We horror fans are a fickle lot. For some, blood, gore, and a pinch of gratuitous sex are all that's needed for a good time. If "gruesome" is primarily what you're interested in, consider Martyrs, a grisly little opus that's recently been making the rounds in the horror community and earning quite a reputation in the process. But if you desire something deeper than ultraviolence, you'll probably think "close, but no cigar" several times while touring through this French-fried slaughterhouse.

Lucie (Mylène Jampanoï) had what some might call a difficult childhood. Held captive by a pair of demented psychos who put her through no end of abuse, Lucie managed to escape her torment and flee to safety. But rather than forget the past and move on with her life, Lucie decides that a little justice is in order. With her friend Anna (Morjana Alaoui) in tow, Lucie finally tracks down the sickos responsible for taking her to hell and back, exacting some swift and blood vengeance. But just when it seems like retribution has been achieved, the girls learn that the terror has just begun. Now comes Anna's turn to witness for herself the horrors her pal experienced while undergoing an  onslaught of suffering as a means to a shocking end.

Martyrs is the latest Franco-bred heavy hitter to step up to the plate, hoping to knock out a horror home run. Previous participants met with mixed results, from the unrelenting Inside to the nauseating but wholly unoriginal Frontier(s). But one look at Martyrs, and you'll know its creators came to play ball. The rumors of this picture being one nasty beast are true; this is no Friday the 13th, where each new over-the-top kill is a cause for celebration. Director Pascal Laugier (House of Voices) adopts a grim disposition from the word go and never lets up, stopping just short of sending viewers to the nearest vomitorium. But for once, the violence doesn't seem to exist for its own sake. In the film's merciless opening scenes, you get the feeling Laugier is building up toward something, an objective that he lets loose in subtle and effective doses. Martyrs questions where revenge ends and one's own descent into destructive madness begins. Any way you slice it, it's considerably more ambitious than its brethren, furnished with a can-do attitude that places it a cut above its bloodstained brothers.

However, there comes a point where Martyrs, coasting along on the fruits of its impeccably-paced labor, attempts to shift into overdrive, only to sputter out on Route 666. Martyrs suffers from a terminal case of what I like to call Eagle Eye Syndrome, in which a flick's initial hook is so good, the rest of the movie couldn't possibly live up to it. I understand Laugier's intentions, which are lofty even by standards of high art. Still, the film becomes less interesting the more it tries to be provocative, and while the lead actresses deserve a medal for enduring what they do, watching them essentially get beaten up for 90 minutes or so is far from compelling.

Please don't take my disappointment with Martyrs to be the half-hearted dismissal of a hopeless gorehound grumbling because his appetite wasn't sated. As mentioned before, the film has a mean streak it's not afraid to show, one that even works hand-in-hand with the story from time to time. Martyrs is smarter than the average frightfest, but its thematic shortcomings hold it back from graduating into horror's big leagues.

MY RATING: ** (out of ****)

(Released by The Weinstein Company and rated "R" for disturbing/severe aberrant behavior involving strong bloody violence, torture, child abuse and some nudity.)