Martyrs (2008)

Director:

Pascal Laugier

Writer:

Pascal Laugier (writer)

Release Date:

3 September 2008 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Tagline:

They did not finish to be alive...

Plot:

A young woman's quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tormented her as a child leads her and a friend, who is also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Child Abuse | Torture | Victim | Shot To Death

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Morjana Alaoui	...	Anna
Mylène Jampanoï	...	Lucie
Catherine Bégin	...	Mademoiselle
Robert Toupin	...	Le père
Patricia Tulasne	...	La mère
Juliette Gosselin	...	Marie
Xavier Dolan	...	Antoine (as Xavier Dolan-Tadros)
Isabelle Chasse	...	La Créature
Emilie Miskdjian	...	La Suppliciée
Mike Chute	...	Homme / Bourreau
Gaëlle Cohen	...	Femme de main
Anie Pascale	...	La femme
Jessie Pham	...	Lucie Jeune
Erika Scott	...	Anna Jeune
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hervé Desbois	...	Orderly
Philippe Laugler	...	Inspector
Louis Thevenon	...	Homme de main

Directed by
Pascal Laugier

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Pascal Laugier		writer

Produced by
Frédéric Doniguian	....	executive producer
Marcel Giroux	....	executive producer
Richard Grandpierre	....	producer
Simon Trottier	....	producer

Original Music by
Alex Cortés
Willie Cortés

Cinematography by
Stéphane Martin
Nathalie Moliavko-Visotzky

Film Editing by
Sébastien Prangère

Casting by
Helene Rousse

Production Design by
Jean-Andre Carriere

Makeup Department
Benoît Lestang	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Daniel Langlois	....	unit manager
Doris Yoba	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nadine Brassard	....	second assistant director
Carl Roméo Desjardins	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Yves Fontigny	....	property master
Asuka Sugiyama	....	art department coordinator

Sound Department
Nicolas Becker	....	foley artist
Germain Boulay	....	supervising sound editor
Philippe Mercier	....	sound mixer
Serge Rouquairol	....	sound editor
Julien Sicart	....	additional sound
Steven Utt	....	sound editor
Jérôme Wiciak	....	adr mixer
Jérôme Wiciak	....	foley mixer
Jérôme Wiciak	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Carmelle Beaudoin	....	special effects technician
Kevin Carter	....	special effects contact lenses
Jacques Godbout	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Eric Aubry	....	digital effects artist
Marie-Eve Bedard-Tremblay	....	visual effects coordinator
Benoit Blouin	....	digital effects artist
Francois Croteau	....	digital effects artist
Daniel Gaudreau	....	digital compositor
Jonathan Laborde	....	digital effects artist
Bruno-Olivier Laflamme	....	digital effects artist
Jean-Francois Lafleur	....	digital effects artist
Pierre-Simon Lebrun-Chaput	....	visual effects supervisor
Laurent Spillemaecker	....	digital compositor: Buzzimage
Emily Vaillancourt	....	visual effects
Yanick Wilisky	....	visual effects producer: Buzz Image Group

Stunts
Alain Bérard	....	stunt double
Gaëlle Cohen	....	stunt coordinator
Nathalie Girard	....	stunt double
Stéphane Lefebvre	....	assistant stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Jean-François Dasylva-LaRue	....	lighting technician
Alexandre Léglise	....	focus puller: re-shoot
Geoffroy St-Hilaire	....	steadicam operator: "b" camera
Jean-Francois Tousignant	....	first assistant camera
Jean-Francois Tousignant	....	second assistant camera

Editorial Department
Denis Bedlow	....	assistant editor
Johan Boulanger	....	assistant editor
Ornella Del-Vecchio	....	digital conformation
Frederic Jupin	....	digital conformation
Trevor White	....	colorist: Technicolor Toronto

Transportation Department
Richard Chabot	....	unit driver

Other crew
Kook Ewo	....	title sequence by
Sophie Lebeau	....	assistant accountant
Pierre Selinger	....	production attorney
Joe Sisto	....	legal services
Lucio Tomaro	....	location manager

Thanks
Dario Argento	....	dedicatee
Karim Hussain	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Canal Horizons
• Canal+
• CinéCinéma
• Eskwad
• TCB Film
• Wild Bunch

Distributors

• Cinéart (2009) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• King Record Co. (2009) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Bir Film (2008) (Turkey) (all media)
• Cinema Mondo (2008) (Finland) (all media)
• Cinéart (2009) (Luxembourg) (all media)
• Cinéart (2009) (Netherlands) (all media)
• Kojo Pictures (2009) (Australia) (all media)
• Paradox Entertainment Group (2009) (Canada) (DVD)
• Quality Films (2008) (Mexico) (all media)
• Senator Film (2008) (Germany) (all media)
• Seville Pictures (2009) (Canada) (all media)
• Weinstein Company, The (2008) (USA) (all media)
• Wild Bunch Distribution (2008) (France) (all media)

Special Effects

• Buzz Image Group

Also Known As:

Iskence odasi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Marttyyrit (Finland) [fi]
Martyres (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
Martyrs (Japan: English title) [en]
Martyrs: Skazani na strach (Poland) [pl]
Mucednici (Czech Republic) (festival title) [cs]

MPAA:

Rated R for disturbing/severe aberrant behavior involving strong bloody violence, torture, child abuse and some nudity.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

France | Canada

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

France:-16 (re-rating on appeal) (with warning) | France:-18 (original rating) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Finland:K-18 (self applied) | Germany:18 (SPIO/JK) (uncut) | UK:18 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Australia:R | USA:R (edited version) | Netherlands:16 | USA:Unrated (uncut) | Italy:VM18 | South Korea:18 | New Zealand:R18

Filming Locations:

Québec, Canada

Company:

Canal Horizons

Trivia:

In Pascal Laugier's previous film Saint Ange (2004), the main character is called Anna Jurin. In Martyrs, Anna is one of the female leads' character names, whilst Lucie Jurin is the other.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Viande d'origine française (2009)

Soundtrack:

My Neighbourhood

Brave, brilliant, brutal...

Having missed the opportunity to catch this at the Midnight Madness showing in TIFF08, I decided to go against all stated horror movie rules and watched this today around midday at a complex in downtown Toronto.. It's difficult to know what to say about this movie really; like a birth or a death, you really have to experience it yourself and draw your own conclusions. What I will say is that as a committed horror freak, rare is the occasion when I tense up and watch a film contorted, somehow trying to protect myself from what I'm putting myself through.. It contains enough tough to see horror/gore to satisfy the bloodhounds (though it doesn't feel like another attempt to up the gore ante for the sake of it, thankfully) and then - if you can watch it and many couldn't - transcends the genre totally with a jaw-dropping final act which if you're interested in the human condition and the capacity for seemingly normal people to do incredibly bad things will have you asking questions for some time to come and recognising that when horror and ideas mesh successfully, the result can be breathtaking. Absolutely not enjoyable but there again if you go to see a horror flick at a film festival and you know beforehand that it originally received an X-certificate in France, kicking up an almighty stink in the process - well, you know that an open mind is the least you can bring to bear. With that in mind I would recommend Martyrs as a film of incredible tension, harrowing physical violence and indelible imagery; unsurprisingly, the director name-checked Dario Argento during the Q&A as a major influence in his youth and there is a clear and confident signature in the work which suggests some parallels can be made between the two film-makers. I loved this movie and for those who have already posted comments good, bad or indifferent (and I really can't imagine a neutral response!) I hope like myself you have come away with a genuine sense of having seen something the like of which we are unlikely to see for some time..