Source
r/horror•
Basatta

So let's talk about Martyrs (2008)

Recommend

My partner and I have just finished the New French Extremity "masterpiece" known as Martyrs. Often hyped and touted as one of the most violent, disturbing and gory films of all time, Martyrs is probably one of Dreadit's favorite works.

I didn't like it. I thought it was boring, gutless, tame, poorly edited, poorly written and... just dull. I thought the religious trappings were cute but sort of shoehorned into a torture porn story that also wasn't disturbing in any way. Raw was better, scarier and more disturbing, and Raw wouldn't scare a child.

I'd love to hear the recommendations of the true horror nerds around these parts. What's truly fucked up? I know, I know Salo, A Serbian Film, the August Underground franchise, and the first, second, and fourth Guinea Pig movies. I'm looking for something I may not have heard of. Something actually good.

I'm looking for stuff you thought was great, but hated every second of. Movies that are torturous to watch but too good to stop. For instance, I loved and hated The Devils, as I loved and hated The Beyond and The Loved Ones. Movies that are at least decently shot, well-composed, well-written and beyond fucked up. What movies, O Dreadit, disturb you most fully? What could you not watch a second time?

Posted Jul 21, 2017, 5:14 AM UTC

033
THREAD_SHITTER•

Industry standard "EVERYBODY SAID THIS WAS A MAD FILM AND I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS A MAD FILM AND NEITHER DID MY GIRLFRIEND/BOYFRIEND BECAUSE WE'D READ IT WAS A MAD FILM AND WE GOT OUR HOPES UP THAT THIS WAS A MAD FILM AND THEN WE WATCHED IT AND IT DIDN'T MATCH UP TO THE MAD FILM WE'D BUILT IT UP TO BE IN OUR HEADS" post.

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BasattaOP•

It was more about the hype all yall had it built up with, but yes, this is what I'm saying thank you

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WestCoastHopHead•

Different strokes for different folks, man. I thought it was horrifying, repulsive, thoughtful, deep, beautiful, and disgusting, and I loved it!

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HungryColquhounWhere the fuck is Choi?•

How is Raw possibly more scary than Martyrs? The creepy dead woman monster her friend hallucinates all the time is way scarier than anything you would see in Raw.

Which is more disturbing I would say is subjective, however which is more scary would objectively be Martyrs. Also, I'm pretty sure Raw would scare a child - stop saying nonsense things.

I've not watched it, but people always talk about Men Behind the Sun being super edgy and disturbing. If that's all you're interested in, it's probably a worthy pick.

5
BasattaOP•

Men Behind The Sun definitely got me and I had totally forgotten to mention it here. It's fucked up.

As far as the Raw bit I just meant... It was a lot better. The fucked up dead lady was just so, like, normal? It all just felt kinda like a James Wan movie, but French.

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HungryColquhounWhere the fuck is Choi?•

People usually don't get flayed in James Wan movies. It sounds like you went into Martyrs purely to see something of shock value, which probably isn't the best way to approach a film - even one notoriously shocking.

Personally I thought Martyrs was much better than Raw, Raw I found both the coming of age parts and struggling with cannibalism parts of Raw fairly derivative (cannibalism being done similarly and better in Ravenous IMO, and coming of age being done better by bunches of non-horror films) - whereas loftier themes such as the theological ones present in Martyrs are often something you don't see in a horror movie, or any movie, very often. Each to their own, I guess.

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BasattaOP•

Well no, what I was actually looking for was a marriage of shocking, appalling violence and as you say loftier themes. It seemed to really fall short on both. I didn't really care for Raw so much, but I thought it was technically superior.

The theological themes seemed like a handwave to me. It all felt so shoehorned together and sloppily done, there wasn't much of a gripping atmosphere, characters, or symbolism to be seen. The hype made it seem like it was this masterful piece of grisly artwork but all I saw was, like I said, more-or-less a James Wan tier schlock horror.

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WannabeAmputeeViolence is conquering the world. •

Any time someone is looking for something truly disturbing and horrific, I'm going to recommend Earthlings because it's real footage, and you're dead inside if it doesn't bother you.

There are plenty of horrific torture porns out there but not everyone is going to be disturbed by the same things.

When it comes to real life however, either you're disturbed by it or you're desensitized. In which case I seriously suggest seeking help.

Earthlings is a documentary on the treatment of animals in the food industry and around the world. There are countless heart breaking and gut churning scenes of animals being abused and mistreated and it doesn't matter if you're a vegan or a carnivore, it's probably going to stick with you for a long time (on that note, don't say I didn't warn you if you do decide to go for it).

I know it's not a horror and I know it's like saying "you didn't like icecream with sprinkles? How about I pour some liquid nitrogen down your throat, you should like that" - but it's hard to give an appropriate recommendation when you didn't like one of the most renowned torture porns.

Anyway for the sake of your question:

The Girl Next Door (2007)
The Eyes Of My Mother
À l'intérieur (Inside)
Irreversible
Antichrist

Non-horrors that are emotionally disturbing

Karla
Bellflower
Mysterious Skin
Monster

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BasattaOP•

Antichrist and Inside are more what I was looking for. Is The Eyes of My Mother good? I know I've heard of it but can't recall it. I appreciate the Earthlings recommendation (I've heard it will ruin your life) but I'm going to pass because I'm actually kind of a wuss.

0
WannabeAmputeeViolence is conquering the world. •

The Eyes Of My Mother is kind of polarizing. Some people love it some people don't.

It's slow, very atmosphere intense, it doesn't jump out at you. It strongly relies on immersing you and disturbing you so, like most films that do this, it can get very different reactions depending on the mood you watch it in.

Personally, it's one of my favorites. I only watched it about a month or so ago, but it immediately went in to my top 10 list because of how moved I was. I obviously can't guarantee the same will happen for you, but I do still highly recommend it.

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BasattaOP•

This sounds like it's more my speed. Martyrs didn't do anything for me because it spent no time at all creating or sustaining an atmosphere.

0
shifoo0521•

I like the Eyes of my Mother, but I wouldn't call it scary in any way, shape, or form. This movie isn't trying to scare you, so if you're looking for that aesthetic, move on. This is more a psychological exercise in creating a disturbing atmosphere. Some may say that's splitting hairs, but I do find there's a definite distinction between this type of film and more traditional horror.

2
GoodbyeGemini•

I didn't find Raw or Serbian Film scary at all. Occasionally tense and gross, sure, but not scary. Both are a bit too tongue in cheek to be truly disturbing for me. Martyrs on the other hand scared the piss out of me. Talk about a bleak, deadly serious, mindfuck of a film. Like others said, different strokes.

3
madandmacabre•

Everyone's always going to be disturbed by different stuff. With that being said, you're probably not going to find "truly fucked up" horrors that also have the good production value that you're looking for. I've been seeking out and watching these movies for almost a decade and I've seen most that I can legally find. The most fucked up stuff is the stuff you've likely already heard of. As such, I would never write off Salo as that's a film I have no desire to watch again. Always disturbing especially within its historical context, hard to top. Raw, imo, cannot be compared to stuff like Salo and Martyrs.

I have no idea what you like. Maybe stuff like Irreversible, I Stand Alone, Calvaire, Baise Moi. All depressing and intense but if you didn't like Martyrs then these might not work. Threads was fucked and I don't want to watch it again. I don't want to watch Philosophy of a Knife again.

There have been some recent releases with higher production value that stand out to me. Atroz. American Guinea Pig Bloodshock. The House with 100 Eyes. Faces of Snuff. I didn't like Found or Headless but others did. Flowers. Check out Unearthed Film's list of releases. These are all the torture/gore films but they do the job.

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NewDriverStewsᴘʟᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ•

Maybe extreme horror just isn't for you? The ones you listed as "not actually good" are pretty much pillars of the genre and the ones you listed as liking are pretty tame standard horror fare...

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madandmacabre•

This is probably the best comment. There's a reason those 5 are the most well known extreme movies. No sense comparing relatively tame rated R stuff like Raw with them.

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BasattaOP•

I was listing the pretty standard and tame things to illustrate just how not disturbing Martyrs was to me. I just couldn't suspend disbelief enough to buy in and so nothing was convincing or real feeling. I guess it does read like I was dismissing Salo but I meant more like "I know, it's fucked up, I saw it as a kid and I'm looking for something new."

0
madandmacabre•

That's ok. It's just the films you mentioned are like, THE extreme films. You're hard pressed to find anything significantly worse.

Edit- you saw Salo as a kid? Maybe watch it again with adult eyes. There's a reason so many people say it's their most disturbing ever.

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BasattaOP•

I went through an extreme horror thing as a young teen and I guess I watched all the classics. I was hoping I'd missed some gem out there. Coming back to the genre now it all seems so, like, not extreme.

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Shreddy_OrpheusYou are all a bunch of god damn sheep•

i agree with your views on Martyrs. such a let down.... i watched it back when it released and didnt think anyone would like it honestly because of how bad it was and then i joined this sub and it seems EVERYONE loves it and i just cant force myself to. nothing going for it... like you said its pretty bland and tame and the acting/writing is fucking atrocious. everyone will like what they like though

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