Though he's best known for his forays in the zombie genre, having cemented his legacy with classics like Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, George A. Romeo's personal favourite of his own motion pictures his also probably his lesser known: Martin. Martin is a film about a young man who goes around stalking women, drinking their blood, drugging them and generally acting like a deranged individual. The most interesting thing about this low-budget film, perhaps, is that its central character denies that he's actually a vampire. Whether or not he actually is... well, it's never made clear. He's also played rather sympathetically, as far as blood-sucking fiends go, and you're left feeling sorry for him. With this picture, Romero set out to deconstruct the tropes associated with the vampire genre; Martin isn't bothered by sunlight or garlic or crosses, which throws his existence into question. Is he disturbed, unhinged or both? It makes for a dense and thought-provoking film as a result - an eerie character study certainly in need of a reappraisal.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
