The Kingdom of Shadows

I saw Martin at the 2006 Karlovy Vary film festival, and I must say that its rare that I see a film that I enjoy so much.

First of all, it should be noted that this film is a b-horror film, though there is little horror in the entire movie. We can call it b-horror without worries, essentially because it is quite funny, and it has vampires in it (kinda). The plot centers on a young man who claims to be a vampire. He gets sent off to live with his uncle, because he's been causing too many problems for his parents (he occasionally has to kill people for their blood). It seems his entire family says he is a vampire as well, and he occasionally has flashbacks to a very typical, "vampire being run out of eastern european town" situation. He has one cousin who thinks the whole thing is ridiculous and that her family just has this poor kid convinced that he is a vampire. It is never really clarified whether he is a vampire or just a confused kid, though he acts like a confused kid all the time. The murders are beautifully choreographed, and the acting is wonderful (you actually believe he isn't going to kill her when he says he isn't going to kill her). You always feel sorry for the poor vampire boy, even though he is regularly murdering people.

The last thing I like about the film is the ending is wonderful.

So, a nice genre mix of a b-horror film and a coming of age film, brilliantly directed, and fun to watch. I can't suggest it highly enough.

Buy Martin here