‘As if they had violated my mother’: the remake of one of the most radical horror films of all time was a catastrophic failure

Hollywood likes to copy foreign hits. In some cases the results are quite respectable films that approach the quality of the original, as in the case of “The Birdcage – A Paradise for Shrill Birds”, the remake of the queer classic “A Cage Full of Fools”, but all too often the copy cannot match the original. However, sometimes the remakes are so bad that they threaten to tarnish the reputation of the original.

A particularly egregious case is the American new production of the French torture porn classic ‘Martyrs’ – one of the most violent and radical representatives of its genre. Pascal Laugier’s deeply disturbing cinematic experience may not be to everyone’s taste and the work can certainly be accused of misogynistic tendencies, but the torture drama is still a merciless tour de force that challenges its audience and will leave no one indifferent. “Martyrs” is rightly on the FILMSTARTS list of the most disturbing films of all time:

When the 2008 original made the rounds at established festivals like Cannes and Sitges, provoking rejection, fainting, and even vomiting from some audiences, infamous American film production company The Weinstein Company quickly acquired North American distribution rights to the coveted film. film discussed in the trade press Film. However, producer Bob Weinstein was so disgusted with the work that he decided not to release it.

One of the worst remakes of all time

Since the American market would not be able to ‘enjoy’ the brutal horror film for the time being, the opportunity arose to make a remake of this film, which quickly achieved cult status. After a few problems with the director and the allocated budget for the project, in 2015 the time finally came: a remake saw the light of day – released by the production company Blumhouse and The Safran Company, which are now known in genre circles. Kevin and Michael Goetz, who had previously made a name for themselves as music video filmmakers, were responsible for directing. And the result was catastrophic.

Even if “Martyrs – The ultimate horror movieAlthough it still performed decently in terms of violence, the rawness and hopelessness of Laugier’s work was greatly reduced and it even ended on a hopeful note. This made it significantly different from the devastating original. But these innovations were not well received by the public at all.

On the summary collection page The film only received a paltry 9% from critics. And the audience also had little to gain from this clumsy imitation, with “Martyrs – The Ultimate Horror Movie” receiving 14%. An assessment that we at FILMSTARTS can only agree with, because we also severely punish the horror film in our review with only a meager point. These poor reviews also affected its success at the box office, where the so-called horror shocker mercilessly plummeted.

The director of the original hates this movie

The director of the original, Pascal Laugier, also joined this chorus of devastating voices. In the FILMSTARTS interview about his film ‘Ghostland’ he was also asked about his opinion on the remake, to which he made very scathing comments:

“I tried to watch him, but I couldn’t get past the first twenty minutes. It was like watching them abuse my mother.”

His disgust could hardly be expressed more clearly in words.