Martin, portrayed by John Amplas, is a young man who appears to be in his twenties. His journey begins on a train from Indianapolis, Indiana, heading to New York. Under the cover of night, he trespasses into a sleeping car and uses a syringe filled with narcotics to sedate a woman. As she struggles, he reassures her that she will not feel any pain. Eventually, she succumbs to sleep, and Martin commits a heinous act. He sexually assaults her and then, in a gruesome turn, slashes her wrists with a razor blade to drink her blood, leading to her death.
The train reaches its destination in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Martin is met by Tata Cuda, an elderly man played by Lincoln Maazel. Cuda, dressed in a white suit, claims to be Martin's cousin from the Old World. They make their way to Braddock, a deteriorating industrial suburb, where Cuda shows Martin to his new living quarters. Cuda, fearing for Martin's soul, accuses him of being an 84-year-old vampire and warns him of dire consequences if he harms anyone in the neighborhood, emphasizing that his granddaughter, Christina, resides with him. Cuda ominously states, "First I will save your soul. Then I will destroy you."
In a tense confrontation, Martin bursts into Cuda's room, where Cuda clutches a crucifix in defense, whispering "Nosferatu." Martin vehemently denies being a vampire, insisting he is simply Cuda's cousin. In a provocative act, he bites into a string of garlic, challenges Cuda's beliefs about vampires, and bitterly proclaims, "It isn't magic... even I know that. It isn't magic."
Later, Cuda introduces Martin to Christina, warning her to maintain her distance. However, Christina decides to befriend Martin, and he confides in her about his perceived vampire heritage. Despite Cuda's assertions that Martin is a vampire, Christina is skeptical, viewing the situation as a product of familial madness that has driven Martin to believe he is one.
Christina emerges as the only individual with whom Martin feels comfortable communicating. During a dinner with her boyfriend Arthur, he withdraws, highlighting his social struggles. Throughout this period, Christina confides her dreams of escaping Braddock with Arthur, despite Martin's warnings of Arthur's abusive nature.
In an act of kindness, Christina gifts Martin a phone, enabling him to call a radio talk show where he earns the nickname "the Count." Here, he shares his tormented existence as a supposed vampire with the show's audience, though the host dismissively considers him insane.
Martin finds employment at Cuda's grocery store, where he meets Abby Santini, a depressed woman confiding in him about her troubled marriage. Struggling with his own social anxieties, Martin yearns to connect with her but falters. He later reveals to the radio host his lack of experience with sexually awake women, admitting, "I have never had sex with a woman who was awake."
As time progresses, Martin's darker urges lead him to seek victims outside of Braddock. He tracks a young woman home, plotting to attack her when she is alone. However, a twist unfolds when he discovers her in bed with her lover. A violent confrontation ensues, leading to the deaths of both occupants, with Martin both drinking blood and allowing the woman to live.
The narrative continues to unfold with themes of exorcism, pursued by Cuda and a priest who suspect Martin of being possessed. Following a chaotic confrontation, Martin escapes Cuda's attempts at salvation, showcasing his complex relationship with his lineage and identity.
Amid his emotional turmoil regarding Christina and Arthur, Martin’s loneliness drives him back into the night. After enduring a deeply traumatic experience and the reality of his existence, he finds himself tragically distant from the connections he craved.
The culmination of Martin's inner turmoil occurs when he receives word of Abby's suicide. In an attempt to address the fragmented life he has led, he contacts the radio show once more, declaring he is better off alone. In a dark twist of fate, Cuda, under the delusion that Martin orchestrated Abby's death, confronts him in his sleep, killing him by driving a stake through his heart and burying him in the garden.
Thus, Martin’s tragic journey concludes, fading into obscurity as, in a haunting echo, voices inquire about "the Count," leaving an unsettling ambiguity regarding the nature of his existence.
