Vampire in Braddock

Martin (George A. Romero, 1977)

Ought to precede this by stating that my first impression of George A. Romero's slept-on vampire film, Martin (1977), was a mostly negative one. Romero's modern update of such a traditional supernatural foe, festooned with indie art house sensibilities, was stark contrast to Hammer's traditionally, gothic bloodsuckers which your pre-teen host was accustomed to back in the day. This was new wave before I even knew new wave. Much like our taste buds maturing as we get older, the same is also applicable with film. For this blogger, Martin has gradually improved for the better.

The youthful Martin, played by John Amplas, is apparently an eighty-four year old vampire who has come to live and work with his elderly cousin Cuda in Braddock, Pennsylvania. The superstitious old man isn't afraid to reveal his contempt for Martin; right from their first meeting at a railway station, he ominously professes to him, "first I will save your soul, then I will destroy you!" From this point, their relationship is set in stone. It's old world meets new world.

Martin dispels many myths regarding vampires: sun light doesn't burn our protagonist, although his eyes are sensitive, however; crucifixes and garlic which Cuda has adorned all over his house to protect him and his daughter Christine from Martin, have no power. You begin to wonder why he would even allow Martin in his home. It's revealed that Martin's condition is a hereditary curse, which is countered with outsiders assuming he is suffering from either being an eccentric oddball. Drugging his victims and cutting them with razors are how Martin goes about feeding his lust for blood. The first kill, set on an overnight train travelling to Pittsburgh, illustrates Martin's predatory instincts and his methodical approach to killing. A disturbing scene, in my opinion.

As a character study, the film's titular protagonist, isn't the first new take on vampirism to emerge, but it is one of the more well realised examples. Amplas, a minor cameo actor in everything I've seen him in thus far, does a sterling job in playing Martin as a complex individual. Romero was supposedly so impressed by him, that he rewrote the titular character to look much younger than he really is.

A cool element of the film is Martin regularly calling a talk radio DJ, where he's been dubbed as "the Count". He nonchanontly describes how being a vampire isn't all that cracked up as it's meant to be. Of course, the DJ and his audience openly mock him, labelling him as another one of the city's freaks, but they're some of my favourite scenes from the film, and really serve to get even further inside Martin's psychological state.

Romero uses an effective feature where he edits black and white flashback style scenes into the film. These juxtapostions completely contrast between Martin's romanticed fantasy of what is about to transpire and the ugly reality of how they never do. 

Since it's such a very modest budget film, Romero makes economic use of his cast and locations, by including family and freinds, along with filming in their homes. Romero even improvises scenes by taking advantage of a street marching band playing in the local street and having Martin trying to blend in with the crowd. Tom Savini makes an appearance as Arthur, boyfriend to Martin's other cousin, Christina, played by Christine Forrest, who married Romero a few years after the film. Romero also has a small part in the film as the liberal catholic priest; in one scene he bigs up William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973) in what appears to be an improvised scene.

As mentioned earlier, the film was way over my head, initially. Decades on, when I've since discovered other regional seventies horror gems, like Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971), Messiah of Evil (1973), and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), films which arguably follow in Romero's independent footsteps with the seminal Night of the Living Dead (1968), it's the reason why I've grown to appreciate Martin since then. Would I have loved those movies if I had watched them at such a young age as I did with Martin? Probably not, in all honesty.

Today, Martin's legacy is perceived as an under appreciated horror classic. It's Romero's last hurrah as a somewhat unorthodox film maker, even his follow-up, the god-tier Dawn of the Dead (1978) is a much tighter offering with far more mainstream appeal. This would be a good reason why Romero struggled to get his non-zombie films; especially in the twilight of his film making career.

Apparently, there is an extended version of Martin. Boutique label Second Sight unsuccessfully tried to obtain the distribution rights, but the current owner of the film demanded a sky high price allegedly, thus the extended cut remains largely unseen. That's a real shame for film aficionados, sadly.