MARTIN (1977)

 Directed and written by George A Romero

Starring  - John Amplas as Martin Mathias,  Lincoln Maazel as Tateh Cuda,  Christine Forrest as Christina,  Tom Savini as Arthur,  Elayne Nadeau as Abbie Santini.

PLOT  - Martin, on the surface seems like an average teenager - shy, embarrassed around the opposite sex and slightly gawky, but appearances can be deceptive...

For Martin has a compulsion to drink human blood, specifically- the blood of older women. He catches them when they are alone and vulnerable. Armed with hypodermic needles laced with a sleeping drug, he puts them to sleep, has sex with them whilst they are unconscious and finally slits thier wrists and drinks from thier veins - killing them in the process.

Now, Martin has gone to live with his relatives, his elderly cousin - Cuda and his niece - Christina. Cuda believes that the family line is cursed, haunted down the generations by the vile contagion that is the Nosferatu bloodline, and that Martin is its latest host.

The thing is -  Martin has started having flashbacks and memories from a past over 70 years gone. A past where he was hunting and drinking from young girls and was stalked by Vampire hunters.

Is Martin a really a member of the undead, or is he merely a confused, deranged human boy who's deluded fantasies are being led down an even darker path by his eccentric cousin ?

As Martin continues his blood drinking rampage, he meets a lonely, sexualy frustrated, bored, alcoholic woman  - Abbie.  The two embark on a love affair and Martin begins to question his own bizarre needs. 

Will this prove to be Martin's salvation, or will the boiling conflict between Martin and Cuda finally come to a violent and bloody resolution ?

DIALOUGE  -  Martin - "I've been much too shy to ever do the sexy stuff. I mean, do it with someone who's awake. Someday, maybe I'll get to do it - awake - without the blood part. Just do it with somebody. Then be together and talk all night."

Cuda (to Martin) - "NOSFERATU !!! VAMPIRE !!! First, I will save your soul, then I will destroy you !....I will show you your room."

PERFORMANCES - There's some great acting in this film. Amplas as the titular Martin is particularly good. He manages to make Martin a tragic figure and utterly unerving at the same time. His performance ranges from being that of a socially awkward, crushingly shy teenager  -  all gawky, gangly and stooped. Seemingly unable to even look into a female's eyes without flustered blushing and uncomfortable silences. From this, he then becomes a cold sex killer, skulking in the shadows of his victims lonely homes. Bringing death to all  those who he encounters.

In these stalking scenes his compulsion and sheer need for the acts of rape and blood drinking becomes apparent. He shakes like a junkie waiting for his next fix, sweaty and hollow eyed. He even tries in vain to reassure his terrified victims as they drift off into thier final sleep - "I won't hurt you, you'll just go to sleep". Utterly chilling.

At times he's like a niave manchild. At other points he seems lonely and confused. At times cruel and calculating, especially when he's taunting Cuda. Always, Martin is an outsider. The biggest outsider of all in a cast where practically every character is an outsider in some way. You'll hate Martin, he'll frustrate you with his sheer awkwardness but you'll also pity him. That Amplas pulls this off is the sign of a truly brilliant actor and yet he did very little in the way of acting after this, instead concentrating more on the production side of film making.

The other actors are great too - Maazel as Cuda is suitability deranged and eccentric and at points very funny. Forrest (who was then married to Romero) is very likable as Christina, at times she seems to be the only person who understands Martin and tries to reach out to him, she's a reassuring presence amidst the grim madness. Nadeau is also very good as the tragic Abbie. Her loneliness and desperation comes off the screen in a quiet, understated way. We've all met someone like Abbie at some point.

Romero himself even makes a cameo as the local Catholic priest, along with effects guru - Tom Savini as Arthur. All across the board the acting is of a high quality.

SFX  - A little blood here and there, this film is more about building a brooding atmosphere than being an effects fest.

SEX & VIOLENCE - Theres nothing sexy about this film just as there is nothing sexy about sexual violence, its grim and mournfull yet never explicit. Just a certain coldness there.The violence is also never lingered on for long but once again there's that cold, analytical brutalness. The camera stands back - at a distance - and just records the horrific events, ensuring that the audience is complicit.

RATING - Martin is an exceptional film in every way. It's cold, bleak and very atmospheric. The score is great too adding to the gloomy ambience very effectively. It's well acted, scripted and directed. Definitely one of Romero's best films and often overlooked by many in the scramble to view his classic Zombie films. The theme of loneliness and of being an outsider is brilliantly evoked.

My overall rating is 5 misunderstood blood drinkers out of 5. Definitely see this film.

Oh and check out this V.H.S. cover...

What the hell is Dracula doing there ??? He's not even in the bloody film !!!