What exactly is the definition of a horror film these days? The genre seems to have moved from its traditional goal of scaring the viewer to a more decadent phase in which extreme depictions of brutality and degradation seem to be its raison d'etre. Suspense and fright have been replaced by torture and mutilation and the horrifying aspect is that the viewer must pollute his or her consciousness with the depraved imagination of the filmmaker's. Terror from sympathizing with the victim's hopes of escape has been slyly replaced by a sick, amoral pleasure in the sadism of the torturer, appropriate enough for our times but not necessarily healthy for your psyche. Transgressive horror cinema has gone so far out there since the early experiments of films like "Blood Feast" (1963) and "Blood Sucking Freaks" (1976) that filmmakers are left grasping for ways to shock jaded viewers with evermore extreme and grotesque sadism. "Martyrs," the latest "torture porn" film to push the envelope, represents a new low. This is a film that even a horror fan Web site like brutalashell.com endorses with caution. "I'm pretty desensitized as far as gore goes," said their reviewer, "but even I felt the overwhelming urge to vomit at one point. This is as harsh as harsh gets." (If only that were true; Lars von Trier's "Antichrist" (2009) looks set to hit new lows in the era of provocation.)

"Martyrs" is a film that combines all the worst aspects of "Hostel" (2005) and "The Passion of the Christ" (2004): Anonymous torturers inflicting agonizing pain on shackled victims in hidden dungeons, while a layer of religious mysticism seeks to make the film seem like something other than just a wallow in misery. French director Pascal Laugier, already being scouted by Hollywood, packs the first 15 minutes of his film with a level of carnage that surpasses the climax of most horror films. Then it gets worse.

"Martyrs" begins with a young girl, Lucie (Mylene Jampanoi) fleeing a basement dungeon where she has been imprisoned and abused. Later, growing up in an orphanage, she's haunted by memories of her ordeal, especially the fact that she fled without pausing to free another woman shackled in that basement. Her one friend at the orphanage, Anna (Morjana Alaoui), gives her comfort and sisterly support. Cut to several years later. Lucie, now an adult, invades a suburban home, slaughtering the family that live there with a shotgun. She's convinced that these are the people responsible for her ordeal, but Anna — summoned to the scene by a hysterical Lucie — isn't so sure; She thinks Lucie's lost her marbles, but helps her friend cover up the crime.