To me, this movie is perfection.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Meet Martin (John Amplas, in his screen debut). He's a brooding teenager who's just travelled from Indianapolis to a small Pennsylvania town to live with his elder, Old World cousin Cuda (Lincoln Maazel). For years Cuda has been obsessed with family history and family curses, and as a result believes that Martin is a vampire. Martin also has bought into this, but he lacks traditional vampiric powers. He can go out in the sun, garlic and crosses mean nothing to him, and he lacks fangs. Therefore, he must resort to slicing up people with razor blades when he wants to suck up their blood.At his very best, the late filmmaker George A. Romero could be counted upon to explore some very interesting ideas, and shake up the horror genre in a compelling way. Even people who might take exception to the excellently nasty gore devised by Tom Savini are likely to find this an intriguing tale. It utilizes themes such as those who lend credence to superstition, and the power of that belief, as well as possible mental illness and suggestibility. Romero's use of the Pennsylvania locations (including the town of Braddock) give it some great depressed working-class atmosphere, and his juxtaposition of colour and black & white flashbacks is impressive. "Martin" further benefits from music by Donald Rubinstein that is sometimes discordant and unusual, and melodic at others.Amplas (actually in his late 20s at the time of filming) delivers a subtle, nuanced performance, receiving strong support from Maazel, as the zealot convinced that his kin is "Nosferatu", Christine Forrest (whom Romero married in 1981) as Cudas' rational-minded granddaughter, Savini himself in the role of her boyfriend Arthur, and Elyane Nadeau as single woman / deli customer Mrs. Santini. Savini displays a naturalness in this acting role that one realizes that he could have had more gigs in that capacity over the years. Romero himself has the supporting role of Father Howard."Martin" has a number of riveting sequences, from its opening murder set piece to its conclusion. Best of all, its main character manages to retain some semblance of sympathy even as he does some horrible things, and attains some sort of celebrity status as he repeatedly phones a radio call-in show and gets dubbed "The Count" by the host.One of Romero's most intriguing features by far.Eight out of 10.

Deciding on Braddock — one of the hardest hit mill towns — and utilizing family and friends, Romero started to film what he would later call his favorite film.In the film's first script, Martin is an older man who is definitely a vampire, struggling to live (unlike?) in the modern world. But after seeing John Amplas in a Pittsburgh Playhouse production of Philemon, Romero rewrote the film to make Martin younger and more innocent.Martin's family has all died in Indianapolis, so he's on his way to Pittsburgh — but not before shooting a woman up full of drugs and drinking her blood. He's met at the train station by his uncle, Tateh Cuda, and taken to his new home: Braddock, PA. Even today, Braddock is one of the most run down sections of Pittsburgh — the decay evident in the movie got a lot worse before John Fetterman was elected and numerous civic campaigns have brought new business in. That said — it's still a great setting for a horror film.Cuda and his niece Christine share a home and have allowed Martin to stay. The old man gives Martin several rules, including one that if ever kills anyone in Braddock, he'll stake him through the heart. He keeps crucifixes and garlic all over the house, continually telling Martin that first, he'll save his soul, and then, he kills him. Martin yells at Cuda, showing him that he can touch the crucifixes and eat the garlic and bitterly exclaims, "There's no real magic…ever."This is in direct contrast to Martin's fantasies, shot in black and white (there's supposedly a 2 hour and 45 minute cut of this film that's only in black and white) like a romantic vampire movie, where women willingly give up their throats to him. The truth — he barely defeats the women in battle, needs drugs to sedate them and with no fangs, he must use a razor blade to kill them.Despite Cuda's continual threat's of death, he hires Martin to work in his butcher shop as a delivery man. This allows him to meet several woman, including Mrs. Santini, who tries to seduce him. Unlike his dreams of control over these women, he can't even control his own feelings and runs away.Pittsburgh has always been a talk radio town — local powerhouse KDKA boasts a 50,000 watt antenna that can be heard throughout most of the continental US in the evening — and Martin takes advantage of this, calling a local DJ (Michael Gornick, director of Creepshow 2) to try and figure out life. He becomes known as "The Count" and is one more lonely voice seeking comfort until the sun comes up — again, in marked contrast to the way vampires traditionally fear daytime. The DJ segments hit close to home — I was a long-time listener (1989-2005) of Bob Logue's Undercover Club and Pittsburgh has a long history — as stated above — of radio shows like Party Line. We're slow to give up on technology, so AM radio still remains strong here.Martin tries to keep his thirst under control, but finally sneaks out to the big city — Pittsburgh is very much a bridge and tunnel town where folks stay within one of the ninety small neighborhoods that make up the overall town — and attacks a woman he'd seen at Cuda's market. But she isn't alone — she already has an extramarital lover over — and Martin barely overcomes them both before he drugs and rapes the woman.Read more at http://bit.ly/2l3GYwj

I was 17 when I saw this movie. I so identified with the character of Martin that I wasn't able to view the film objectively. I absolutely lived his disengagement with the rest of the world. Although, in my defence, I did manage to restrain myself from performing any of the more extreme forms of behaviour. But essentially that was my life. I seemed to be surrounded by grim old people who didn't understand me. Like no teenager has ever experienced that!!!It's funny what scenes stayed with me through the years. Apart from all the sex and violence, I clearly remember the Shriners parade and the ghastly brown and orange interior decor (Yeeuurgh!)I recently had a chance to see it again, but this time viewed through the eyes of a fat, bald, middle-aged man who has lost interest in cheesy horror-flicks. I am astounded at what a good film it is. Romero managed to challenge all our perceptions of what a vampire should be. Instead of a sophisticated, intelligent but driven aristocrat here was a stupid, callow youth with no social skills. Was that really me?

This was a decent horror movie. I was thrown off a lot but I still liked it. John Amplas (an actor I admire) gives his debut in this movie, as the lead role. And he pulls it off very well. Also, my man Tom Savini makes his big screen debut, although hes not much of a star here, I still admire his part. Martin was a character I could very much relate to. It was as if my life was based off the movie. I thought Cuda was sort of annoying, and the ending only further proved my theory. The ending was a bit shallow in my opinion, but it couldn't have been done much differently. Romero has made yet another great movie, among his many. The movie was difficult to follow at times but I suppose it all pays off in the end. I give this a 7/10, flawed, but great movie. A Must-see for Romero, horror and vampire fans.