The 'Martyrs' Remake: A Glimmer of Hope?

In the US version of The Descent, our heroine Sarah escapes from the cave of hell. The UK version however depicted a much darker ending, one that did not provide a happy ending for Sarah. We hear stories like this time and time again of films that were screened for test audiences that did not do well simply because the endings were too bleak. People hate being sad and upset after seeing a film. So much so that incredible, groundbreaking movies, sacrifice their original intent and stories to please the audience's mood. In a country where something like 27 million of its residents are on anti-depressants, America is certainly a glass half full kind of place.

In more recent news however, the director of the American remake of Martyrs, Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism) has said that his version of the acclaimed French horror film will not make us want to shoot ourselves, "The American approach [that I'm looking at] would go through all the darkness but then a glimmer of hope", said Stamm when discussing his plans for the remake. This is distressing news for those of us that were immediately displeased at any talk of a remake. The French extreme film Martyrs, is a very dark and disturbing film. One that I originally felt would never be able to be translated into an Americanized version, and after this news--I'm sure of it.

Martyrs is a terrifyingly brutal film that many erroneously group into the "torture porn" category of horror. The film follows the plight of a girl named Lucie, who years after escaping from a torture chamber enlists the help of her friend Anna to exact her revenge on the people she believes tortured her. Once Anna and Lucie break into the surface of the organization responsible, they find that the reality and motives behind the organization are more terrifying than they could have ever imagined.

The film is not as cut and dry as my brief summary provides however. The film goes places you would never expect and furthermore--is pretty much the polar opposite of "torture porn". My greatest fear when the US remake was announced, was that the studio would try to market it as more of a torture porn film to appeal to all those mainly interested in the next Saw film. I could never have imagined however that the director would ever think of using the words, "glimmer of hope" when describing his vision. This makes me weep.

If you have not seen Martyrs than leave now or prepare to be spoiled. The ending of Martyrs is extremely dark and bleak IF you choose to interpret that way. When all was said and done, I did not as Stamm says, feel like I needed to shoot myself. It's really all about what you think Anna's last words were. That's the beauty of Martyrs--that the possibilities are endless. You could watch the film 10 times and still be undecided. In my mind, Anna--in one last attempt to thrawt the organization, tells the Madam that she did not see heaven or the glimmer of an afterlife. Realizing that her life's work was all for nothing, Madam shoots herself, ending the organization's journey of discovery. Of course there are other interpretations, but if you see it in this way--the ending is actually more positive. Yes, Anna dies but it's extremely possible that she DID see the afterlife, but only lied to Madam.

Here is what I am thinking about this so called "glimmer of hope" that Stamm is on about. Possiblity 1. Anna gets away and shoots Madam herself. Possibility 2: The ending is less open ended, and we know exactly what Anna whispers into Madam's ear. This I think, may be more on line with what Stamm is alluding to. Perhaps my interpretation is what will end up happening in which case many of you are probably saying, so what's the big deal? The big deal is, that one of the biggest things I took away from Martyrs, was the unpredictability of life and of death. We don't know what happens when we die, we can only guess. We can only interpret or conclude what we choose to believe in. Shoving the answer in our face however completely removes that aspect from the story. It makes it less about the bigger, more powerful themes and more about the here and the now. More about the violence and the torture than what comes out of it.

Of course, this latest isn't the only thing that sparks my doubt. Previous to this news, we learned that Wyck Godfrey the producer of Twilight would be producing it and that worst of all--Godfrey was hoping that Twilight star Kristen Stewart would sign on. Yes, I already feel like someone punched me in the gut. How on earth is Martyrs going maintain a brutal depiction, of unrelenting violence, and unapologetic brutality when the film essentially becomes Twilight-ized? I'm suddenly having nightmares about Godfrey insisting that Lucie be changed into a man, sparking a romance between the two main characters. Maybe the glimmer of hope will be that Anna gets impregnated by the male Lucie and that before he died he changed Anna into a vampire so that she could live forever. Anna's baby will emerged skinless, yet---beautiful. Oh god I better be making that up.

In any case, things look very disastrous for the American remake of Martyrs. Perhaps the bigger picture that Stamm is failing to see, is that by presenting us with this so called "glimmer of hope" he's actually making things a lot darker, and bleaker for the future of this once outstanding and remarkable film.