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ravenus · 19th June 2004, 08:14 AM

MARTIN - George Romero

Martin is a vampire but unlike any you have sen before. Stripped of all notions of the romantic and the supernatural he is seen more as a victim of grotesque circumstance and his own psychological makeup. Martin comes of a deeply disturbed stock with oppressive religious fixations and has a deeply introverted silent geeky personality. He comes to stay with a storekeeper uncle who believes he is actually an 84-year old vampire. This fantastic situation is brilliantly contrasted by the deliberately staid and prosaic setting of the movie. Romero gives us the American version of Orwell's Aspidistra community as the backdrop for his deconstruction of the vampire myth. Martin constantly taunts his uncle's superstitions about the nature of vampirism ("There is NO magic", he repeatedly says), but he IS driven by a bloodthirst, the origin of which is never really explained to us...is it pathological or psychological or what? We don't know. Martin hunts his victims, solitary women, injecting them with heavy sedative and then cutting their wrists to drink blood. He is also achingly hungry for sexual affection, clumsily wrapping his drugged victims around his naked self, trying to soothe them saying "Just go to sleep, it'll be alright."This tragic, sordid spectacle is contrasted with surreal B/W visions where Martin sees himself as a powerful vampire of an earlier age who is able to seduce his willing victims. The movie is filled with scenes of palpable bleakness and pitch-black ironic humor.

This is Romero's most visually creative film, with a brilliant juxtaposition of the real and surreal worlds of Martin. John Amplas is a brilliant fit in the title role - with his wonderfully expressive sorrowful eyes and his feline physique he makes us root for his character, even when he is slitting wrists and drinking blood. All the other characters are also performed brilliantly. In conclusion, I think this film makes a greater impact on me than the Living Dead series because it feels absolutely intimate and personal throughout.

19th June 2004, 08:14 AM	#10 (permalink)
ravenus Heretic Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: India Posts: 1,349	Re: The Horror Film Watch MARTIN - George Romero Martin is a vampire but unlike any you have sen before. Stripped of all notions of the romantic and the supernatural he is seen more as a victim of grotesque circumstance and his own psychological makeup. Martin comes of a deeply disturbed stock with oppressive religious fixations and has a deeply introverted silent geeky personality. He comes to stay with a storekeeper uncle who believes he is actually an 84-year old vampire. This fantastic situation is brilliantly contrasted by the deliberately staid and prosaic setting of the movie. Romero gives us the American version of Orwell's Aspidistra community as the backdrop for his deconstruction of the vampire myth. Martin constantly taunts his uncle's superstitions about the nature of vampirism ("There is NO magic", he repeatedly says), but he IS driven by a bloodthirst, the origin of which is never really explained to us...is it pathological or psychological or what? We don't know. Martin hunts his victims, solitary women, injecting them with heavy sedative and then cutting their wrists to drink blood. He is also achingly hungry for sexual affection, clumsily wrapping his drugged victims around his naked self, trying to soothe them saying "Just go to sleep, it'll be alright."This tragic, sordid spectacle is contrasted with surreal B/W visions where Martin sees himself as a powerful vampire of an earlier age who is able to seduce his willing victims. The movie is filled with scenes of palpable bleakness and pitch-black ironic humor. This is Romero's most visually creative film, with a brilliant juxtaposition of the real and surreal worlds of Martin. John Amplas is a brilliant fit in the title role - with his wonderfully expressive sorrowful eyes and his feline physique he makes us root for his character, even when he is slitting wrists and drinking blood. All the other characters are also performed brilliantly. In conclusion, I think this film makes a greater impact on me than the Living Dead series because it feels absolutely intimate and personal throughout.