Martyrs (2015) (Blu-ray Review)
Directed By: Kevin Goetz and Michael Goetz
Starring: Troian Bellisario, Bailey Noble, Kate Burton
Rated: UR/Region A/1:85/1080p/Number of Discs 1
Available from Starz / Anchor Bay
In ‘Martyrs’ 10-year-old Lucie flees from the isolated warehouse where she has been held prisoner. Deeply traumatized, she is plagued by awful night terrors at the orphanage that takes her in. Her only comfort comes from Anna, a girl her own age. Nearly a decade later and still haunted by demons, Lucie finally tracks down the family that tortured her. As she and Anna move closer to the agonizing truth, they find themselves trapped in a nightmare – if they cannot escape, a martyr’s fate awaits them…
In some alternate universe where the original Martyrs doesn’t exists, the 2015 (coming to us now in 2016) remake of Martyrs might be seen as an OKAY movie at best. Sadly, that isn’t the case and the film just comes across as basically what it is, a bad attempt to update and polish something that didn’t need to be updated or polished. Kicking off with a bit more of a back story than the original, things go by as almost a shot for shot remake, just mixing enough up here and there to annoy you if you’ve seen the original film before. Even with a few changes the movie almost remains watchable up until just before the third act, when someone apparently got the bright idea that then would be a good time to just spell everything out for the viewer. One of the things that made the orignal great was the mystery and questions one could have after seeing it. While you could call this one slightly less violent overall than the original, that isn’t what really bugs me about it. What bugs me is the people behind this one’s apparent need to make sure you know just what is going on and even get a bit of a history lesson regarding the why’s and what’s of the plot, because the bad guys just gotta do the old school explanation of their evil deeds. If anyone who has seen the original is wanting to know if the ending was changed this time around, well the answer is yes, it does get changed up a bit. It even adds a little more action and suspense to the mix before we get there. The thing is, it ultimately seems to miss the point of the original in the process as well.
Not totally discrediting all that went into this thing, I do want to point out that both our leads, Bailey Noble and Troian Bellisario, give very good performances that are ultimately lost in muck of what this movie has to offer up. If this had just been a straight-up remake of the original without anyone trying to get too cute with it, then we’d probably have people still be complaining due to the usual remake stuff, but I think the work they put into trying to make chicken salad out of “you know what” would have probably been a lot more appreciated than I’m sure it will be now. Other than them, the movie has some OKAY shots and transition sequences, but still, unlike a character in the movie, it can’t seem to find a way to get out of all the dirt being throw on top of it. Look, I’m not soo upset that they remade Martyrs that I can’t see the forest for the trees, there is no forest to be found here. I’m creeping in on my middle 30’s and I know things are going to be remade, rebooted, and “reimagined” (whatever that is supposed to mean). I could deal with them remaking a great movie like Martyrs. I just can’t accept them offering up a shell of that film that hasn’t got any sign of a soul of its own to it. If you love the original, I’m almost positive that you will hate this.
Extras
– First Look Feature
Quality of Transfer: 91%
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Martyrs
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