Martin is a 1978 American horror film written and directed by George A. Romero.

Romero claims that Martin is the favorite of all his films. The film is also notable as the first collaboration between George Romero and special effects artist Tom Savini.

Plot[link]

Martin (John Amplas) sedates women with a syringe full of narcotics and then slices their wrists with a razor blade so he can drink their blood. Martin, who comes to live with his granduncle and cousin in the dying town of Braddock, Pennsylvania, has romantic monochrome visions of vampiric seductions and torch-lit mobs, but it is impossible to tell how seriously he takes them. In addition to the vampiric themes, the film shows the stagflation of the 1970s in the form of the struggling residents of Braddock.

Martin's granduncle, the superstitious old Tada Cuda, has reluctantly agreed to give Martin room and board as he is the closest living relative, as well as his nephew. Cuda is very much a Lithuanian Catholic who treats Martin like an Old World vampire and tries unsuccessfully to repel Martin with strings of garlic bulbs around the home and a crucifix. Martin mocks these attempts and says bitterly, "There's no real magic... ever." When Cuda warns Martin that if he murders anyone in Braddock that he will be killed, Martin sneaks out at night into inner city Pittsburgh and instead begins targeting crooks and drug dealers and draining their blood, although he still focuses on seducing women. Martin seeks advice on women from a radio DJ, who calls him "The Count" and eggs Martin on to try and seduce girls when the DJ realizes his listeners consider Martin a hit. When being put to work in a grocery store owned by Cuda, Martin strikes up a friendship with a lonely housewife, turning into a full-fledged affair with tragic results.

Cast[link]

Production[link]

The film was shot with a low budget, filmed entirely on real locations, and many of the supporting cast members were friends and family of the filmmakers. It was filmed on location in the Pittsburgh suburb of Braddock, Pennsylvania during the summer of 1976.^[1]

Release[link]

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1977 and was released in US cinemas on July 7, 1978.^[2]

The film was re-released in the UK with a 2-Disc DVD on June 28, 2010 by Arrow Video with the following Special Features:

• Theatrical Cut in 5.1 and Stereo sound plus choice of 4:3 and 16:9 presentations
• Wampyr: The Italian Cut with English Subs featuring legendary Goblin Score
• European Romero Documentary
• The audio recollections of Romero, Savini, Gornick and Rubinstein
• ‘Making Martin’:A recounting documentary
• Original TV and Radio Spots
• Martin Photo Album
• 4 sleeve art options
• Double-sided fold-out poster
• Exclusive Collector’s Booklet
• Set of 6 original poster art postcards

Alternate versions[link]

Originally, the film ran longer than the final version, at 2 hours and 45 minutes.^[3] The original release was entirely in black and white. No copies of this cut exist to Romero's knowledge.^[4]

Much like Romero's Dawn of the Dead, Martin was edited for the European market, under the title of Wampyr. This version is only available in an Italian dubbed version. This version's score was performed by the band Goblin.^[5]

Soundtrack[link]

The film score by Donald Rubinstein was released on Perseverance Records November 7, 2007.^[6] First release on Varese Sarabande1979.

Reception[link]

The film received highly positive reviews with the review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes reporting that 22 out of the 23 reviews they tallied were positive.^[7] The film is regarded by horror fans as one of the finest B horror films of the 1970s^{[citation needed]} and is often cited among Romero's best works^{[citation needed]}.

Remake[link]

On May 1, 2010, Richard P. Rubinstein announced to produce the remake of the film.^[8]

On Popular Culture[link]

On their 1983 album, The Art of Falling Apart, Soft Cell included a 10:16 song entitled Martin that was inspired by this film.^[9]

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Internet Home of Martin Mathias
• Martin at the Internet Movie Database
• Martin at AllRovi