The Addiction

The.Addiction.1995.1080p.BluRay.x264-CiNEFiLE

source: The Addiction

As I`ve said in just about every movie with the name " Abel Ferrara " in the credits he`s a director who doesn`t deserve a reputation for being a maker of video nasties simply because he`s not . I can understand why some people detest his films , they`re often very low budget and deal with topics people would rather not think about . In many ways Ferrara films are very similar in style to Martin Scorsese`s masterworks but Ferrara stays true to his ethos of social realism and allegory THE ADDICTION is almost certainly Ferrara`s most art house movie and possibly his most unlikable to a mainstream audience . It`s a bleak disturbing drama filmed in black and white featuring the allegory that being a vampire is very similar to being a drug addict . My problem with it is that I couldn`t help reading other things into the subtext . For example after being bitten by a vampire the main protagonist Kathleen resembles the victim of a sexual assault so is being a vampire the same as being a rapist ? Kathleen spreads her vampirism to others so is THE ADDICTION an AIDS/ hepatitis / STD allegory ? . I`m confused about these points . I was also initially confused about the graphic images of Nazi death camps and the Bosnian war but these are later explained ( read my one line summary if you don`t get it ) but the appearance of Christopher Walken`s character brings nothing to the plot

It's not about vampires, it is about resistance, or lack of it. About what may be right around the corner, about discipline, or about lack of discipline. About being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It can happen to anybody, and it happens to everybody. It's a pyramid scheme. Beautiful black and white composition by Abel Ferrara tied tightly in a wonderfully creative Joe Delia score. Casting the usual Ferrara/indie suspects: Paul Calderone, Edie Falco, Kathryn Erbe, Lili Taylor, Annabella Sciorra. The theme of the movie presents 4 new questions for every one it answers. Do we have a choice? Can we resist? And just when we think we have it all figured out, Christopher Walken has to show up and throw an entirely new lilt on things. Such is life.

Fairly typical AF. faire: over-indulgent and pseudo-intellectual twaddle. The first few minutes of the film are probably the most powerful, seeing the heroine returning to an empty flat after being mugged. The police can do nothing; she's very alone and this comes across well. Unfortunately, this is probably the high point of the film and fails utterly to redeem it. Christopher Walken puts in an incredibly over-the-top performance as an old (ancient?) vampire whose major boast is his reclaimed ability to defecate. On the whole, this film is pretentious rubbish. Probably the longest 88 minutes of my life; it even fails to fall into the "so bad it's good" category, taking itself on the whole far too seriously.

After watching most of Abel Ferrara's works I'm certain of one thing: Ferrara is a "two hits wonder". He made two good movies ("Bad lieutenant" and "The funeral") and that's all. His reputation is by far so out of proportion. In "The addiction" Ferrara made a pretentious and pedantic mixture of vampires cinema and philosophy. The issues he deals with in this movie are way too transcendental for a 60 minutes film., so everything is so arbitrary and senseless. As for Lily Taylor, she's a nice actress but she has an unusual capability to choose the most boring projects. Again, she's not a bad actress at all, but her curriculum would send an elephant to sleep. *My rate: 3/10

Apparently, once one joins the ranks of the undead, one loses not only the ability to live but the ability to have a single original thought. If a pretentious black & white film about vampires quoting teutonic philosophers to each other (in place of actually having conversations) for two uninterrupted hours is your cup of tea... then you may find after watching this movie that your cup of tea really, really sucks. The high point of the movie is easily the appearance of Christopher Walken, whose presence on screen almost threatens to redeem the movie. Who am I kidding. 5 minutes of Walken does not make up for 2 hours of high power suck.

Pretentious mix of vampire lore (given a modern spin by treating it as an affliction on the level of drug abuse and AIDS), philosophy and religion; I kind of liked the idea that, when a vampire is about to attack its victim, it asks the latter to order the undead to leave - but, invariably, the frightened and confused prey pleads for its life, thus sealing its fate! This was Ferrara's third horror film after THE DRILLER KILLER (1979), which I haven't watched, and the more straightforward and much more enjoyable BODY SNATCHERS (1993): ugly-looking with an annoying hip-hop soundtrack to match, the film is generally muddled and - pardon the pun - lifeless. Still, the bloody vampire attacks are quite effective (especially when the undead are brought together and let loose at a party - a similar idea was adopted for the disco scenes in AN American WEREWOLF IN Paris [1997]) and the main actors give undeniably committed performances: Lili Taylor (striking a good balance between vulnerability and the inevitable ferocity when aroused), Christopher Walken (mesmerizing in his one scene) and Annabella Sciorra (who makes for a fetching vampire lady).

Sublime, intriguing vampire flic from the very weird mind of Abel Ferrara, the man who brought the world The King of New York, Driller Killer, and Nine Lives of a Wet Pussy. This moody, stylish, esoteric treatise mixes vampires, drug addiction, and Kierkegaard. A bit too talky for some, and more than a little pretentious, The Addiction nonetheless delivers some very disturbing imagery and beautiful b/w cinematography. For those who prefer their vamps with more of a philosophical..bite. Lili Taylor is wonderful as the bookworm innocent drawn into a world of hopeless addiction and bloodletting. But Ferrara's night children are not Anne Rice's brooding, romantic loners - they are as brutal and savage as any street addict, jonesing for another fix. Christopher Walken provides yet another classy cameo, this time as a ray of vampire hope, showing Taylor's character that the addiction can be controlled, that humanity, while not restored, can be at least mimicked. This moovie will not be for all...tastes, but the MooCow says show it to yer artsy-fartsy friends & watch them recoil. :=8)