Martyrs Lane features unbelievably strong, emotional, and grounded performances from both Thompson and Sayer.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 11, 2024

It feels like Martyrs Lane would work better in its original truncated format, the story a perfect length for a short subject. As a feature, it’s expanded in such a way that feels less like a deeper dive into the material and more like a delay.

| Jun 6, 2023

Viewers expecting terror or a riveting mystery won’t find either here. Instead, they will find a quiet, elegiac, and ultimately rewarding tale about the power of the truth and the importance of focusing on the living rather than the dead.

| Dec 19, 2022

While it does have its faults and imperfections, it is a satisfying addition to the ranks of cinematic ghost stories and holds appeal beyond simple jumps and scares.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Aug 31, 2022

A captivating tale of Gothic heritage... manages to combine an individual trauma with a supernatural event. And without excessive paraphernalia. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 29, 2022

Martyrs Lane is too slow and formulaic to offer up anything other than a few strong performances and comparisons to movies that do grief and a child’s perception of adults being terrifying better.

| Jul 8, 2022

A thoughtful, chilling look at how the past can haunt us, and grief cant simply be buried and forgotten.

| Feb 11, 2022

Kiera Thompson is a tiny miracle as Leah, carrying this intense psychological thriller on her wee shoulders.

| Oct 20, 2021

Martyrs Lane feels like a fairytale: lost little girls leaving lettered blocks instead of breadcrumbs, waking the sleeping Queen, and fighting the terrible twin dragons known as Grief and Depression.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 24, 2021

Martyrs Lane can find itself in familiar territory from time to time, but the film is ultimately propelled by the promise of its compelling young performers.

| Sep 20, 2021

(Director Ruth) Platt creates so much tension that even expository scenes come tethered to anxiety and a foreboding of danger.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Sep 19, 2021

Martyrs Lane is a powerfully intimate tale, whose only real shortcoming is that its big reveal isn't much of a shocker.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 17, 2021

Both Thompson and Sayer are extraordinary. These are two of the best child performances I've seen this year, each working in exquisite tandem with their equally diminutive co-star.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 17, 2021

Martyrs Lane is subtle in its scares, but imposing in its cinematic mastery.

| Sep 16, 2021

Unfortunately, when Sarah finally does confront her trauma, Martyrs Lane attempts a pivot into full-scale horror that doesn't quite work, and ultimately leads the story to an ambiguous finale.

| Sep 15, 2021

Platt lets the supernatural seep in incrementally... As the nature of the unearthly visitor becomes clearer, subtle and distressing practical effects play their role.

| Sep 15, 2021

Martyrs Lane may have a few small issues in terms of its pacing, and isn't going to be for die-hard horror fans. However, it's a delightful horror film...

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Sep 14, 2021

The film is less of a Jamesian tale of potential madness and more of an exploration of how families deal with grief. What can we do when grief overcomes us? How can we help those that we love and ourselves?

| Sep 14, 2021

Wears its bleeding, compassionate heart on its sleeve, and benefits immeasurably from superb central performances

| Original Score: 3 | Sep 13, 2021

Martyrs Lane is ruled by grief, often dulled and overdrawn by it, but its young surrogates give us the unique opportunity to see its themes presented without compromise.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 10, 2021