A young man, convinced he's a vampire, goes to live with his elderly and hostile cousin in a small Pennsylvanian town, where he tries to suppress his bloodlust.
Direction
Romero's most personal film. No zombies, just pure dread.
Acting
John Amplas is uncomfortably vulnerable. You pity AND fear him.
Score
That jarring synth will haunt your dreams. 1978 was wild.
Director
George A. Romero
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Romero wrote this after a nightmare about a vampire on a train. The $80,000 budget came partly from his own pocket.
This bombed because audiences wanted Dawn of the Dead zombies. Now it's considered Romero's masterpiece—his 'vampire' as metaphor for addiction, mental illness, and suburban anomie predates Let the Right One In by decades.
US
