10 Horror Movie Remakes You Must Never Watch
2. Martyrs
French director, Pascal Laugier, loved Eli Roth's Hostel so much, it inspired him to craft his own torturefest, Martyrs. Amazingly, the filmmaker managed to surpass the very film that inspired him since Martyrs is more unsettling than Hostel, has more creative gore, and better demonstrates the worst aspects in humanity. Even though the violence will make you squirm, it's the story and characters that will rattle you for days.
When the co-directors of the Martyrs remake emphasised their version would be a reimagining rather than a retelling, it sounded like they were wisely trying not to imitate the original.
But upon watching the "reimagining", it's obvious the filmmakers missed the point of Laugier's work. All the complex, nihilistic themes that made the original Martyrs disturbing are entirely absent. Instead, they are replaced with incessant gore. What's worse is that the relentless violence is shoddily shot and inartistic. Even though the remake is only 80 minutes, it crams in as many witless tropes, one-dimensional characters, and cliched lines as possible.
Anyone who had the misfortune of watching this version of Martyrs will tell you it's not just a bad remake - it desecrates the legacy of its predecessor.