Mademoiselle (Catherine Bégin) vs Eleanor (Kate Burton)

I like Kate Burton. She is a familiar face to anyoen who watches far too much TV and she always gives a solid performance in all of her roles. Sadly she wasn’t really given much to work with in this film despite her trying valiantly to instill as much depth as she could into what was a poorly written character.
Catherine Bégin in the original film was wonderful. At first glance she looks like a harmless meemaw who might have been someone of note in her youth what with her snazzy turban and all. But once the layers are peeled back and we get a glimpse at the monster underneath, Bégin sells her as being a true believer and even though the actions of the group she heads are reprehensible this woman really believes they are completely justified. And her final scene was truly impressive because she made you feel a twinge of empathy for someone who had no empathy for others at all.
Advantage: MARTYRS ’08

La Créature (Isabelle Chasse) vs The Creature (Melissa Tracy)

This comparison boils down to the original film’s Créature being a major part of the movie while the remake treated The Creature as a bit player who was only good for cliche jump scares. La Créature was a malevolent force of nature that hung over all of Lucie’s scenes from the moment she made her first appearance while terrorizing tween Lucie. The scenes where La Créature brutalized Lucie were some of the hardest to watch and in this movie that is saying something.
Advantage: MARTYRS ’08

Sarah (Emilie Miskdjian) vs Sam (Caitlin Carmichael)

The moment that Sarah first appears on screen to her pitiful final scene are just totally tragic. She is yet another victim of the cabal that abducted Lucie and the tortures they have put Sarah through have left her emaciated, horribly scarred and completely out of her mind. All trussed up in a metal visor that effectively makes her blind and tormented by unseen bugs that she thinks are attacking her at every moment, she is both visually striking and emotionally compelling despite the fact that the actress really doesn’t speak other than in screams and gurgles.
For some reason the remake decided to replace this fascinating character with a little girl who, aside from some dirt on her cheeks and a filthy nightgown doesn’t seem to be all that worse for wear when Anna finds her locked up in the torture basement. This kid brings nothing to this film and for the life of me I cannot think of why anyone involved thought to put her in this movie.
Advantage: MARTYRS ’08