The Addiction (1995)
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73% of critics liked it
(26 reviews) -
66% of users liked it
(3,234 ratings)
Director Abel Ferrara applies his eccentric vision to the vampire genre with this cerebral "Art" film about graduate philosophy student Kathleen Conklin (Lili Taylor), who is bitten by an aggressive female vampire (Annabella Sciorra) and soon spirals into a nightmarish world of blood… More Director Abel Ferrara applies his eccentric vision to the vampire genre with this cerebral "Art" film about graduate philosophy student Kathleen Conklin (Lili Taylor), who is bitten by an aggressive female vampire (Annabella Sciorra) and soon spirals into a nightmarish world of blood addiction and existential angst. Driven by her merciless condition, she attacks several of her pretentious friends and classmates (even her professor) and mainlines their blood like heroin. Just as she becomes more bold in seeking prey on the streets of New York, she is waylaid by a potential victim -- actually a sophisticated vampire himself named Peina (Christopher Walken), who chooses to control his own blood addiction through fasting and meditation. Seeming to regain her self-control, she eventually completes her graduate thesis (helped by a bit of vampire nepotism) and holds a party to celebrate, inviting the entire faculty as well as members of her new "family" to join in the festivities. Although the parallels to heroin addiction are in plain view, this is also a study in the essential evil of humankind -- a theme evident in much of Ferrara's work. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Directed By
- Abel Ferrara
- Written By
- Nicholas St. John
- Genres
- Drama, Horror
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Oct 4, 1995 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
No matter, without exactly transcending the awful material, Ferrara puts it across with astonishing poetry and conviction.
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, Time Out
Scary, funny, magnificently risible, this could be the most pretentious B-movie ever -- and I mean that as a compliment.
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Caryn James, New York Times
Love him or hate him, Mr. Ferrara is one of the few directors who can turn genre movies into something deeper.
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Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Abel Ferrara, working from a rabidly ambitious script by Nicholas St. John, gives the genre a provocative and perversely funny snap that Anne Rice might envy.
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Hal Hinson, Washington Post
Unfortunately, it's so dark -- and impenetrable -- that it shuts us out.
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Cast
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Lili Taylor
as Kathleen Conklin
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Christopher Walken
as Peina
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Annabella Sciorra
as Casanova
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Edie Falco
as Jean
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Paul Calderon
as The Professor
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Fredro Starr
as Black
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Frank Aquilino
as Delivery Man
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Kathryn Erbe
as Anthropology Student
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Michael Imperioli
as Missionary
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Chuck Jeffreys
as Bartender
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Leroy Johnson
as Homeless Victim
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Kevin Scullin
as Featured Victim
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Nicholas de Cegli
as Cabby
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Jamel "Redrum" Simmons
as Black's Friend
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Susan Mitchell
as Featured Victim
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Jay Julien
as Dean
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Eddie Conna
as Waiter
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Fred Williams
as Homeless Victim
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Heather Bracken
as nurse
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Michael Fella
as Cop
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Robert W. Castle
as Priest/Narrator
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Nancy Ellen Anzalone
as Dress Victim
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Christian Campanella
as Featured Victim
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Lisa Casillo
as Mary
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Avron Coleman
as Cellist
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Anthony Giangrando
as Featured Victim
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Mary Ann Hannon
as Featured Victim
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Dr. Louis A. Katz
as Doctor
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John Vincent McEvily
as Featured Victim
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Bianca Pratt
as Featured Victim
