Martin (1977)

Director:

George A. Romero

Writer:

George A. Romero (writer)

Release Date:

7 July 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

A Vampire for Our Age of Disbelief

Plot:

A young man, who believes himself to be a vampire, goes to live with his elderly and hostile cousin in a small Pennsylvania town where he tries to redeem his blood-craving urges.

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Blood | Razor Blade | Needle | Shot In The Side

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

John Amplas	...	Martin Matthias
Lincoln Maazel	...	Tada Cuda - Martin's Eldest Cousin
Christine Forrest	...	Christina - Martin's Cousin
Elyane Nadeau	...	Mrs. Abbie Santini
Tom Savini	...	Arthur
Sara Venable	...	Mrs. Willard - Housewife Victim
Francine Middleton	...	Train Victim (as Fran Middleton)
Roger Caine	...	Lewis - Lover (as Al Levitsky)
George A. Romero	...	Father Howard
James Roy	...	Deacon
J. Clifford Forrest Jr.	...	Father Zulemas
Robert Ogden	...	Businessman
Donaldo Soviero	...	Flashback Priest
Donna Siegel	...	Martin's Woman - Holding candles
Albert J. Schmaus	...	Family Member

Also Known As:

George A. Romero's Martin (Australia)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2005) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | France:-16 | Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Braddock, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Laurel Entertainment Inc.

Trivia:

Tom Savini also did the stunts (and special makeup effects) in the film. His face can clearly be seen in the scene where the street person is hit and rolls over the hood and roof of the car.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the encounter in his bedroom with Martin, Tada Cuda is seen walking to his store with another man. In the next cut in front of the door the man is not there.

Quotes:

Father Howard: I don't suppose it's sacrilege to say the wine at St Vincents is putrid.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tom Savini: The Early Years (2004) (V)

Great Revisionist Horror Movie

Sometimes it seems to me that the "users" who comment on movies here go out of their way to miss the point. The horror storyline here isn't just "vampire nonsense" nor does Romero succeed in spite of his "lowbrow intentions." The film IS a horror film, as successful in "revising" the typical vampire films as other 1970's classics like McCabe and Mrs. Miller and Point Black were in "revising" the western and gangster genres respectively. The film would hardly be as interesting if it were some kind of slick production with the usual trappings. Instead Martin is a low-key intense underplayed film that reverses the usual expectations without rejecting its genre.

I don't think Romero is somehow upholding the ideals of faith either; the religious zealot, Martin's uncle, is the least sympathetic figure in the movie, though he may be right in thinking that Martin is "nosferatu." Or his fanaticism may have created the delusion in Martin's mind, an attempt to reject the religious dogma by adopting its traditional/mythic opponent. In any case, Romero's take on faith is very complex and is as interesting in this film as his complex take on individuality and consumerism is in Dawn of the Dead.

Romero makes great use of the depressed area of Braddock Pennsylvania, the kind of down on its luck, conservative, fading neighborhood I know from my own experience. The setting is essential to the movie, but Romero doesn't overplay it. The radio talk-show angle isn't as well handled but it is interesting.

I thought this film was very impressive in its deadpan update of the vampire story and Martin is a strangely moving character. Ultimately the movie is a much more convincing dramatization of the "serial killer" figure than we get in most films now, despite the current fascination with that type. (P.S. Romero was so good in the 1970s..how did he fall to the likes of Creepshow?)