The Addiction (1995)

A New York philosophy grad student turns into a vampire after getting bitten by one, and then tries to come to terms with her new lifestyle and frequent craving for human blood.

Director:

Abel Ferrara

Writer:

Nicholas St. John

Stars:

Lili Taylor, Christopher Walken, Annabella Sciorra

5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lili Taylor	...	Kathleen Conklin
Christopher Walken	...	Peina
Annabella Sciorra	...	Casanova
Edie Falco	...	Jean
Paul Calderon	...	Professor
Fredro Starr	...	Black
Kathryn Erbe	...	Anthropology Student
Michael Imperioli	...	Missionary
Jamal Simmons	...	Black's Friend (as Jamel 'RedRum' Simmons)
Robert W. Castle	...	Narrator / Priest (as Father Robert Castle)
Michael A. Fella	...	Cop (as Michael Fella)
Louis Katz	...	Doctor (as Dr. Louis A. Katz)
Leroy Johnson	...	Homeless Victim
Fred Williams	...	Homeless Victim
Avron Coleman	...	Cellist

Storyline

Kathleen Conklin, a doctoral student in philosophy, finds herself with a new perspective on the nature of evil and humanity after being bitten by a vampire in New York City....

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | drugs | blood | philosophy | college | 

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Taglines:

The dark is their sunlight. What makes them different is what keeps them alive.

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Genres:

Horror | Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 October 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dependenta

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$302,393 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fast Films, Guild, October Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (as Dolby Surround) Dolby SR

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film critic Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian placed the film at #1 in his top ten films of all time (as submitted for the 2002 Sight & Sound Poll)

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Quotes

Kathleen Conklin: What's gonna happen to me?
Peina: Read the books. Sartre, Beckett. Who do you think they're talking about? You think they're works of fiction?

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Connections

Referenced in A Short Film About the Long Career of Abel Ferrara (2004)

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Soundtracks

"London Bridge"
Traditional
Performed by Endira

User Reviews

Cool!

This movie was even scarier for me since I spent 2/3 of my life in New York City and all the settings were in my family's neighborhood!

The acting was first rate, as was the storyline and cinematography, but all the philosophical dissertations annoyed the HELL out of me because it reminded me of some of the intellectual snobs I went to school with who had lower IQ's than my cat.

Upon reading the previous review, it just occurred to me that all the snobbery made perfect sense.

The character was probably in shock for several weeks. In HER mind, a vampire wouldn't resist his or her impulses they would just become feral. As such, to her, this constant internal dialogue of trying to figure out whether or not her addictions are psychological or supernatural somehow proves her normalcy (at least in her universe).

Christopher Walken was GENIUS and so convincing that I never EVER want to meet him in person! His explanation of his adaptation to his vampirism made it seem so normal (it REALLY felt like he was giving the audience a confession under the guise of acting) that you got the sense that he WASN'T acting!

I have to say that the graduation scene is one of the single most disturbing things that I have ever seen in my life! I saw it coming, but never really acknowledged before seeing this, that horror movies are realistic because all the writers/directors have to do is open up the local newspaper to see what a real monster is!