12 Extreme Horror Movies You Need To See Before You Die

6. Martyrs (2008)

Somewhere in France, a seemingly pleasant suburban family (including their children) are killed in cold blood by a shotgun-wielding young woman. Calling her friend, she explains that they were the people who kidnapped and tortured her 15 years earlier. That€™s just the opening 20 minutes of Martyrs, a movie that doesn€™t care what you think €“ it€™s not interested in playing by the rules. You can say that it blows its credibility early on, relies too heavily on repetitive scenes of torture and that the final explanation for the crimes is senseless and laughable, but it never shies away from its exploration of the depths of human depravity, and therein lies its power. If it copped out with a €œsafe€ ending, Martyrs would be easy to dismiss (and send up), but it has a single-minded desire to €œgo there€, and whether or not you want to follow, or think the journey was worth taking, you have to admire its resolve, if nothing else.