A vampire For Our Age Of Disbelief.
Features: DVD
From director George A. Romero comes a dynamic gothic original. Martin is a misunderstood young man who happens to be a vampire...maybe. The sun really just bothers his eye a little, garlic and crosses have no effects and he has no fangs. He also doesn't have any vampiric powers which makes acquiring blood an extremely harrowing experience for all involved.Features:New Photo GalleryNew Commentary from G. Romero, R. Rubenstein, T. Savini, M. Gornick, and D. RubinsteinNew photo gallery"Making Martin: A Recounting"Original TV SpotsOriginal TrailerSystem Requirements: Running Time 95 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE
"Intriguing little shocker..." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"George Romero has done it again... Dynamic, expressionistic, ominously brilliant. " Washington Post
Editor's Note
Director George Romero turns the vampire genre on its ear in this creepy, original 1978 effort. John Amplas stars as the title character--an alienated, depressed, and fangless 18-year-old denizen of an industrial town who is compelled to kill and drink blood. But is he really a vampire, or is he merely suffering from psychosis? His elderly uncle Cuda (Lincoln Maazel), whom Martin lives with and in whose grocery store he works, seems to believe the former, calling the young man Nosferatu and waving garlic and crosses in his face. But Martin isn't that type of vampire--he prefers to use syringes and razor blades for his bloodletting. The film takes an interesting turn when the lonely youth turns to a radio call-in program to talk about his compulsion. While this twist could easily be played for laughs, in Romero's hands it becomes insightful and unsettling.A deliberate character study, MARTIN has intense performances, a uniquely disturbing mood, and an effectively grainy, shadowy look. Romero's eccentric vampire film avoids hitting on a gut level, choosing to shock viewers on a psychological one instead.
Plot Summary
In Director George Romero's MARTIN, a teenage boy (John Amplas) in Pittsburgh believes he is an 800 year-old vampire. Regardless of whether he really is or not, he goes about town committing grisly murders, using a razor blade to open the veins of his victims. Along the way, he also finds time to discuss his "problem" on a talk radio program and argue with his religious and superstitious uncle. Made just before his classic DAWN OF THE DEAD, Romero's singular take on the vampire genre is as much a look at small town loneliness and alienation as it is a horror film. Quiet, subdued and deliberately paced, MARTIN is a minor classic from one of America's horror masters.
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