Martin (1977, USA)

George A. Romero’s Martin may be the perfect antithesis to Twilight. What if, instead of a marble-carved walking Calvin Klein ad, your average young vampire was more of a shy, pasty creep? One who was even too shy to do the “sexy stuff” with a woman who wasn’t unconscious, and who needed sedatives and a razor blade in order to be able to feed at all? The most interesting thing about Romero’s vampire re-imagining isn’t necessarily the is-he-or-isn’t-he conundrum at the center, it’s how the director pokes fun at the legendary seductive skills of your average bloodsucker, draining the myth of its typical romantic overtones. Instead of a suave monster sweeping the ladies off their feet, Martin can hardly open his mouth in the company of other people, and his belief in his vampiric tendencies might actually be a bit delusional. Like Romero’s work in general, the effect is comedic and creepy at the same times, and Martin is well deserving of its cult status.