Troian Bellisario) taking revenge out on her original captors with befuddled Anna (Bailey Noble) becoming a part of it.
Most of this happens within twelve minutes of the movie leaving a good hour of grisly torture and bloody mayhem. Directors Goetz, Kevin and Michael, try a remake of the original French Canadian film with the same title using an American theme and set in the South. Not having seen the French film it really didn’t much matter because if it was the same script it still wouldn’t have worked. The beginning however gets very terrifying with the young girl running from the building and her nightmares. They guide their actors well, but the plot is so full of holes there surely must have been a lot of cuts before the two girls end up at a farmhouse with Lucie taking care of business.
While the actors are not half bad, the direction and screenplay make them into robots just going through the motions in an attempt to reveal the hidden plot and resolve. But, the acting here isn’t enough to make the film worth the watch and for that we get a waste of good make-up, sets and special effects.
Martyrs has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains scenes of grisly violence, brutality and language. Not for the meek or faint of heart, the film’s just for those that just can’t miss seeing another horror flick.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A dud of a film that even die-hard horror fans should avoid. (D)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Troian Bellisario, Bailey Noble, Ever Prishkulnik , Caitlin Carmichael, Elyse Cole
Directed by: by Kevin Goetz and Michael Goetz
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, Contains violence, language
Genre: Horror, Terror, Drama
Running Time: 1 hr. 25 min.
Video Release Date: February 2, 2016
Language: English
Reviewed Format: DVD (also available on Blu-ray)
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Widescreen 16×9, 2.40:1 Aspect Ratio
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: Anchor Bay
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
