Synopsis
Martin, 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.
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Cast
- John AmplasMartin Mathias
- Lincoln MaazelTada Cuda
- Christine ForrestChristina
- Elyane NadeauAbbie Santini
- Tom SaviniArthur
- Francine MiddletonTrain Victim
- Roger CaineLewis
- Sara VenableMrs. Willard
- George A. RomeroFather Howard
- Michael GornickBarry - Radio Talk Show Host
Recommendations
- 80
The A.V. Club
Martin touches on any number of post-Vietnam ills (urban decay, drug addiction, crises in faith) without overstatement, allowing for a deeply considered exploration of horror's ability to comment on society, a sort of belated answer to Peter Bogdanovich's Targets. At the same time, Romero still forces Martin to work as strictly a horror film, albeit an eccentric one in which the violence has an uncomfortable plausibility, starkly contrasting Amplas' romanticized black-and-white vampiric fantasy life. - 80
TV Guide Magazine
Martin is a shocking, thoughtful reworking of the vampire myth set in a dying American steel town. Well worth a look for anyone with even a passing interest in horror, and essential viewing for serious fright fans. - 80
Washington Post
George Romero has done it again. Martin, an eerie, sardonic updating of the traditional vampire legend, should secure Romero's reputation as a modern master of the horror film. [10 May 1978, p.B1] - 70
Chicago Reader
Despite the usual amounts of gore, this is a surprisingly tender, ambiguous, and sexy film in which Romero's penchant for social satire is for once restricted to local and modest proportions. - 70
The New York Times
In this splattery George A. Romero movie from 1977, the title character is not your typical vampire. In fact, he may not be a vampire at all. I mean, did Count Dracula ever need hypodermic needles (for sedation) or razor blades? Mr. Romero, the director who gave the world the ravenous 20th-century zombies of Night of the Living Dead, plays around with the possibility that Martin is just certifiably psychotic. - 70
Time Out London
Fundamentally a quite serious movie, relevant to contemporary personality problems and stresses, but shot through with a wicked streak of black humour. It doesn't always come off, but Romero makes stunning use of his Pittsburgh locations to create a desolate suburban wasteland, and at its best it is rivetingly raw-edged. - 67
Austin Chronicle
Martin is relentlessly downbeat and has a molasses pace, but is nonetheless worthwhile to watch if you're in the mood for an uncomfortable, depressing Romero-style take on the vampire legend. - 60
Variety
Pittsburg-based auteur George A. Romero is still limited by apparently low budgets. But he has inserted some sepia-toned flashback scenes of Martin in Romania that are extraordinarily evocative, and his direction of the victimization scenes shows a definite flair for suspense.
