The Addiction (1995)

I'll never forget seeing this in a theater up in Seattle when it first came out. I was twenty years old and broke for any nihilistic, artsy vampire movie a director could throw out there. Nadja came out the year before and set the stage for my 'black and white philosophical vampire' interest.

When we saw the trailer for this, it was easy math. Over the years, I've probably seen it a dozen times. It was hard to get my hands on a copy but I finally got an import of it on DVD. Recently, it popped up on iTunes but only for rent and tonight, I watched it on Starz.

All around, it's one of my favorite bizarre vampire movies and I recommend it.

The whole point of the film is a metaphor for severe addiction. The director himself talked about having a heroin problem for years. As you go at this film, it's pretty obvious that whoever was involved knew their stuff when it came to the actions of someone dependent on a substance.

The philosophy acts as a solid background for the vampire to explore what it means to have this breakdown of will, this loss of control. Lili Taylor does a great job of being absolutely broken.

You might consider the whole thing to be a little heavy handed and I wouldn't disagree. It's pretty obvious what's going on from the hot second it begins. If you were confused or not paying attention, he throws some signs at you that are impossible to ignore. And, if for some reason you're feeling particularly stubborn, he kicks you in the face with it toward the very end.

This doesn't take away from the experience. It's moody, dark, brutal, sad...it becomes especially so when you have more empathy than I did at 20. Back then, it was all cool vampires biting people yay. Now, I can watch it from a perspective of someone losing everything and betraying everyone around them.

It hits harder when you have some common sense built up from life experience and overall, it becomes a better film. Consequently, Nadja is the same (though I'd argue it's much stranger than The Addiction).

Anyway, my rating for this is: 4.75 out of 5.