Martin DVD Review

• 26th Apr 2011

George A. Romero’s Martin is a teen vampire film that has attained cult status. Released in 1977, this was Romero’s third feature and made on a small budget utilising local talent and locations. Martin centres on a young man who moves to Braddock, Pennsylvania to live with his Uncle Cuda. Martin is a pretty average kid, except for the fact he drugs women before slashing open their veins and drinking their blood. Cuda is of the opinion that Martin comes from a long line of ancient vampires and has vowed to kill him should he attack anyone in Braddock.

Romero was already famous for cult classic, Night of the Living Dead and Martin was released a year before his classic sequel Dawn of the Dead. The documentaries on the DVD point to the fact that this production was quite a close-knit affair. The heavy use of friends and family coupled with Pittsburgh locations made for a very happy production indeed. Martin also marks the first time Romero worked with make-up legend Tom Savini who not only acted in the film but also did make-up and stunt-work.

Martin is a very confused boy, to say the least, as his midnight phone calls to a radio talk show using his pseudonym ”The Count” reveal. He has come to the understanding that he is a vampire and that there is very little he can do about his urges. The film cuts atmospherically between the normal everyday sequences of him in and around Braddock, with black and white footage showing how Martin perceives himself and his situation like something out of Murnau’s Nosferatu. Martin is a superbly touching coming-of-age teen drama about self-awareness and acceptance. The chimerical narrative adds layers and gives the story a bizarre depth, but when it’s all boiled down this is a deeply moving story of a troubled young man.

Romero explains, in the European documentary included on the extras, that all his films deal with how society wants to mould individuality out of people. The zombies we see time and again in his films represent what society wants to create in terms of a docile consumerist mass who never question anything. Martin symbolises the individuality that exists in all of us but is suppressed by the dullness of conformity.

This new release by Arrow is a delicious double DVD that contains many little gems in terms of extras. The theatrical cut of Martin is on the first disc with a gorgeous print that should satisfy any fan. The second disc contains the most intriguing extra of the set in the shape of the Italian release. This cut excludes the opening sequence of the theatrical release, allowing the audience to doubt Cuda’s assertion that Martin is a killer. Even more significant to this cut is the score by, Italian Giallo legends, Goblin which makes for an intensely different experience. The original score is wonderfully evocative and seems perfectly matched, but the Goblin score seems a little harsh and misplaced. Personally I’ll stick to the brilliant original but there’s no doubt that fans will love the opportunity to experience the alternate cut. There are also two illuminating documentaries and the usual trailers and TV spots.

This release is about as good as it’s going to get for fans of Martin and Romero in general. The teenagers who are now waiting with bated breath for the new Twilight film should be forced to watch Martin. This is, without doubt, the greatest teen vampire film of all time exceeding even the brilliant Let the Right One In. The most sensitive film Romero ever made, Martin remains a testament to the genius of one of the world’s greatest ever horror film makers.

Aled Jones