Kermode Uncut: How much pain can you take?

This week Kermode blogs about the relentless torturecore nightmare that is Martyrs. Go to www.bbc.co.uk/m.... for regular Kermode Uncut video blogs.

[@myneighbourjohnturturro]

Never before have I beem so profoudly impressed by a film I could never recommend to anyone ever.

[@domclarke92]

you should try and stomach "A Serbian Film" without having to stop watching

[@soundslave]

Treating gratuitous gore and horror films as art is bullshit.

[@dinggledoser]

I'd say he looks more like Special Agent Dale Cooper.

[@MrDeftones122755]

martyrs is the great movie that i will never watch again... i was broken down emotionally and disturbed. I had the hardest time watching this film, its for me the requiem of a dream of explotation films

[@MrDeftones122755]

yeah its pretty rough

[@ethidian3444]

I had a hard time watching Blue is the Warmest Colour. Not because of the sex scenes, hey-o! But because of those food-eating scenes. Eating with their mouths open, closeups, lingering shots and sounds, all in realism... cringes my insides. Stop it. Stop it film.

[@TheLouis3877]

lmao yeah i tried to understand the obsession with pasta in the film. The sex scenes really pushed it for me, I recall it being 20 minutes;)

[@johnmolina3284]

@@TheLouis3877 I read prosthetics were used, and cut in to look like body parts.

[@johnmolina3284]

Huh???

[@johnniejay]

Finally got around to watching this today, and I have to admit that this is one of the most uncompromising, deeply disturbing films I've ever seen.I highly doubt that anyone bar the deranged could consider this entertaining or enjoyable in conventional terms, but I found Martyrs intelligent (the shift in narrative at about the 40 minute mark from revenge thriller to unrelenting horror was little short of genius) and terrifying, with Laugier taunting the viewer to endure every unbearable scene. In this respect, it is the quintessential horror film. With that said, Martyrs breaks so many of the accepted rules of horror film-making that it also manages to enthrall and provoke throughtout the entire gore soaked ordeal. I would find it extremely difficult to argue with anyone who considers Martyrs to be a masterful commentary on the depths of human degradation, and the lengths that some will go to to achieve existential enlightenment. Martyrs forces the viewer to ask themselves two questions - Can the meagre human psyche truly comprehend the possibility of nothingness after death, and are the experiments conducted to achieve such answers (for what they are worth) little more than futile exercises,highlighting the depravity of the human condition?

[@johnmolina3284]

That's just a bunch of BS of the filmmaker's part in an attempt to give it some lofty lift. That said, it achieves what it sets out to do and the protagonist is one of thee most ill-fated characters in world cinema--or at least since "Sgt. Howie" in Robin Hardy's "The Wicker Man."

[@stevethomas74]

I just watched the uncut French version earlier with subtitles. I completely second what Mark says in this video. It's been an hour since I've watched it and I cannot get the sights and sounds of that movie out of my head. So many films are lauded with false hype and hyperbole - not in the case of "Martyrs". At all. And this is coming from someone who is a long time seasoned Horror fan

[@lockandloadlikehell]

Jc you guys get waaaay too affected by fiction you didn't experience

[@TheGeneralDisarray]

@@lockandloadlikehell jc you decided to put that reply on a 6 year old comment and hit confirm. Someone was affected by a piece of fiction they didn't "experience"? Like, what's your definition of experience? What would be the point of fiction, in your world?

[@ClydeNut]

This counts as one of those movies that I'm very glad I saw, proud of myself for sticking through to the end, but I will never watch it again. Got a ton of respect for it but the stuff at the end of this movie makes Audition a cakewalk for me

[@stevethomas74]

ribbit I couldn't agree more. I could literally feel the colour draining out of my face watching that. That is a one and done if there ever was

[@TimeandMonotony]

I actually didn't have as hard a time with Martyrs as I thought I would, possibly because I'd heard so much about how tough it was to sit through, so I was prepared for it, possibly because I'd been, for whatever reason, watching a lot of torture porn and New French Extremity in the months leading up to seeing it, so I was somewhat desensitized to onscreen violence and cruelty at that point. Actually, the one I had a much harder time sitting through (almost shut off a couple times) was another French horror movie from the same time period, Inside. In addition to being the goriest movie I've ever seen, I found that movie way more disturbing and depressing than Martyrs. Both are great horror movies, though.

[@rageagainstmyhairline5574]

I had a genuine existential crisis for 3 days after watching Martyrs. It is the only film I've ever seen that actually affected me for days after. I tried to watch it again but that intangible thing that burrowed into my brain just wasn't there the second time.

[@legacyofjeff4130]

From the comments below, it looks like some people are judging this film when they haven't seen it. There's more to Martyrs than violence, but surely a film which makes us feel the distress and pain of the characters is a far more moral experience than countless action films and horror films in which pain is throwaway or intended to be amusing. Martyrs is an emotional experience and you feel human watching this film: you cannot say that about the American torture porn films. On paper, plenty of horror films are as graphic as Martyrs, so the fact that Martyrs is so much more moving and impactful is a huge compliment. I thought it was terrific, but that's just me.

[@jamiestewart3694]

I love this film, 1 of the few I actually own on disc. The fact pascal laugier was attached to the hellraiser remake and never got to make it is a absolute crime

[@casperado666]

This movie affected me deeply. Actually it was the first film which has affected me for a long time. Maybe like Haute Tension or Battle Royale but in a different way. Martyrs left a deep scar in my memory. A great piece of cinema even though I wouldn't want my loved ones to sit through a movie like this one.

[@anthonybeck21]

Scariest film I've ever seen was the The Hunt with Mads Mikkelson. Pure horror of that plot terrified me for the character and felt pain for him and his family. Where I will give shout outs to gore films in particular are Saldado, Martyrs and A Serbian Film. Also shout out to Irreversible. Genuine sadness and pain felt during those films. I'll give credit where credit is due and Jeepers creepers Halloween Freddy and even Hostile, as a 9 10 year old, seeing them brought me into the horror genre and for that I am grateful for. Don't read that last bit mom 😉

[@andyr0ck]

Yeah, this is hard going. I don't think I've winced so much in a film before. But this assessment is bang on the money; the narrative is *about* something. And when the pay off comes at the end...I was slack-jawed when it finished, and not at the violence. Fantastic stuff.

[@SteveHuffer]

There are fewer scenes of actual graphic torture than, say, the average Hostel, but they are far more deeply affecting in Martyrs. My fists were clenched in impotent anger for the last half-hour, before I actually physically let go with the prot(agonist).

[@nidhavellir]

Agreed on Funny Games. A tedious movie.

[@PlayingLame]

This was an excellent movie, but it was not a torture porn movie. In Hostel et al. you don't give a shit about the characters and are just meant to be grossed out (or if you are a weirdo- turned on) by all the visceral torture that befalls them. However, in Martyrs, you actually care for the two lead characters, and instead of feeling disgusted, you feel sympathy- and that is crucial as to why Martyrs is a great film. I hate torture porn, but I loved Martyrs.

[@sicario1375]

I don't class it as a quintessential horror movie, because the 'horror' element is purely actng as a veil of cliche to firstly fool the audience into thinking that this is indeed a horror movie and secondly to build up the main character until the finale. Unlike most horror films it is much deeper and through provoking.

[@loveallthepeople1000]

sounds like the perfect date movie.

[@onearmkill]

Just seen Martyrs and it's astonishing, transcendent cinema. Simply stunning; a glorious rebuttal to 'torture porn' in all shapes and sizes, and perhaps the most genuinely moving and emotional engaging horror film I've seen.

[@SethHesio]

@weareskaters I just watched Martyrs for the first time... I'm a horror movie fan, I've always been a fan of the dark side and like the "transcendential" nature of horror films as Kermode says here. I can honestly say I was physically and emotionally moved, drained and a little bit scared for my own sanity by the end. It was so relentless, so dark, so real, yet so unusual, but real real real. I felt that old movie tagline "keep reminding yourself it's only a film" towards the end. I nearly

[@gun1987gunn]

Just watched this and instantly went online see what Kermode thought. This is the first horror movie I've ever watched where I almost turned if off 15 minutes before the end. I thought I could handle anything, and I did handle it but only through sheer force of will.

[@hYpYz]

thats why you should see funny games...i think its a really good movie. i agree with most of kermode reviews but not with funny games movie kept me near the screen. they way tension is buit without showing you any violence is great

[@benjaminsullivan4774]

This film took me back to when I first watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre(original).That was the first film to make me feel uncomfortable,Martyrs did the same. I thought it was a well made film,its original and original films are hard to come by these days.

[@SpannersGerm669]

I loved Martyrs! But i cant watch it numerous times, because its just so draining. French Horror is really making inroads and leaving the rest of the world behind. Top review!

[@LearningTigran]

Didn't think it was that good, nor did it affect me in anyway, but then neither did A Serbian Film :/

[@yewgfjkds3583]

Martyrs is my favourite movie to recommend to unsuspecting victi.... erm, viewers.

[@olderloverxx]

Martyrs is very hard to watch. Mesmerising in some parts, some parts you (i hope you do) look away. The first 20 minutes or so, it actually works as a horror movie, disturbing, frightening and gory. Later it becomes almost unbearable - you feel isolated and you feel every punch of a certain torture sequence. Martyrs makes you question violence on and off screen on so many levels you may NEVER want to watch a horror film again. Martyrs is a masterpiece. There, i said it. Masterpiece.

[@crispybits3765]

I think that I have become completely desensitised in my adulthood, because I never actually found the torture scenes that hard to watch. That may have been partly down to the fact that I was expecting something truly extreme and 'out there'. But when you have endured some of the stuff that Toetag Pictures put out, this seems like The Sound of Music in comparison. A terrific film though, with great performances, whatever people think of the violence

[@richie6921]

The trouble is, where do you go after this. There's this film and The Exorcist, and that's it. Everything else seems hollow and insignificant

[@iyedbouazdia3594]

I would also put the shining and the silence of the lambs with them

[@3to1eternal39]

Its an intelligent but very brutal film

[@nicholasdickens2801]

The rougher the ride, the better the feeling of transcendence.

[@jackspinoza]

@checkoutgirl I kind of agree with you about the nonsense of religious experience through pain but I don't think this was the director's beliefs, only the beliefs in the story. There was definitely merit to this film; juxtaposition of real and fantasy horror (which is worse?), the case of victims, problems concerning retribution, bla bla bla. Hostel has very little to chew on in terms of substance, it's just the old Tobe Hooper formula retread with a green filter and more money shots.

[@jackspinoza]

@djmixnmagic to put purpose back into extreme film, to push the envelope, to come to terms with what happened in the brutal captivity/ feral children situations that ave popped up over the past few decades.

[@sinbysin666]

I didn't wanna watch this film. Because in the end, I didn't get anything out of it, other than negativity, which I forced out of my mind soon after.

[@ScurvyDog007]

How strange, I shut the damned thing off at the 43rd minute and am very glad I did. The early violence took me right out of the movie, I wasn't willing to buy into anything I was seeing on screen and it all became a sick joke to me. I had heard about the payoff and the end and simply didn't give shit. I still don't.

[@TheConciseStatement]

I'm sceptical. The last time Kermode called a film 'really tough' was Wolf Creek. I enjoyed that on a similar 'anti-torture porn' level he describes here, but there was certainly nothing unbearable in that film.

[@SharkTheBruce]

Yes this movie does something to say. But it only says it in the last ten minutes. What comes before is just your basic (if somewhat diluted) torture porn. That is not great story telling. This is not a great (horror) movie. This is pure shlock with a tacked on ending to make you think. And it makes me think, what a load of pretentious crap.

[@commiebastard3633]

2021 here, on the whole not a good year for films, but saw Martyrs, and was one of the best films I got round to watching. Thought about that ending a lot.

[@TheHappydead]

What kind of person has to be carried out of the cinema because of a films content, that just blows my mind, i mean how psychologically frail do you have to be for a film to effect you to that degree, walking out in disgust is one thing but 'having a collapse' i just dont understand. Martyrs aint an easy watch, does it legitimise its violence at the end ..im not so sure....... dennis hopper in blue velvet is genious

[@petertyson2]

To put it simply Martyrs is a movie that you either get or you don't. It's not about how graphic the violence is it's about the transcendental use of violence and is an antithesis to the likes of Hostels shallow use of violence and gore just for the sake of it. Think of Martyrs as the caviar to Hostels popcorn. Oh and by the way I actually do like the Hostel films I just accept them for what they are which is nothing special but good fun all the same.

[@ThierryLoa]

I much agree with LurkingCrassZero's comment. Martyrs is vulgar and simplistic. What a waste of talent in the film because the actresses did a great job in their performance.

[@istvanmatis]

although i normally say that you should support your favorite directors and either go see their movies in a theatre or pay for it online, in the case of MARTYRS, i'm glad that you didn't have to pay any money for it.... however, you will still be losing 2 hours of your life watching it.

[@ThierryLoa]

Ichi The Killer passes because it's stylised and so it becomes and looks surreal, while Martyrs just turns to bad taste and cheap tricks, it's like watching someone vomitting: it stinks and disgusts.

[@istvanmatis]

some people LOVE the movie, others completely hate it. sitting through the whole movie is definitely an experience. it took me 4 years to even WANT to watch the movie again, but it was worth it for me. unlike MARTYRS, which is a very immature and pretentious movie with no real guts, IRREVERSIBLE pushes the boundaries to genuinely create an emotional experience akin to experience real trauma WITHOUT the real consequences. some people want to experience that, others don't. it's your call.

[@SethHesio]

very nearly couldn't watch the remainder of it. It has a genuine power and depth that I haven't experienced in a long time. Felt like it was all too much. But that's the point of good horror films, and this film delivered. It promised a lot at the beginning and it delivered mostly on that too. Deeply deeply disturbing.

[@IamSnoogans]

I have walked out of a theater before. Not because the film was hard to watch, but because I just hated every minute I had wasted on it up to that point. The movie was 'Captivity' and about halfway through it I stood up and proclaimed out loud to the 10 other people in theater: "This movie BLOWS! I'm leaving." Coincidentally, everyone else followed in my footsteps over the next few minutes.

[@terratrema]

Martyrs was just the usual tedious wallow in pain, sadism and depravity, distinguished only by this treatment being directed at women only. True, it is about something - or rather, it THINKS it is about something, or it pretends to be about something - but that just adds a layer of self-congratulatory smugness to the whole tiresome proceeding. At least Hostel was just a blood-splattered 'fun' romp for gorehounds. At least Hostel didn't pretend to have religious-metaphysical 'significance'. Tripe

[@blokey8]

I don't want to say it disturbed me, but the maternity ward scene in AvP Requiem left me appalled. Partly its staggering anatomical stupidity, but more the fact that it reserved the nastiest, most lingering deaths for the very definition of "the weak" heavily pregnant women and newborn (and unborn) babies. To top it off, the sheer glee with which the filmakers seemed to go about it- in a bizarre way, that was the point where the film seemed to "come alive"- simply made me angry.

[@ForViewingOnly]

I watched Martyrs a couple of years ago because of this very blog, and I will always associate the film with Mark Kermode's parting words: "... the film is about something... even if it is about the absolute nothingness of everything". An unforgettable movie: depressing, exhausting, disturbing, bleak. The film is brilliant, and yet I would recommend it to nobody. It will suck the joy and beauty from your life like a Dementor from the Harry Potter books.

[@terratrema]

I normally avoid torturecore sh*t. They don't scare or disgust me so much as depress me. I just feel generally depressed, start wondering if my life is so empty I need to be watching people get decimated in order to "feel something." However, this one sounds interesting. I'm gonna give it a shot. Here we go...

[@theKarst]

Interesting points, as always, but... why the Twin Peaks nod? Because it is that, clearly. I don't get it.

[@chanceie12]

aree with Mark and other comments , i had a real hard time watching Martyrs.. *SPOILERS* the women being skinned alive gave me nightmares for weeks!!

[@weareskaters]

Martyrs was insane. The last act is just such a tough ride and it did seem like it was testing you to see if you would stick it out. I found myself wondering why I was watching a film that was that brutal because even though it presented a point it ultimately seemed pointless. I have to admit I watched this because I was searching for more extreme horror and read up on it. I mistakenly scanned over the ending but that certainly didn't take away any of the impact. Now to watch Inside!

[@extromous]

,,yes Martyrs is tough to watch, but to get you through it, just remember it's not real, nobody is actually feeling any pain whatsoever... this is what got me through it...

[@Deppherillion]

Kermode is good for analyzing horror movies, but for the other stuff he's quite off (likes or dislikes a movie for very personal reasons usually)

[@Deppherillion]

well in that last sentence Kermode kindof spoils the whole idea of the movie, but hey at least it shows he understood and appreciated what the movie was about

[@gingerbreadface]

The answer to the title of this video is: a lot. We are braving the inane mutterings of Mark Commode, after all!

[@indianna22]

Why does mark keep his glasses perched on the desk when it's clear he's not reading anything? Are they just a prop??

[@stratocaster1986able]

People may not like Kermode but I have learnt a hell of a lot about cinema through watching his videos.

[@chanceie12]

a serbian film was pathetic , it was just a shock film had no real meaning to it other then to disturb.

[@discocampbell]

Hmm.. I'm on the fence, I saw "Sucide Circle" years ago and that was pretty hardcore... especially the bit when the kids all hold hands and throw themselves in front of a train at the start.

[@shenkaed]

Finished moments ago. It is singularly the most disturbing film I have ever seen. So much so, it makes you never want to watch another film like it again. I will have to process what I just saw over the coming days and weeks. Indeed, it’s an interesting movie. The ending poses interesting philosophical questions. Never will I watch it again. That’s for sure.

[@SethHesio]

I was seriously messed up by that film for a while. It really stays with you doesn't it? (not sure how serious you were about the depression thing!)

[@johnyoung7763]

Love Martyrs But if it didn't have the ending that it had I would have hated it. The ending made this movie. It was such a hard watch though. I will watch it one more time but then that's me done with the movie. Haven't seen the remake even though I have bought it

[@TheObsidianNightfall]

I bet you say that to all the boys (dressed in a black suit, white shirt and black tie)

[@IamSnoogans]

I felt the transcendence, while watching this film. It's one of those films that's so hard to explain that you really do have to just tell people to see it.

[@Dylan20121]

oh yeah because tarintino is also a suit designer!!! HURRR YOU'RE FUCKING SMART!!!!

[@jonnio69]

I tried crying, but not even an emotion as strong as that, could emulate the horror I felt, not to mention I was almost convinced that what these people were doing was right, by the end of the film. I was so exhausted . I'm not sure if I felt relaxed because the main character had " transcended" or that I could stop watching this horribly, well directed, hell ride! ~French horror directors are the worst no?

[@ChrisR395]

@hanshotfirst1138 How can you make that claim unless you've seen the movie?

[@Guedingen]

I only walk out of films when they're shite - last one was his hero's 'Brothers (very) Grimm'.

[@sicario1375]

Although the film is very disturbing and scary throughout, I would class it as a horror movie after seeing it. I would actually go as far as saying that this is probably the best religeous/philosophical movie since the Passion of the Christ, such is the power that the film conveys. After watching it, I was very disturbed, however towards the end, the audience is left wondering not about the torture and violence, but rather the subject of trancendance. The audience evolves with the main character and 'lets go'.

[@jayrockwell33]

"absolute nothingness" is right - you've summed the 'film' up nicely there Mark, well done.

[@Gotty1TheVerVe]

It's one classic movie...yes it takes a lot from you to watch it...but wow...great film making!!!

[@DesROWUnited]

I remember the first (and only) time I've seen martyrs with a pal (much older than me) at a Lan Center in daylight, strill.... that doesn't help at ball , I got haunted by this movie for a few days. I aske him and she says he could't even sleep at all that night.

[@nicholasdickens2801]

It's simply a shocking film. It deals with things most of us like to ignore, or pretend don't exist. It's very strong.

[@angiechan4804]

Ive never watched this film should I watch it?.... From what im seeing no but I might watch it

[@paulcrawford5437]

Torture Porn? Does Highlander 2 count?

[@hightechterror2859]

Watching in small snippets it took me about 2 weeks to watch martyrs all the way through, a truly harrowing film that I doubt I'll ever forget, however I would recommend it

[@DocSportello838]

I liked the first half of this movie a lot, you know, the one with the character that actually has an arc. It reminded me of some themes found in the silent hill games. The second half though... Was just so boring! They dispatched any sense of momentum the film was having and instead they give us nothing... No story, no plot going forward (until the very very end) just extra 30 min or so of the most boring torture scenes, really, the bald guy from the transporter series beating the shit out of her, cutting her hair, and feeding her with vegetables cream is the best they could come up with in regards to torture? Also unrealistic motivations, why they didnt leave the house! They spent like 3 days in that house before the bad guys show up, why would they wanna bury the corpses, it doesnt make any sense. And when she is trapped, oh so now she wants to escape? She even took the time to call her mother (wtf? There is no police in this movie?) I guess my problem is that the filmakers give us little to no reason to like the second girl (Anna), to me the protagonist was Lucie. Anyway, altough it is a great cult classic in regards to horror movies, european films that try to be meaningful and literal when it suits them and metaphorical when not are not my cup of tea

[@Professicchio]

Looks like the hard-core version of "Irreversible" by the sound it.

[@ChrisR395]

@hanshotfirst1138 Oh, well thats fair enough then.

[@Onmysheet]

Eden Lake did for me, maybe because i seen that first.

[@46metube]

by far, the greatest psychological horror movie ever made. that's it really.

[@hardrinker1989]

ive had the film for months and im ashamed to say this but i cant bring myself to watch it is it really as hard to watch they say ?

[@Dylan20121]

and you seem to think Tarantino is a suit designer

[@louiscfc93]

Martyrs almost literally dragged me into depression.

[@fredfat1606]

this film demonstrates how good the horror genre can be

[@SethHesio]

@soundslave Have you seen Martyrs?

[@JarodRebuck]

Well spoken and sincere

[@SethHesio]

@Professicchio Not at all.

[@Roseh77]

I shat brix.

[@istvanmatis]

i agree with kermode on just about everything, but i thought MARTYRS was a stupid and boring movie. it doe have extreme violence, but by the time you reach the end of it, it all seems incredibly shallow and vapid, not to mention pointless. the film is basically like listening to a french philosopher reviewing early CARCASS albums for their lyrical content. whereas movies like SALO or IRRERVERSIBLE create genuine guttural human reactions, MARTYRS just seems superficial and forced.

[@checkoutgirl]

@ztls6i What really annoyed me was the rubbish about being able to see god or heaven through the device of extreme pain. What a load of nonsense. The film seemed to take itself extremely seriously (especially towards the end) without merit and that is the greatest sin of all for me. I don't know how the director expects people to take this film seriously. At least Hostel didn't seem to be so firmly stuck up it's own arse.

[@jimwantsaliens3008]

The US remake is straight to DVD this week. I want to know Mark's thoughts.

[@andyr0ck]

Ugh, you're kidding me? They remade it..?

[@exodus9320]

Martyrs wasn't a hard watch at all for me,I was a tad annoyed we weren't made to watch the flaying if I'm being honest.

[@ep1phany62]

No interest in torture porn whatsoever! I have no interest in a films that are made for the soul reason of 'who can dream up the sickest way to kill someone'. I feel like they are a step backwards for society. I don't really believe in censorship, I just hope that one day the popularity wears off.

[@terratrema]

I stayed to the end of Prometheus, but it was because I kept thinking "Can this film become even more insulting to its audience? Let's see!" And oh boy, yes it did. By the bitter end, I felt like I had sat in a room with Malcolm Tucker yelling the most incredibly painful insults at me for 24 hours. Ridley Scott feels nothing but contempt for his audience. This has been apparent for about 10 years now. Yet Kermode admired Prometheus? I lost a great deal of faith after that.

[@MotherMuzz]

the movie is not thaatt bad.. like dude I honestly think ur making it worse than it sounds