MartinThis early Romero effort about a lad who may or may not be a vampire is apparently George’s favourite. Of course his opinion may possibly be clouded by the fact that he met his future wife Christine Forrest on the set and that this was the first film he and Tom Savini worked on together but it is a damn good film. Martin played by newcomer John Amplas is first introduced to us on a train bound for Philadelphia where he is stalking his latest victim. Romantic images flicker through his head of his victim welcoming him with open arms but of course reality is much harsher. A stunning opening sequence really with Martin attacking her, drugging her, shagging her and then slicing open her wrist so he can feed on her blood before cleaning up the mess and leaving pills and razor blades in the sink to make it look like a suicide. Clearly no ordinary killer, we soon learn that Martin is in fact a vampire or at least his family thinks he is. Well okay maybe not all his family but the crazy cousin Cuda who he is meeting in Philadelphia definitely thinks he is a blood sucker. Cuda played by Lincoln Maazel looks like one of those Kentucky Fried Colonels in his white suit, cigar, cane and gold fob watch but in reality he is just an old man running a grocery store in a shitty part of town who still believes in the tales from the ‘old country’ including the tale of the family curse, the nosferatu blood that runs through young Martin’s veins. Martin is the last of the cursed line and though he looks young is apparently eighty four! The future Mrs. Romero Christine Forrest plays Cuda’s granddaughter who is also living in the house and doesn’t believe any of the nonsense about vampires and nosferatu and family curses and is at least friendly to Martin. "A great film, this deserves to be called a classick" At first Martin tries to resist his urges especially after Cuda warns him that he will kill Martin if any attacks occur while he’s living in his house but his bloodlust get the better of him. It’s a slow burn though as we watch in stylish black and white, flashbacks of an early attempt at exorcising his demons, we see an old school/hammer horror style attack on a willing young nymphette, torches and angry villagers all interspersed with the day to day washed out colour of being a grocery delivery boy, watching women, waiting for the right one to come along. When he does find the right one though things go pear shaped pretty quickly when Martin catches his intended victim in the midst of a quick shag while hubby’s away on business. Though Martin comes prepared with knockout drugs and razors and always cleans up after himself he wasn’t prepared for this. And it must be said, he really does need to find a faster acting drug to do the job. I don’t know what he was using but it didn’t work that quickly. Later he discovers talkback radio and becomes quite a hit as “the count” telling the announcer about his vampirism and how he’s never been able to have sex with a willing awake partner and how he always plans the killing so as not to get caught. At first Martin was quiet and meek, almost a victim himself but as Cuda’s assertions and accusations become louder and stupider (including another exorcism) Martin grows stronger to the extent that he meets a desperate housewife and instigates an affair with her. Finally he has sex with a partner who is awake! But it seems this happiness messes with his bloodlust and he struggles to come to terms with the whole idea of willing sex. Unfortunately for him, his housewife isn’t a happy soul and tops herself leading to a rather messy ending for our Martin. " Not a blood frenzy of zombies and gore and madness, but a slow burning story of a messed up kid struggling to work out his place in a messed up world" The question remains though, was he a vampire, was he a serial killer, was he just a fucked up kid who was told so often that he was nosferatu that he finally started believing it? It’s the old nature versus nurture argument and I for one am glad we don’t actually get an answer. As you would expect from a Romero flick this is beautifully filmed. The blend of black and white and colour adds romance to Martin’s images, a touch of the gothic to his dream world. There’s a real seventies feel to this film too not least because of the houses and streets of Philly that are extensively used to set the scenes but it’s not kitsch, its not like when you watch old video clips and laugh at the clothes and the hair, this feels right for the film, for the ideas of ‘old country’ ideals transferred to the new world. And Cuda’s insistence on following tradition, on dressing to the nines, attending church on Sunday whilst hanging garlic on his door to protect himself from Martin, this all adds a realism that, together with the gritty seventies style and dress codes and feel, really helps the film to come across, to connect with the audience. Romero’s own opinion might be clouded by nostalgia but you know what, he’s not wrong. This is one of his best films. Not a blood frenzy of zombies and gore and madness, but a slow burning story of a messed up kid struggling to work out his place in a messed up world that he doesn’t really understand. A great film, this deserves to be called a classick.
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