Movies
‘Martyrs’ Remake Script Was “Spellbinding,” Says Stamm
After the success of The Last Exorcism, director Daniel Stamm was tapped to remake Pascal Laugier’s deeply religious French horror Martyrs for Dimension Films.
Years later, it never came into fruition. Instead, Stamm got behind the camera for another remake, 13 Sins, which is now on all VOD platforms. In speaking with Movies, he says the Martyrs remake script was “spellbinding,” a “beautiful character study of how far you’ll go for an insane friend,” and “one of the best scripts I’ve read, probably ever.” So what happened?
“..the French had done these 30 pages of just mind-numbing, repetitive violence, which is genius because it makes you feel the actual horror of that stuff, but there is no entertainment value,” says Stamm of the original film. “And so the Americans come in and go, ‘We have to spice this up and make it more entertaining,’ so suddenly it’s 30 pages of Saw that just didn’t work.
“The American remake keeps both girls alive, whereas the French version kills one of the girls very early. If you keep both of them alive this gives you a really great chance to have this psychological play between them and the torturers. Everything was going great creatively, and then the call comes in. ‘The option ran out a week ago and the French producers now want so much money that we can’t make the movie.’
“I think they’re now back to making the movie for like $1 million, really low budget, which I think you could almost do, it’s just there’s this philosophy in Hollywood that you can never go back budget-wise. As a filmmaker you are judged by that. And then there’s also this concept I was unaware of called plateauing, where if you’re a filmmaker who makes two movies in the same budget bracket, that becomes your thing. You are the guy for the $3 million movie, and then that’s all you do. And so my agents wouldn’t let me do the $1 million movie, because then that’s it for you, you’ll supposedly never get that bigger budget.”
So, while the rights have switched hands (thankfully), it sounds as if the remake is still a go, just at a lower budget. Do you guys want to see this? I’m curious to see if the dark finale remains intact…
The 2009 film, which had shades of Rosemary’s Baby, followed Lucie, now 25 years old, who sets out to get revenge on the people who attacked and permanently scarred her when she was only 10 years old.
Zazie Beetz must fight her way through a New York City high-rise serving as a temple to Satan in They Will Kill You, and it’s officially set to make its global streaming debut next week.
They Will Kill You begins streaming exclusively on HBO Max on Friday, June 12. The film will debut on HBO linear on June 13 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Beetz leads the cast as Asia, who must survive the night at the Virgil, a demonic cult’s mysterious and twisted death-trap of a lair, before becoming their next offering. Patricia Arquette, Myha’La, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton, and Heather Graham also star.
Kirill Sokolov (Why Don’t You Just Die!) directs from a script he co-wrote with Alex Litvak (Predators).
IT filmmaker Andy Muschietti produces alongside Barbara Muschietti and Dan Kagan. Executive producers include Sokolov, Litvak, Russell Ackerman, John Schoenfelder, and Carl Hampe.
The raucous action horror comedy delivers on blood-splattery fun, but was overshadowed by high profile sequel Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. It’s worth a watch for the talented cast, who commit to Sokolov’s zany action horror beats, include a rogue eyeball.
I wrote in my SXSW review, “Sokolov’s striking composition, dedication to carnage-fueled stunts and fight choreography, and an all-too-game cast anchored by a dedicated and fierce Zazie Beetz prevent this slight but energetic crowd-pleaser from careening off the rails.” And, “it’s so brazen and unabashed in its pursuit of cinematic thrills and splatstick chills that it succeeds in its aim, which is to deliver a riotously great time at the theater.”
More of a physical media fan? On June 30, 2026, They Will Kill You will be available to own on 4K UHD™, Blu-ray™, and DVD from online and physical retailers.
New Line Cinema/Nocturna’s “They Will Kill You,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
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