i watched 'martin' the other night. i've been doing quite a bit of film watching for the last few weeks. there isn't really
much else to do. there is no music scene, there are no art collectives, you need to drive everywhere, and i prefer
coffee and tea to jager shots and sambuca. which is why i spend a bunch of my free time researching horror,
art house, performance videos, etc. i tend to look for things that are either completely ridiculous as in good
or in bad.
Martin is one of George A. Romero's earlier films. nine years after 'night of the living dead' and i believe a year before,or after
dawn of the dead..but don't quote me on that.
Martin is the story of a teenager who has a taste for blood and has a system he uses to get such resources. he uses injections of narcotics to help his victims sleep while he slices their wrists with razorblades and drinks their blood. especially from lovely looking women whether it be on train cars, while delivering groceries from his delusional grandfather who treats him like like an old world vampire. Martin claims he is a vampire, but he disagrees with the whole bells and whistles concept of using garlic cloves, holy water,or crosses to destroy a vampire. to him, " there is no magic...never was"
Throughout the film the whole question of 'is he' or 'isn't he?' lurks in the corner. Specifically during the times of black and white flashbacks of martin as an old world vampire hunting beautiful prey and dodging the angry villagers and his grandfather.
I thought this was a rad film and i enjoyed the character development of Martin because it lets you come up with your own resolution. though i will say that the end is a brutal shocker, it is totally worth it. red tempera paint-looking blood and old world flashbacks of vampires being chased by angry villagers with torches and all.