Yuto_Zeiram

The addiction may just be one of the most unconventional "vampire" movies of the 20th century. It may also be the best one out there.

The story about young philosophy student Katie (Lili Taylor) who has a very moralistic and sensitive view of life and human behavior. Writing her essay on the holocaust to show the evil or sin in mankind she get's deeper involved in the dark side of humanity. While walking home one night, a mysterious woman (Annabella Sciorra) appears and assaults her. She tells her if she is so afraid of being hurt all she has to do is tell her to leave. Katie, being in shock can't say a word, and with a "I didn't think so" the mysterious woman bites her in the neck. Her last words to Katie are: "You just wait,... And see what happens". From that point on Katie starts to change. She can't take bright sunlight anymore, and needs sunglasses for her eyes. She's becoming very cynical about humans and their purpose in life. She also get's more aggressive, her moral degradation. And above all,... She craves a huge urge. The urge for blood.

Ferrara's movie is an atypical contribution to the vampire genre. In probably one of her most intense performances, actress Lili Taylor dwells through the streets of New York looking for the next "fix". In looking for a fix, she and others spread the vampire virus through the city, drawing parallels between the AIDS epidemic of the 80s and hardcore drug addiction (which explains the title of the movie). This exploration ends with a climax, which is worthy of GOT "Red Wedding". However it's not so much the story that Ferrara and St. John explore. It's more the philosophy behind it. "How can man withstand evil?"

Personally I don't agree with St. John's thesis that redemption lies not in philosophy but in religion. Yet inside the framework of a vampireflick it actually makes sense. This movie takes it's subject seriously. With content of the holocaust and references to famous philosophers like Nietzsche, Sartre and Proust, it can be a little heavy. Although some scenes are seriously over the top, the movie doesn't suffer from it's violent and graphic content, thanks to the cinematography, the music and It's lead Lili Taylor. She and Chris Walken (In a short performance) carry this movie with their roles in representing two sides of the same coin.

Ken Kelsch cinematography is on another level. The grainy quality and hand-held shots give the movie a do-cu-realism feel, yet the dramatic lightning and dynamic shadows could almost refer to old classics like "Dracula" or "Nosferatu". It's thanks to this that the streets of New York become very haunting, and to underscore this Joe Delia eerie music rips through the film to create a sense of dread.

This movie is not for everyone. It can come of as pretentious, but if it really would be then why grab back to conventional storytelling and classic vampire visuals? Ferrara makes no apology for the gore and dread that this movie has. He doesn't try to up the antics with visual flair or eye candy. This is a low budget "horror" movie, well acted, well shot and greatly directed.