The Addiction
Overview
In director Abel Ferrara's THE ADDICTION, vulnerable New York University grad student Kathleen (Lili Taylor) becomes a philosophic vampire after an alleyway attack. Shot in expressionistic black and white, Ferrara's film blends a cool underground aesthetic with analytical digressions on Nietzsche and Kierkegaard delivered in a breathy voice-over as Kathleen stalks and seduces new victims. Parallels are drawn between vampirism and drug addiction--and intellectualism and genocide--as Kathleen bites and infects a cross section of the East Village, including cabbies, hustlers, and professors, while completing her doctoral thesis on the nature of evil. Her attacks and dissertations are accented by footage from Vietnam, Bosnia, and Nazi death camps that further the parallels. Christopher Walken has a memorable scene as Peina, an older vampire who gives Kathleen some sage advice. Schoolly D provides a fittingly nihilistic rap soundtrack. As with most of Ferrara's films written by longtime collaborator Nicholas St. John, this is a heady, hallucinatory mix of urban grit, violence, and spirituality. Different from the typical vampire film by a mile, it's worth investigating, especially for Taylor, letter-perfect in her unique role.
Awards:
Main Cast & Crew:
Abel Ferrara - Director
Lili Taylor
Christopher Walken
Annabella Sciorra
Edie Falco
Paul Calderon
Fredro Starr
Kathryn Erbe
Michael Imperioli
Jamal Simmons
Robert W. Castle
Details
- Format: Blu-ray
- Run Time: 82
- Color Format: B&W
- UPC: 760137133889
- Genre: HORROR / SCI-FI / FANTASY
- Rating: Not Rated
- Release Date: June 2018
Movie Reviews
Synopsis:
In this stylish, highly symbolic take on the vampire legend, an NYU grad student is afflicted with vampirism after she's accosted by a Carpathian night dweller. Seeking to cure herself, she approaches a master vampire to learn how to control her cravings and find redemption.
Notes:
Theatrical release: October 24, 1995 (NY).
Shot on location in New York City, mostly around New York University.
The film was shown at the Berlin Film Festival in January 1995 and at the Toronto Film Festival in September 1995.
Reviews:
"...As always, it's mesmerizing to watch Ferrara go for broke..." - 10/19/1995 Rolling Stone, p.158
"...Dramatically surprising, stylishly made in black-and-white and well acted, especially by Lili Taylor in the leading role..." - 02/06/1995 Variety
"...Sensuous, luminous black-and-white photography....Ferrara is a master of filming characters in solitude....He gives Taylor the freedom to go extreme, and her risk-taking pays off in a performance of almost possessed fervor..." - 03/01/1995 Film Comment, p.8-10
"...Edgy and stylish..." - 04/01/1997 Sight and Sound, p.34
"...Drawing on film noir as much as Nosferatu myths to shape a dreamy, compelling and entirely fangs-free morality tale..." - 08/01/2003 Total Film, p.122
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