MARTIN

US, 1977, 95 minutes, Colour.
John Amplas, Lincoln Maazel, Christine Forrest.
Directed by George A. Romero.

In 1968, the twenty-eight-year-old George A. Romero released the small-budget living dead thriller, The Night of the Living Dead. It is considered to be one of the most influential films in American film history, re-establishing the horror genre. Romero continued to make films for the next forty years, always returning to his living dead themes. Martin is a small-budget film of 1977, focusing on a young man who goes to live with his uncle. He believes that he is a vampire and has memories of a vampire experience. However, he uses razor blades and syringes for his victims rather than fangs. The psychological study of the film asks whether Martin is self-deluded or an actual vampire. Romero is also very strong on portraying contemporary society – and very critically. He returned to the living dead themes with The Dawn of the Dead and The Day of the Dead. In 2004 he made another living dead film, The Land of the Dead and, with the trend of hand-held camera so popular in the first decade of the 21st century, released Diary of the Dead in 2008.

1. The appeal of the horror film? Violence, the bizarre, nightmare? Style?

2. The vampire traditions in history, Transylvania, bloodsucking and evil? The grandfather and his background of superstitions and fear about vampires in the family? The relatedness of Catholic traditions?

3. The film traditions about vampires? Derived from literature? Nosferatu? As visualized in the monochrome imaginings of Martin's mind?

4. The transition of the horror and vampire genre to modern America? How credible was it? Did it make it more acceptable or less so? How well did the middle European traditions transfer to America? The flourishing of vampirism in America? How real did the film intend the vampirism to be? How much imaginary? How much induced because of real and cinema traditions?

5. The initial impact of Martin, the train, the preparation of his victim, the bloodsucking, sexuality? The impact of the facts? The later awareness of needs? The comparison with later examples and the need for explicit presentation or not?

6. Martin and his denying of the traditions? His age, his attitude towards himself? The influence of the grandfather and his condemnation of him? The influence of Nosferatu and the film traditions as operative in Martin's imagination?

7. The variations on sexuality? The moral attitudes of the young man, traditional attitudes of vampirism and sexuality? His shyness and awkwardness? His desire for sexual fulfilment? The variations on traditional behaviour for example sunlight, sleeping at night, coffins? How ludicrous did this make the traditions seem?

8. The sequences in the house, the grandfather and his background, the granddaughter and her wanting to be free of him and arguing with him, her scepticism? Her fiance and his attitudes? Her freeing herself by leaving? Her concern for Martin?

9. The personality of Martin, the boy-next-door, his seeming ordinariness, his work as a delivery boy, his charm, working at various jobs?

10. Martin and his relationship with women, the woman he visited and returned to find her with her lover, his violence perpetrated on them? The long sequence of chasing them? how appropriate? The importance of the lonely housewife, the liaison, her death and the suggestions of vampirism? The women as Martin's victims? His need for blood? The sexuality and the lessening of the need for blood?

11. The significance of the sequence of the priest, his trendiness, the building of the church, Martin's presence and non-abhorrence? The visit to the grandfather and the worldly comments on the meal, the scepticism about devils, the remarks about the exorcist? The transition to the exorcist and his doing his job? Martin reacting and clowning?

12. The significance of Martin's call to the disc jockey? The satire on the response? The use of jargon? And yet Martin using him as a counsellor-confessor?

13. Martin's dilemma, his tiredness, blood, sexuality? His being victimized by his grandfather - for the wrong reasons?

14. The appropriateness of the portrayal of violence?

15. How satirical was the film, how realistic? A combination of both?