Martyrs

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Martyrs

R

2008

1h 39m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

66%

Tomatometer

41 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

A young woman's quest for revenge leads her down a path of depravity.

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Critics Consensus

A real polarising movie, this Gallic torture-porn is graphic, brutal, nasty and gruesome and not to everyone's taste.

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Scott Tobias

AV Club

Martyrs is something of a horror milestone-a dire one to some, but a movie to be reckoned with all the same.

Oct 19, 2018

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Simon Abrams

Slant Magazine

Martyrs has an intelligence and a dogged determination to do and to say what its predecessors could or would not.

Oct 19, 2018

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

it turns out to be concerned precisely with the nature and reception of extremity, posing uncomfortable questions about what it is that one really seeks in choosing to 'witness' scenes of horrific human abjection.

Dec 1, 2010

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Joel Harley

Starburst

Written in a deep depression (and one can tell!), Martyrs is a work of bleak and unrelenting nihilism.

Rated: 5/5

Oct 28, 2025

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Alan Jones

Radio Times

Yet as unpredictably nasty as it gets, there is a stark controversial point to the strangely beautiful excess as well as an astonishingly profound conclusion.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 15, 2025

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Akos Peterbencze

The Screen

In the dedicated execution of its vision — prepared to go beyond every boundary that there is — Martyrs is an unlikely masterpiece of horror if one that's extremely difficult to praise sincerely.

Sep 10, 2023

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Craig H

Dark, bleak, grim, shocking at times and pretty sad but definitely not as brutal and as shocking as ive read alot of people say. The gore was barely there, it was more the human suffering and the aftermath and consequence of it that was the shocking stuff. The whole last 20 minutes just didnt hit for me though, the whole after life, secret society stuff, meh. It tried to be deep with the reason these people where tortured but I found it abit farfetched. Outside of that a well made, well acted, gruelling, depressing film that was very similar to Hostel

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/28/25

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John W

I wasn't sure if I should watch it, but I'm glad I did because the film is surprisingly good. There's also a lot of plot and not just senseless violence. The first half of the film was surprisingly scary with a lot of blood in the style of the Evil Dead remake. The second half became more of a torture film in the style of Hostel, but even that happens for a reason which I thought was really good thematically.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/13/25

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Russell W

Martyrs is a one of a kind experience. Is it horror, or a philosophical study of humanity’s search for transcendence through pain? Maybe both. The “villains” aren’t cartoonish or out to kill because they’re crazy. They’re seekers, chasing answers that only suffering can reveal. This movie takes you down one road, then crashes into you and flips you onto a completely different road. Gruesome, yes. But beneath the brutality, there’s purpose. It’s not gore for shock sake. It’s meaning carved from agony. A bloody Nietzsche, maybe. Yes.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/07/25

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Alejandra C

I really really loved the concept. The ending, i was hoping for a bit more but i was satisfied with it. Watch

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/06/25

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Shaun R

You won’t forget this film once you watch it. One of my favourite films, and goes against everything Hollywood stands for. This isn’t for everyone however. The average person will not get to the end.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/24/25

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Jesus R.

This movie is a masterpiece! Filled with emotion and heartbreak…..

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/30/25

Full Review

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Pascal Laugier

Director

Morjana Alaoui

Anna

Mylène Jampanoï

Lucie

Catherine Bégin

Mademoiselle

Robert Toupin

Le père

Patricia Tulasne

La mère

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Synopsis

A young woman's quest for revenge leads her down a path of depravity.

Director: Pascal Laugier
Producer: Richard Grandpierre, Simon Trottier
Screenwriter: Pascal Laugier
Rating: R (Disturbing Aberrant Behavior|Child Abuse|Torture|Severe Aberrant Behavior|Some Nudity|Strong Bloody Violence)
Genre: Horror
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Runtime: 1h 39m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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