Martyrs (2008)

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“How far would you go for revenge….and is it worth it?”

In the early 2000’s when torture, gore and rape revenge movies were growing in popularity, a new wave of horror decided to throw itself in the mix.  It would eventually come to be known and the “French wave of horror.”  Several have been released, and the one that seems to stand out the most is 2008’s controversial and violent shocker Martyrs.  Written and directed by Pascal Laugier (The Tall Man, House of Voices) it has been found on many lists of the most disturbing films ever made.  Extremely violent and depraved, it has been known for many walkouts and some reported faintings at select screenings.

THE PLOT

The film opens with a badly beaten young girl hysterically crying and running from some sort of hell from which she has escaped.  She is later admitted into a youth home for the abused, where she refuses to discuss her traumatizing experience with any of the doctors and appears to only open up to one particular friend.

Fifteen years later, Lucie (Mylene Jampanoi), constantly reliving the nightmare, decides she just can’t take it anymore.  Eventually locating the house from which she escaped, she confronts the family and takes the law into her own hands.  Ultimately she hopes that this will finally rid her of the sort of “creature” that has haunted and attacked her for years.  Sure that she has done the “right thing”, she calls her only friend Anna (Morjana Alaoui) to come and help her.  As she awaits Anna’s arrival, the “creature” attacks her again.  Running outside to escape, she runs into Anna, who consoles her and goes inside to inspect what Lucie has done to the family. When Lucie falls asleep upstairs, Anna starts to try and clean up the mess and the evidence.  As things go from bad to worse, Anna stumbles upon a hidden area beneath the house.  It turns out that there was a motive to Lucie’s childhood trauma.  Now that the terrible secret is revealed, Anna’s nightmarish hell begins!

SHOULD YOU SEE IT?

This really is an excellent piece of cinema.  It’s incredibly acted and really hits the viewer on an emotional level.  It will probably go down as a somewhat cult classic, due to its content and strong following.  I must warn you, though.  It’s very violent and at times really tough to watch.  The French sure can deliver some horror on an extreme level, and they do it well with this one.  Great movie!


Not rated yet!

Martyrs

They did not finish to be alive...

20081 h 39 min
Metadata
Certification NR
Director Pascal Laugier
Producer Richard Grandpierre
Runtime 1 h 39 min
Release Date 19 August 2008
Trailer

Hostel

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“How far will someone go to fulfill their twisted fetish….and at what cost?”

At the turn of the century, a new wave of horror reared its ugly head.  Filmmakers would push the boundaries and try to find new and creative ways to shock and disgust audiences. Some call it gore, or splatter.  Eventually it would come to be known as “torture porn”.  When this term is brought up, one film definitely comes to mind…none other than 2005’s shocking torture film, Hostel.  Brought to us by infamous writer and director, Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, The Green Inferno), it is considered by some to be one of the most shocking and disturbing films to sit through.

THE PLOT

Two American backpackers Paxton (Jay Hernandez) and Josh (Derek Richardson), along with their new Icelandic friend Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson) looking to fulfill their sinful desires are making their way through Europe living it up with no hesitation to try anything “fun”.  While in Amsterdam, they meet a stranger who informs them that if they really want to fulfill their sexual desires then they need to head to the Slovak city of Bratislava.  Here is where the women LOVE American men, and are willing to do anything they wish.  Sounding too good to be true, the three young men board the next train to Slovakia in hopes of “scoring” big!  After checking into a local Hostel, they soon meet up with two beautiful local women, who encourage them to spend the day and night with them.  It seems like their dreams have come true and nothing could possibly go wrong….big mistake!

The next morning, Paxton and Josh awaken with little memory of what happened the night before, and can’t seem to find or contact Oli anywhere.  Thinking that he will show up eventually, the two decide to keep living it up and spend another night partying with the two lovely, but suspicious, ladies.  After succumbing to heavy intoxication, the guys become separated with Paxton passed out in a disco storage room.  Josh, on the other hand, awakens handcuffed to a chair in the middle of some sort of dungeon like room surrounded by countless torture-like instruments.  Little does he know the hell that awaits him!  With time running out and no clues to the disappearance of his two friends, Paxton quickly discovers that the two ladies had a motive all along, and are hiding a dark and deadly secret that seems impossible for anyone to survive!  Now Paxton must place himself into a nightmare that he could never have imagined in order to try to save his friends….and himself!

SHOULD YOU SEE IT?

I’ll never forget going to see this film when it opened in theaters.  It was a huge “word of mouth” film, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  My wife and I thought it was great, but my friend and his wife didn’t like it at all.  It seems that this film is just that kind of movie.  You’ll either love it, or hate it.  What makes it so effective is most of the violence is off screen, so the horror is mostly left up to your own imagination.  Don’t get me wrong, it definitely has a fair share of shocking and violent scenes.  It’s not something I would recommend to the easily offended or squeamish, but if you have a tough stomach and love these types of film, it can’t be missed.  It’s not just a shock and gore flick.  The acting and story are well done, and Eli Roth does a great job at slow burning the tension with a great payoff!


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Hostel

Welcome To Your Worst Nightmare

20051 h 34 min
Metadata
Certification R
Director Eli Roth
Producer Chris Briggs, Mike Fleiss, Eli Roth
Runtime 1 h 34 min
Release Date 6 January 2005
Images
Trailer

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

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“The sound of a chainsaw can be spine tingling….the power of a chainsaw can be spine splitting!”

A simple drive through a rural area of Texas leads to a horrific nightmare for all those involved in the iconic horror classic, 1974’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.   Written and directed by Tobe Hooper (Eaten Alive, Poltergeist) and co-written by Kim Henkel, the film is considered by many to be the “pioneer” of what has become known as the “slasher” genre of horror.  Not only is the film terrifying, but it is widely known to be one of the toughest movies to be filmed.  Shot with a low budget and filmed in the relentless heat of the Texas summer, the actors had to endure grueling conditions during the six week filming period.  Being a Texas native myself, I can totally empathize with the cast on that one!

THE PLOT

The story follows young Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) and her wheelchair-bound brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain) as they travel to a recently vandalized rural cemetery where their grandfather is buried, out of concern that his gravesite has been vandalized as well.  Accompanied by Sally’s boyfriend Jerry (Allen Danziger), her best friend Pam (Teri McMinn), and Pam’s boyfriend Kirk (William Vail), the group has no idea of the horror that’s in store for them.  After discovering that the grave is untouched, the group decides that since they’re in the area, they’ll check out Sally and Franklin’s old family home, which is now abandoned.

Along the way, they notice a strange looking man trying to thumb a ride.  Although reluctant, they decide to pick him up out of sympathy due to the terrible heat outside.  What follows is a very strange and chaotic scene that ends with the group quickly giving him the boot.  As they stop for gas and food a little way down the road, they discover that the weird hitchhiker (Edwin Neal) has somewhat “marked” the van.  While they have stopped, they meet the shop owner (Jim Siedow) and are warned that they shouldn’t be messing around that area, being that they are strangers in a not so friendly place.  When they finally arrive at the old home, little do they know that in a nearby farmhouse lies a dark and evil secret guarded by the deranged chainsaw wielding maniac, Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen)!  An innocent drive soon turns into a rollercoaster of tension and terror, with fear and a fight for survival being taken to a whole new level.

SHOULD YOU SEE IT?

Loosely based on the real life story of Ed Gein, the notorious Wisconsin murderer, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a classic and pretty terrifying movie.  Relying on gritty camerawork, shocking imagery, very believable acting from the cast, and almost no gore, it still stands today as one of the most iconic horror movies of all time.  Labeled as the 2nd scariest film ever made (The Exorcist – 1st) by Entertainment Weekly, it really tests the viewing audience’s nerves and fear tolerance.  Being a Texan myself, and one who was definitely affected by the film, I’ll always feel a little uneasy by the sound of a chainsaw firing up!


Not rated yet!

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Who will survive and what will be left of them?

19741 h 23 min
Metadata
Certification R
Director Tobe Hooper
Producer Tobe Hooper
Runtime 1 h 23 min
Release Date 1 October 1974
Images
Actors
Starring: Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain, William Vail, Teri McMinn, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, Gunnar Hansen, Marilyn Burns, John Dugan, Robert Courtin, William Creamer, John Henry Faulk, Jerry Green, Ed Guinn, Joe Bill Hogan, Perry Lorenz, John Larroquette
Trailer