In director Abel Ferrara's THE ADDICTION, vulnerable New York University grad student Kathleen (Lili Taylor) becomes a philosophic vampire after an alleyway attack. Shot in expressionistic black and white, Ferrara's film blends a cool underground aesthetic with analytical... [More]

In director Abel Ferrara's THE ADDICTION, vulnerable New York University grad student Kathleen (Lili Taylor) becomes a philosophic vampire after an alleyway attack. Shot in expressionistic black and white, Ferrara's film blends a cool underground aesthetic with analytical digressions on Nietzsche and Kierkegaard delivered in a breathy voice-over as Kathleen stalks and seduces new victims. Parallels are drawn between vampirism and drug addiction--and intellectualism and genocide--as Kathleen bites and infects a cross section of the East Village, including cabbies, hustlers, and professors, while completing her doctoral thesis on the nature of evil. Her attacks and dissertations are accented by footage from Vietnam, Bosnia, and Nazi death camps that further the parallels. Christopher Walken has a memorable scene as Peina, an older vampire who gives Kathleen some sage advice. Schoolly D provides a fittingly nihilistic rap soundtrack. As with most of Ferrara's films written by longtime collaborator Nicholas St. John, this is a heady, hallucinatory mix of urban grit, violence, and spirituality. Different from the typical vampire film by a mile, it's worth investigating, especially for Taylor, letter-perfect in her unique role. [Less]