Martin (1977) - Modernising The Predatory Vampire

[@YouHaveBeenWatchingFilms]

How do you feel about Martin? Do you have a favourite film by George A. Romero? Which films would you recommend similar to Martin? Thanks for watching!

[@blacknapalm2131]

*A masterpiece* One of my favorite films, it is mysterious and melancholy and haunting.

[@OddTheBird]

Seeing it in the 80s on VHS, as a Romero fan I was challenged by it and actually didn't finish it. I rented it again and over time it became an absolute favorite of mine. Later in life (2019) I had the opportunity to cast John Amplas in a film I was making. John is a cool guy and I had fun working and hanging out with him, albeit very briefly. He was in 5 Romero films total. I remember telling him that I could see Romero's more arthouse influences in Martin. Really unique film and soundtrack. I would like to see the extended cut that may still exist somewhere.

[@StephenPhillips-te8yv]

Love this movie. I have the novelization. The way they stripped the romantic trappings from the vampire myth and left us with this disturbed serial killer is brilliant. It's sort of like if Blumhouse made a Dracula movie.

[@maghurt]

I watched Martin for the first time around 1985, and was struck by how different the genre was presented. It's been one of my favorites since, kudos to bringing it to more people.

[@CordellPotts]

The brilliance in this film is that we are made to sympathize with such a monstrous character.

[@kazy8029]

It's definitely not my favorite Romero film but it's a fascinating one. Most stories that try to make an inexcusably evil villain somewhat sympathetic fail for me. There are a few exceptions (Dexter maybe? Lawrence of Arabia? Castlevania's Dracula sometimes?) but once a character is a murderous or rapist or just really shitty, it's a hard sell to feel bad for them. Martin, well, you feel like part of him just got a bad deal from the beginning. Whether or not you believe he's a real vampire, you feel like something went wrong in his life (undead life?). You don't feel a strong emotional sadness by the end of the film but there is a bit of melancholy. It's like watching 2 of my elementary school friends fall into heroin and meth addiction. I feel sad that they fell into it but after enough bullshit, yeah I hope to never see them again. I do love how it's never explained whether or not Martin is a real vampire. It's just so creepy to think about the implications of both rather than one of the other. It's like not knowing at the end of the Thing or not knowing if Deckard is a replicant (don't care what Ridley Scott says). It's like how the ending of the first Friday the 13th still gets under my skin. It's that little doubt that hits you funny.

[@YouHaveBeenWatchingFilms]

Have you ever seen Michael Powell's Peeping Tom? In terms of films that focus on shitty people in a way that's humanising, that feels like the best example I can think of. With Martin, I'm not even sure we're meant to sympathise with him. He's a young man who does dreadful things, and under any other circumstance he might just go about his daily life being awkward, but instead his actions destroy others for his own dependencies. I do agree there's a melancholy surrounding him, especially with the ending which made me genuinely gasp with how sudden it was, but I'd say it's less sympathy for me and more a recognition that his life is like a series of missed potential. It's a pretty depressing film I feel (also just to add, I'm sorry that you've lost friends to addictions, that must be such a difficult thing to process). Your Blade Runner and The Thing comparisons are so fitting here, it really is that similar ambiguity. I do hope that maybe Martin will gain recognition now that it's more widely available 🥲

[@kazy8029]

@@YouHaveBeenWatchingFilms That's a better way to put it honestly. It's not really sympathy, it's more of an understanding that things fell through and Martin didn't ever react well to it. The murderer for M might be a good example. That court scene is still one of my favorites (besides To Kill a Mockingbird being the best). I never saw Peeping Tom. I remember hearing about it and its definitely on my list

[@hallboyz7316]

Martin is my favorite vampire movie and my favorite Romero movie. Deserves a lot more recognition. Good vid.

[@YouHaveBeenWatchingFilms]

It does deserve more recognition! Completely unrelated, but I love The Shivering Truth! Saw your pfp and had to pay my respect 😁

[@Reprodestruxion]

Here here

[@Themeparkanxiety]

The ending haunts me to this day 😮

[@scrumpyminklemonk]

And the best part? This movie is on KZbin.

[@Reprodestruxion]

@scrumpyminklemonk definite version incl Soundtrack?

[@GeoffByrdMusic]

Modernising The Predatory Vampire: I believe they call them politicians now.

[@Dalekzilla]

In my opinion, Martin is the best vampire movie ever made. Having said that, I was lucky enough to get to meet George Romero years ago, and he told me that Martin was his favourite of all his films, largely because it was during the filming of Martin that he and his wife fell in love. Also, I asked him if Martin was indeed a vampire. The answer? No. Martin played out those scenes of a long ago past based on movies he had seen, and he was in fact merely a young man that was deeply disturbed, driven to his flights of fancy and sickness by his superstitious religious family. All that was explained in the Director's cut of the film, which we may never see, as all that footage was sold at auction a couple of years ago to a private collector.

[@YouHaveBeenWatchingFilms]

That's amazing that you met George Romero! What a fantastic insight into his personal feelings on the film and on Martin's "vampirism" (or lack of lol) 🤯

[@Reprodestruxion]

And Cuda encouraged him

[@dizzle1119]

Martin is a brilliant film...and it could be a great tv series.

[@ewannkanowak7161]

I've seen this movie 2 years ago. I was surprised how good it was

[@jasonreese4573]

My favorite vampire movie!!

[@VaderKneeling]

Makes me think of Nic Cage in Vampires Kiss 🤓

[@YouHaveBeenWatchingFilms]

Always wanted to see that one! It looks wild!

[@VaderKneeling]

Yu kno it iz! 😆

[@AnSlabder]

You've been covering a lot of my favorites lately. Good shit!!

[@KarlosMorale]

Oh wow I have never even heard of The Amusement Park. I know what I'm doing today! 😊

[@YouHaveBeenWatchingFilms]

It's only about 40 mins too! 😁

[@DanJackson1977]

It was a "lost" educational film he did about Elder neglect.

[@Reprodestruxion]

“It isn’t magic”

[@dizzle1119]

There's no real magic ever.

[@DanielGarcia-us7tf]

A couple.of films to watch for Halloween: The Monster Squad, Terrifier 2, Terrifier 3, The Shed, Wishmaster part 1, The Deep House, Vamp, The Mist, Warlock, Southbound, Troll part 1, Sinister, V/H/S/Beyond, The Sixth Sense, Ghost Story, Ghoulies 2, Beetlejuice, Lore (2023), Abigail, Fear Street: Part One - 1994 from Netflix, Fear Street: Part Two - 1978, Fear Street: Part Three - 1666 from Netflix, Ghost Stories on Shudder, Sleepy Hollow, Trick R' Treat, Casper, Hocus Pocus, Under Wraps, Ghostbusters, Monster House, Night of the Demons, The Midnight Hour, The Forgotten One, ParaNorman, Waxwork part 1, Tales from the Hood, The Frighteners, Silent Hill, Goosebumps, Creepshow, The Gate, Lady in White, Killer Party, Fright Night part 1, The Night Flier, The Lost Boys, Demons part 1, The Changeling, Poltergeist, The Mortuary Collection, Corpse Bride, Stake Land, Hellboy from Guillermo del Toro, Blade part 1, The Woman in Black, Crimson Peak, The Devil's Backbone, The Conjuring part 1, Evil Dead, Cabin in the Woods, Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight, House part 1, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, Dog Soldiers, My Demon Lover and Pumpkinhead!!!