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Martin (1977)
Rated: R | Review date: 25-Oct-2009
George A. Romero’s “Martin” is a rare gem in the horror world. It’s highly original concept plays well between genres, making it hard to classify. With a shoestring budget and a cast primarily made up of unknowns, “Martin” is a thought-provoking and thorough character study that’s rarely been rivaled to this day.
The story follows the title character, played by John Amplas (Day of the Dead), as he ventures to a small Pittsburgh town to live with his much older cousin (Lincoln Maazel), who’s slightly reluctant to have Martin in his home. Martin’s cousin, Tada Cuda, makes a vow to save Martin, then destroy him. From the very first scene we know why; Martin is a very dangerous and deranged individual. Tada Cuda constantly calls him “Nosferatu,” or “vampire” and refers to him as the family’s shame. This brings much anger from Martin’s cousin Christina (Christine Forrest Romero) who also lives with them and sympathizes with Martin.
We find through these quarrels, that this issue has existed in the family for many generations. As the film progresses, we get more answers to Martin’s disturbing behavior and we really begin to understand his character. Martin lives with his vampiric curse, whether or not it has any credibility, and continues to feed his thirst. At the same time, we see signs of him searching for his true self – especially when he speaks to a nighttime radio DJ about his life and desire for normality.
The film is an in-depth examination of a tormented and troubled youth that’s wound up in a life of lonesomeness and lustful crime. Martin is an anti-hero that we begin to sympathize with. Throughout the movie I couldn’t help but hope that he found some sort of help so he could obtain happiness. It’s hard to create character-driven movies that have this effect, and “Martin” does it beautifully.
“Martin” is certainly not a typical horror movie, but I will still say that it’s one of the best horror movies of all time. It’s dark and disturbing nature places it in the genre, but it’s dramatic and psychologically driven aspects put it in multiple classes. Additionally, the film’s unique approach to the vampire was so fresh and different that it’s hard to believe this concept has not been imitated. The tagline for the film is “A Vampire for Our Age of Disbelief,” which suits the film perfectly.
What also makes it a stand out is the superb editing and cinematography, especially the black and white sequences. This film is the showcase of Mr. Romero’s work, and I firmly believe even non-Romero fans will enjoy “Martin.” The ending especially was well-fitting and could not have been executed any better. “Martin” is one of those films that will draw you in, and in the end it will have you interpreting so many of the ideas behind the film for days. It’s a horror masterpiece, and one that any horror fan must see.
At the time of this review the new DVD is going for $180 dollars on Amazon…if that doesn’t say something about the importance of this film then I don’t know what does!
Rating: Perfect
