Martin

Night of the Living Dead(1968) and Dawn of the Dead(1978) are the director's famous films and most beloved by leigons of horror fans around the globe. However, in this writer's humble opinion Martin(1977) is the best film the director has done in his career for a couple of good reasons. At the forefront is a complex protagonist who is a sexually confused young man that believes he's a vampire. Also, the acting and the direction are low key and sombre. Finally, the ways that the director plays againsts the cliches atributed to vampires which makes this film a pleasure to observe. Martin behaves in the manners of a vampire because its what society expects of him. So if Cuda believes his nephew is a vampire then according to Martin it must be true. Uses a first person voice over narrative that's in the same vein as Hatchet for the Honeymoon(1969), and Maniac(1980).

An early film Tom Savini worked on before he became famous among the horror community. The makeup effects are very good for a film of its budget. Opening moment in train may have been inspired by the opening sequence in Hatchet for the Honeymoon(1969). Covers sexual frustration and confusion with more human depth than a previous Romero film called Season of the Witch(1975). The black and white flashback sequences I feel were part of an alternate story in order to compare past and present. After all, the director did do a 3 Hour black and white version which unfortuately was stolen from him(thus, the black and white scenes are leftovers of a different film). I would love to see the 3 hour version come to frutiation because of the added depth new scenes might give to character and story. Martin(1977) is an underrated horror classic of the 1970s that is a change of fresh air because its not with the usual vampire elements.

Over the years George A. Romero has created a number of landmark horror films for the genre. This modern 'vampire' flick ranks among his very best films!

Shy teenager, who believes himself to be a century old vampire, comes to live with his superstitious old cousin in Pittsburgh.

Romero's Martin is a truly unique, one of a kind psychological thriller. It is a memorable journey from its disturbing opening sequence to its chilling conclusion. Martin, like most of Romero's classics, is a film with plenty of social commentary and believable characters. The driving force behind the films premise is the question of whether or not our title character really is a vampire. Martin has no fangs, no fear of the sun, in fact he actually uses razors and syringes to seize his victims. Yet, Martin has memories of an attack that apparently he did ages ago and his elderly cousin fully believes his young relative to be an evil creature. Romero throws out all of the old fashion vampire conventions for this symbolic clashing of the ways. Romero's direction is, as always, very nicely done with plenty of suspense, atmosphere, and gruesome moments. Romero makes this drama stylishly operatic and adds an occasional moment of dark humor. The haunting music score also adds greatly to the atmosphere.

The cast is excellent, but it's star John Amplas who really drives this show. Attractive youth Amplas is a greatly sympathetic character, even as he is the films monster and hero all at once.

A film unlike any other of the horror genre, Martin remains a terrific low-budget masterpiece that is as hauntingly effective today as ever.

**** out of ****

The unbalanced teenager Martin Mathias (John Amplas) travels to Braddock, Pennsylvania, by train. During the night, he breaks in a cabin and kills a passenger in a peculiar way, injecting drug with a syringe and draining her blood to drink in a careful way. Then he meets his old cousin Tateh Cuda (Lincoln Maazel) in the station and they go to Cuda's home where Martin will live. Martin was raised by his dysfunctional mother and believes that he is an 84 year-old vampire. The religious Cuda also believes that the teenager is Nosferatu and uses crosses and garlic in the house to protect himself and his granddaughter Christina (Christine Forrest) that lives with him from Martin. Along the days, Martin befriends Christina, who has a problematic relationship with her boyfriend Arthur (Tom Savini), while continues to attack persons every now and then. Further, he uses the telephone to tell the truth about vampires to a radio show. Martin has a love affair with Christina, but when she commits suicide, Cuda does not believe that his granddaughter killed herself.

"Martin" is a strange and bizarre low-budget vampire movie with a totally different story. There is a documentary on the DVD where George Romero gives details about the production that uses real locations. He also tells that "Martin" is his masterpiece. Martin's daydreams with black-and-white are ambiguous and the viewer never knows whether whey we recollections or his imagination. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Martin"

You don't see anyone make a film like this anymore. Shot on 16mm but absolutely gorgeous looking. Low budget but has a very unusual and quite fine OST(modern classical/jazz sounding I guess?). Great characters and performances. Some of the performances are simple but are usually always quite charming. Romero was able to create a great look by using locations that happened to be available through family and friends. Martin exemplifies the beauty of doing a lot with a little. Re-watchable because there are so many clever details to be found. People looking for tired vampire movie formulas and a bit of T&A will be disappointed with this film. What's impressive is how little the film actually covers the standard themes of vampires. Instead, the actual social construct of vampirism is brought into question. Viewers are left to figure out and discuss what the main character is all about on their own. One of the finer moments in 70's semi-independent cinema. On par with Season Of The Witch in terms of weirdness and style. The creativity and integrity seen in Martin will seldom be seen again as long as Hollywood continues to be run by spineless, cowardly producers.

George A. Romero will always be associated with his innovative and spectacular zombie trilogy ('Night Of The Living Dead', 'Dawn Of The Dead' and 'Day Of The Dead', all classics). Dig deeper and you will find he has made several less discussed but worthy movies, including this one, quite possibly the best movie he has ever made.

'Martin' manages to be both a disturbing psychological drama and a genuine horror movie at the same time. It is complex and mult-layered enough to be read in more than one way. It's up to you, the viewer, to decide whether Martin (John Amplas, in an impressive debut) really is the vampire he claims to be or is simply deluded. It's a pity that this movie slips through the cracks. Hard core horror nuts often undervalue it because it isn't what they expect from the genre, and movie buffs who can appreciate downbeat 70s classics like Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver', and Toback's 'Fingers', will dismiss it as "just another horror movie", not realizing just how much it has in common with the aforementioned. Too bad. 'Martin' is a real gem, and highly recommended. I think it's absolutely brilliant, and a classic.