Martyrs

Directed by Pascal Laugier, Starring Mylene Jampanoi and Morjana Alaoui

This movie doesn't just hit you over the head once and stops, it bashes and continues to bash  to the point where you can't take it any longer. You can feel yourself tensing up into a little tiny  ball waiting for the slightest hint of relief that allows you to take one more breath of air, but in this film the relief seldom makes an appearance.
Lucie a young girl of eleven or so , bloodied and in obvious need of medical attention is shown running down an empty street, having fled from an abandoned building. After spending the last fifteen years at a home for girls she is prepared to seek her revenge against the people responsible for her kidnapping and torture she was put through.
Armed with a shotgun, Lucie (Jampanoi ) interrupts the breakfast of a family whom she believes the parents are responsible for the torment she has suffered all those years ago. Her friend Anna (Alaoui ) arrives shortly after to help clean up the bloody mess that follows. Soon Anna is having doubts regarding Lucie's past history.
The less you know about this film the greater your cinematic experience will be, you just don't watch Martyrs, you experience it. This is the type of film you either love it or hate it, just don't lump it into the so called torture porn flicks, which the Saw and Hostel films have been branded with. This has so much more going for it, giving insight into the mechanics of the human quest for knowledge, and the lengths one would go to obtain it.
My Thoughts: This is very strong subject matter, but the brave viewer who makes it to the last reel will be  justly rewarded.
My Rating: 5 Go Go Girls out of 5