Martyrs

Though there are only three features included in the extras on this release, like the film they supplement, they really don’t hold back in terms of showing us everything. So much information is packed into each, shedding light on one of the most confrontational and talked about horror films this year.

A Making-Of documentary takes us up-close and behind the scenes of the filming of Martyrs. Peppered throughout all the fly-on-the-wall backstage footage (lots of scenes featuring the actresses flailing about on crash mats and throwing themselves into walls) are lengthy interviews with various cast members and key crew such as the director, special effects artists and the stunt co-ordinator. All involved are incredibly frank and candid and the feature unfolds as a no-holds barred glance at how this devastatingly visceral and breathtakingly intense film was put together. This documentary was obviously filmed on set and in synch with Martyrs as we are able to see exactly how some of the key scenes in the film were set up and shot. Throughout proceedings we are privy to discussions between the director and various others as to how to proceed with filming, and one gets a generous sense of not only how exactly how difficult a film this was to make, but also how everyone involved was so invested in it. This feature runs at just under an hour and a half and doesn’t outstay its welcome.

Separate interviews with director Pascal Laugier and special effects artist Benoît Lestang are also included. Laugier’s interview (20 minutes) is simply filmed in a café and he is incredibly forthright and affable throughout. Providing great insight into how the film was put together and how much of a struggle genre film-making is in France, Laugier also revealed how pleased he was to do so in France’s current conservative climate. He also discusses the film’s morality and ideology, its relationship with the current slew of ‘Torture Porn’ films and modern horror cinema’s return to a more physiological nature. The music playing in the café isn’t too distracting (fans of Charles and Eddie will be kept happy) thanks to the subtitles.

The interview with the late Benoît Lestang (14 minutes) proves just as revealing, as he freely discusses his effects work on Martyrs, and, indeed, other films, such as The Diving Bell And The Butterfly (2007) and his first film, Jean Rollin’s The Living Dead Girl (1982). He talks at length about Martyrs and the nature of special effects as he guides a small documentary crew around his studio. His ruminations throw yet more light on the difficult shoot and how he feels all the suffering, both on and off screen, was justified in the end. Also discussed at length are his opinions on the special effects industry as it moves towards a digital era.

Alas, no commentary is available - however the sheer amount of information gleaned from the interviews goes some way to make up for its absence.

Like Martyrs itself, there is no filler here – just raw, honest and brutally frank insights into a film that is about as raw and brutal as they come.