Martyrs Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Martyrs Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 29, 2009

French director Pascal Laugier's utterly disturbing "Martyrs" (2008) is very unlikely to get a North American Blu-ray treatment. British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment, however, have put together a strong package that will undoubtedly please English-speaking horror fans residing in Region-B territories. Please be advised that the film contains disturbing footage that is not appropriate for minors!

Martyrs isn't for the meek.

A severely traumatized girl, Lucie (Mylène Jampanoï), who has been missing for well over a year, is discovered by the French police. She is in stable condition but unwilling to talk about her captors. The few bits of information the police are able to get from her reveal that she has been tortured at an unknown location. Eventually, they discover where Lucie was held captive – in an abandoned industrial building with a sophisticated torture chamber – but the case is dropped.

Fifteen years later. Lucie rings the doorbell of a lavish suburban house. A man appears and Lucie immediately blows him apart with her rifle. Then, she proceeds to kill the man’s wife, daughter and son. Lucie’s best friend, Anna (Morjana Alaoui), appears. She attempts to clean up the mess, but something very unusual happens.

Director Laugier gathered plenty of attention with Martyrs. Because the film was initially slammed with the French equivalent of our NC-17, and then, after a much publicized support from a number of top French critics and film directors, rerated, it de facto earned more publicity than its creators had hoped for. To be honest with you, I also doubt Martyrs would have gotten the type of studio support it did outside of France, had there not been so much controversy surrounding its theatrical release.

On the other hand, Martyrs is unlike anything I have ever seen, so I certainly understand why so many critics and fans feel strongly about it. This is a brutal, cold and disturbingly serious genre film; one that scares you primarily with its intelligence, not its graphic visuals.

There are three key shifts in Martyrs that completely transform one’s initial perception of the film. The first one occurs rather early, when we see Lucie killing the suburban family. Pay close attention to the little details here; a lot is hidden in them.

The second shift occurs after the torture chamber is revealed. This is where director Laugier welcomes you into a world you cannot even begin to imagine, not even in your most intense nightmares. There is nothing kitschy about what you are going to see, so be prepared.

The third and final shift occurs approximately twenty minutes before Martyrs ends. Director Laugier introduces some interesting philosophical overtones that infuse a completely different flavor into the story. This is where Martyrs transcends beyond the conventional boundaries of the horror genre - there is something incredibly disturbing in the manner in which all of the torture that you would see is justified.

Many years ago, I attended a screening of Peter Hyams’ Outland (1981), a film about an ambitious police martial who confronts a group of drug smugglers on Io, Jupiter’s innermost moon. Halfway through the film, one of the drug smugglers is detained. He is given a special suit with a hose attached to an oxygen tank and thrown into a vacuum chamber. Later on, someone unplugs the hose and the man in the suit explodes. Hayms’ camera gets close enough to show us what's left of him and then zooms away. For years, I could not get this scene out of my head.

Martyrs is a film that will probably have a similar effect on me. There is something indescribably visceral about it that makes it look shockingly real. I’ve seen most of the new wave horror films that have recently come out of France - including Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s highly regarded À l'intérieur- but they all had that compromising campy vibe; Martyrs does not. This film is very, very serious about what it shows.

Martyrs Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Pascal Laugier's Martyrs arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.

I liked this high-definition transfer a lot. From what I could tell, it is an exact replica of the one used by Wild Side Video for the French release of Martyrs. Contrast is strong, detail pleasing and edge-enhancement not an issue of concern. Given the delicate lighting during a number of key scenes, as well as the hand-held camera movement, occasionally, the transfer reveals a softer look (this is, however, how Martyrs was filmed). Furthermore, I did not detect any severe examples of noise reduction. For the most part, Martyrs looks very convincing and certainly better than the DVD the Weinstein Company currently has in circulation in North America. Finally, the high-definition transfer looks notably healthy – there are absolutely no scratches, debris, or flecks to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Martyrs Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French Dolby Digital 5.1. I opted for the French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and later on did a few random comparisons with the Drench Dolby Digital 5.1 track for the purpose of this review.

Even though there isn't a whole lot of activity in the rear channels, the French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is clearly superior to the French Dolby Digital 5.1 track. There is substantially more depth and clarity on it than there is on the French Dolby Digital 5.1 track. The gunshots for example are incredibly punchy and crisp. Furthermore, the dialog is crystal clear and very easy to follow. The haunting soundtrack by Alex Cortés and Willie Cortés is also well balanced with the dialog. I also did not detect any disturbing dropouts, pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature

Martyrs Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Please note that the following supplemental features are in standard-def PAL. Therefore, you need to have a Blu-ray player that converts PAL-NTSC, or a multi-system TV set, in order to access them.

The Making Of -This is a very long and incredibly informative featurette that goes deep behind the scenes of Pascal Laugier's film. The French director explains how key scenes from the film were shot, what type of obstacles the tech team had to deal with etc. Furthermore, there is an abundance of raw footage that shows the two actors in action. Highly recommended. (With imposed English subtitles) (86 min).

Pascal Laugier Interview -The French director answer questions about the film, its production history and message. The interview was produced for Filmsactu.com (With imposed English subtitles) (20 min).

Benoit Lestang Interview - Make-Up Effects Supervisor Benoit Lestang talks about what it takes to produce a realistic horror film and what it meant to him to work with Pascal Laugier on Martyrs. The interview was produced for Filmsactu.com (With imposed English subtitles) (14 min).

Martyrs Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Simply put, Pascal Laugier's Martyrs is unlike anything I have ever seen. If you decide to see it, I strongly recommend that you read as much as possible about it, so you know exactly what you are getting into. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed looks and sounds great. If you could play Region-B discs, go for it, you won't be disappointed. Highly Recommended.