Martin
Synopsis
A troubled young man who believes himself to be an 84-year-old vampire is sent to live with his deeply superstitious elderly cousin in a decaying Pennsylvania steel town, struggling between his violent thirst for blood and his desire for human connection.
Our Review
Vampire movies and stories have made people into real vampires or at least they suffer from various psychotic disorders thinking that they are the real vampires. This film, Martin, directed by George A Romero in the year 1977 depicts something like this. The story is about a teenager named Martin (John Amplas) who loves to drink blood.
The film revolves around this issue and it is not showed if Martin is really a vampire or just a sick patient who assumes that he is a vampire.
The film is the best and you must watch it!
Plot
Martin is an 18-year-old guy who lives alone and is often lonely. He generally likes to drink blood and feed on humans. He does not know why he does all this but later on he realizes that he is a vampire. One night, Martin takes train from Indianapolis and breaks into a car where a beautiful woman drives. He hits her and then injects her with some narcotics. She faints and then Martin has sex with her, rapes her brutally and then slashes her wrists with a sharp knife. After that he starts licking and sucking the blood of the woman and then leaves her till she dies of bleeding.
He then starts living with an old man who claims to be his uncle (Lincoln Maazel). They then travel together and then start living alone. Martin then comes across a sexy girl named Christina (Christine Forrest). As the story goes, Martin assures Christina that he is a vampire but she is unsure and does not believe but thinks that he is sick and has some psychotic disorder which makes him believe that he is a vampire.
Ending Explained
After finding brief human solace with a lonely local housewife, Martin is crushed when she dies by suicide. His zealot uncle Cuda instantly blames Martin for her death, convinced he drained her. Refusing to listen to Martin’s desperate pleas of innocence, Cuda ambushes him while he sleeps and drives a wooden stake through his heart, burying him in an unmarked backyard grave. The tragic irony seals the film’s core theme: Martin is ultimately destroyed not by supernatural justice, but by fanatic religious hysteria and society’s failure to recognize mental illness.
What We Think About This Movie
What We Liked
John Amplas' deeply disturbing yet vulnerable performance as the socially detached Martin.
George A. Romero's subversion of romantic vampire tropes, substituting fangs and magic with razor blades and sedatives.
The bleak, decaying Rust Belt backdrop of Braddock, Pennsylvania, which mirrors the characters' internal decay.
The clever ambiguity regarding whether Martin is genuinely an ancient bloodsucker or a severely disturbed young man.
What We Didn't Like
Gritty low-budget independent production values and harsh raw audio mixing typical of late 1970s indies.
Uncompromisingly bleak tone and taboo subject matter that make for an uncomfortable watch.
Who Should Watch
Fans of psychological horror, independent 1970s cinema, George A. Romero completists, and viewers tired of conventional vampire clichés.
Who Should Skip
Audiences looking for traditional gothic vampire aesthetics, romantic supernatural lore, or modern polished gore.
Movie Details
Where to Watch Martin in the USA
Frequently Asked Questions About Martin
Is Martin (1977) worth watching?
Yes. Holding an 8.2/10 rating on MovieToWatch, it is widely considered George A. Romero's personal favorite film of his career and a landmark psychological deconstruction of vampire fiction.
Is Martin really a vampire or mentally ill?
The film intentionally leaves this ambiguous. While his religious uncle insists he is a "nosferatu" cursed for 84 years, the film grounds Martin's acts in reality, using sedatives and razors rather than supernatural powers.
Who directed Martin (1977)?
It was written and directed by legendary horror filmmaker George A. Romero, famous for creating the modern zombie genre with Night of the Living Dead.
How long is Martin?
The film has a runtime of 95 minutes (1 hour and 35 minutes).
What is the age rating for Martin?
It is rated R for strong violence, disturbing sexual assault scenes, nudity, and adult language.
