best movie i've ever seen.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

When this movie begins, you can't believe you would care about the character of Martin at all, or what happens to him - you only hope he ends up in prison. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that this won't be a a serial killer thriller, but more of a domestic abuse drama. Martin seems to know nothing about sex (I mean, who on earth would come up with the term "sexy stuff"), which is weird for a boy of his age in the 1970s. But, it's not clear how old he really is. Looks like Martin can't age, both physically and mentally. However, he's not completely void of feelings and you end up feeling for him.

Some of George Romero's movies, beyond being gorefests, have political themes. "Martin" is an example. The main character is a young man (John Amplas) who may or may not be a vampire. His uncle (Lincoln Maazel) is convinced that there is a curse in the family and calls the boy Nosferatu. But could it merely be this family superstition that drives Martin to drink blood? The political aspect in the movie is the look at urban decay. The entire town in which the movie is set is falling apart. In a "making of" featurette, Romero noted that the town's mill had closed and the whole place was economically depressed. Much like how "Night of the Living Dead" looked at race relations and the breakdown of the nuclear family, "Dawn of the Dead" poked fun at consumerism, and "Land of the Dead" showed how the rich hide themselves from the chaos and the common people have to fend for themselves, "Martin" shows the end of the American dream.Anyway, it's a really fun movie, and it's especially cool that they pulled this off with a crew of only about 15. Guerrilla filmmaking at its finest! Also starring Christine Forrest (Romero's wife) and Tom Savini.

Martin (1977) *** (out of 4) Some would call George Romero the greatest American horror director while others would label him a disappointment who got lucky with Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead. No matter which side of the fence you're on the one thing I've always admired is that Romero always stuck to his guns and did things he own way. Between the first two Dead movies Romero had a string of disappointments, which included the rarely seen There's Always Vanilla as well as The Crazies and Season of the Witch. The year before Dawn was released the director did for vampires what he did for zombies and that film is the now cult shocker Martin.Martin (John Amplas) boards a train headed for Pittsburgh where he is going to be living with his Uncle who plans on saving his soul before killing him. While on the train we learn why Martin is to be killed. That night he sneaks into the room of a young lady, drugs her to sleep and then slices her wrist open in order to drink her blood. Martin is not only a troubled young man but he also believes that he is a vampire but without the fangs, he must resort to other ways of seeking blood.Martin is a film I first saw nearly ten years ago and I really didn't care too much for it. Over the years I was somewhat shocked to see that many consider this the best horror film of the decade so I was looking forward to this second viewing. While I found the film slightly better this time around there were still many problems I had with the film.Anyone slightly familiar with this film will know about the legendary 2 ½ hour cut of the film, which was cut down for theatrical release and has gone missing since then.I'm not exactly sure what was in this longer version but I think viewing it that way would be the only way to get the full impact that the director was going for. Martin contains some brilliant moments but it's quite clear that a lot's missing here and that keeps the film from being a total achievement. What's most interesting is Romero updating the vampire myths including killing off everything we've learned from previous films. Martin has no fangs, no beautiful women and the sunlight really doesn't bother him.The film moves at a snails pace but that's not to say this is a boring film. The slow pace, like that in Dawn of the Dead, helps tell the story and lets us get to know Martin, his actions and those around him. It's very interesting getting to know this troubled kid and how those around him react towards him. Some feel sympathy while others feel horror.Romero takes his time in telling the story, which again, it would be important to see the longer version. Even in this 95-minute version, we get enough clues to keep us mildly entertained throughout.The most fascinating moments are the actual stalk and murder scenes that Martin goes out on. The idea of a vampire having no fangs and having to resort to cutting wrists for blood works perfectly and adds all sorts of needed suspense. There's a wonderful sequence where Martin breaks in on a victim only to be confronted by someone else. I won't ruin the scene for everyone but Romero has a wonderful time playing the audience as well as the characters on screen. Another wonderful thing about the film is its atmosphere, which is able to make this appear like a classic Gothic tale. The atmosphere is thick throughout and really helps the pacing.The problem with Martin however is that there is clearly stuff missing and the story here really isn't fully explored, in this version at least. Towards the end of the film Martin begins to have a sexual affair with a woman and this here is sadly all too brief. I'm going to guess this is expanded in the longer version and I'm sure it is a very important moment so that the ending makes a bit more sense. Even the nutty Uncle is never fully brought to life and his beliefs in the subject are never really understood. There are other small characters that pop in that are never fully addressed.This 95-minute version of Martin is fun to watch due to various brilliant moments but in the end I can't help but feel we're watching a bastardized version of a better movie. The producer's needed a hit, they cut the film and sadly it appears the longer version is lost but as it stands, this longer version is perhaps one of the most important films that needs to be found. Martin works well but I suspect this longer version might very well be one of the greatest horror films ever made.

This was a decent horror movie. I was thrown off a lot but I still liked it. John Amplas (an actor I admire) gives his debut in this movie, as the lead role. And he pulls it off very well. Also, my man Tom Savini makes his big screen debut, although hes not much of a star here, I still admire his part. Martin was a character I could very much relate to. It was as if my life was based off the movie. I thought Cuda was sort of annoying, and the ending only further proved my theory. The ending was a bit shallow in my opinion, but it couldn't have been done much differently. Romero has made yet another great movie, among his many. The movie was difficult to follow at times but I suppose it all pays off in the end. I give this a 7/10, flawed, but great movie. A Must-see for Romero, horror and vampire fans.