The Best Vampire Movie Isn’t Supernatural At All, Stream Right Now

Martin is a teenager who is dealing with an existential crisis, but unlike what you’ve come to expect. Martin is convinced he is an 84-year-old vampire and his desire for blood is slowly taking him over at the start of the movie. 

He is sent to live with his uncle in a quaint industrial town outside Pittsburgh after his mother commits suicide. While on a train traveling to the city, he sedates a woman, ultimately making razor cuts on her wrists and drinking blood from her wounds. 

This is the first time you will realize that Martin is not your average vampire. He operates with a disturbing delicacy. In Martin, unlike traditional vampire movies, the filmmakers deliver a more psychological horror approach. 

Martin’s descent into madness takes center stage as his delusions of being a vampire continue to be exploited in the movie. Martin introduces himself as much older than what he looks like to his uncle, Cuda. 

Another reason why this vampire movie is a true gem is that Cuda is a deeply religious catholic whose home is adorned with crucifixes and garlic, reflecting his fear of the supernatural. He calls Martin “Nosferatu,” referencing the classic vampire from silent cinema, and desperately tries to save his soul through traditional religious methods. He even goes a step further and threatens Martin with murder if someone from the town becomes his victim. 

This vampire movie doesn’t play just with Martin’s mind, but also with those of its viewers. Is Martin really a classic vampire or are these flashbacks just his delusions? 

Martin stars John Amplas in his feature debut. He is perfect in the role, projecting vulnerability and making viewers empathize with him. He is no Dracula or Nosferatu, just a teenager who needs blood. 

Martin premiered at the Cannes Film Market in 1977 in hopes of securing a distributor and had a screening at the Edinburgh Film Festival the same year.  In the United States, 1978 saw a small release around the Washington D.C. area, a far cry from a nationwide rollout.

Despite the limited theatrical release, Martin garnered critical acclaim upon release. It holds strong 90 percent on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The movie is praised for its slow pace and dark atmosphere. 

George A. Romero remains a zombie apocalypse legend with his Night of the Living Dead series of films, but Martin is his own take on the classic vampire movie genre. Instead of a slasher, this is a surreal, psychological movie with a young man who could be the boy next door. Martin is an underrated horror genre and doesn’t deserve to be forgotten in time.