Martin DVD

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.

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.

A scene of an arm being sliced open with a razor blade had to be trimmed for the film to avoid being rated X by the MPAA. The European version of the film features Martin's black and white flashbacks at the beginning of the film so it unfurls chronologically. The European version of the film features music by the Italian rock band Goblin. Special effects makeup master Tom Savini (who did the blood effects in this film) appears in an acting role. Actress Christine Forrest is George Romero's wife.

Martin Quotes/Excerpts:

"Vampire! First I will save your soul...then I will destroy you!" - Tata Cuda (Lincoln Maazel) to Martin (John Amplas) "I saw a movie once where it happened every night. That's crazy. Those movies are crazy!" -Martin, responding to a talk radio host's question about how often he feeds

Martin Reviews:

"...MARTIN is as electrically raw-edged as Romero's earlier NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD..." -- Tom Milne, Sight and Sound

"...Extraordinarily evocative [scenes]....[The direction] shows a definite flair for suspense..." -- Poll., Variety

"...It still intrigues, still disgusts and -- important, this -- still disturbs. One for the splat connoisseur..." -- Simon Crook, Total Film

5 stars out of 5 -- "Romero's downbeat movie is simultaneously an engaging psycho-thriller and a bleak, black, social satire." -- Damien Love, Uncut

"The pervasive coldness evokes early Cronenberg....There are black-and-white flashbacks that conjure Romero's own NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD." -- Matthew Leyland, Sight and Sound

This is the only Lincoln Maazel video.

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