THE ADDICTION (1995) Blu-ray
Director: Abel Ferrara
Arrow Video USA

On her way home from class one night, philosophy student Kathleen Conklin (Lily Taylor, I SHOT ANDY WARHOL) is assaulted by a woman in an evening dress (Annabella Sciorra, THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE) who orders her to tell her to go away and she will not harm her. Too terror-stricken to do anything but beg for her life, Kathleen is bitten on the throat by the woman who calls her "collaborator" before disappearing into the darkness. Kathleen seeks medical attention for her wound but spends the next several days reopening it and her preoccupation has an effect on her studies, concerning both her advisor (Paul Calderon, PULP FICTION) and best friend Jean (NURSE JACKIE's Edie Falco). Kathleen develops a hunger that leads first to a heroin addiction and then to physically biting innocent strangers to whom she also gives the choice to resist, among them an anthropology student (Kathryn Erbe, STIR OF ECHOES), a black hood who propositions her (rapper Fredro Starr, SAVE THE LAST DANCE), and various junkies and passed-out derelicts on the street. She makes a mistake when she tries to prey on Peina (Christopher Walken, COMMUNION) who is actually an older vampire who has managed to adjust to his lifestyle and "blend in." Offended by Kathleen's take on her existence, Peina drains her to the point where she cannot even feed from herself and leaving her in a state of withdrawal with some books of philosophy on which to enrich herself; however, she sees in them only a justification to continue with her lifestyle, finishing her nihilistic thesis and earning doctorate, after which she invites a select group of friends and faculty to her apartment for an after party.

Opening with a slideshow lecture on the American atrocities at My Lai during the Vietnam War, and referencing the Holocaust, Hiroshima, and other manmade massacres, the film questions the nature of evil and our whether our acquiescence out of weakness makes us collaborators in such acts (Erbe's traumatized reaction to her attack can be likened to the aftermath of a rape with Kathleen using her intellect to justify to herself first that her victims wanted it and then that it is there weakness that makes them deserving of being prey). Michael Imperioli (GOODFELLAS), Taylor's boyfriend at the time, appears as a missionary able to resist her by principle and perhaps making her realize, or at least construe, that her existence is a defiance of the existence of a god who seems to cause or is absent from suffering on both personal and mass scale. Shot in black and white by longtime collaborator Ken Kelsch (DANGEROUS GAME) with the scoring of Joe Delia (BAD LIEUTENANT) augmented by a rap/RnB soundtrack – the film was co-produced by Preston Holmes (THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY) and record producer Russell Simmons (THE NUTTY PROFESSOR ) – the film's narrative offers up a gritty New York urban world of rap music, drug use, menace in the streets, and bloody attacks, but the film's dialogue is not so much exposition as a series of dialogues exploring philosophical ideas as from the impenetrable to the relatable, sometimes deliberately making points reductive as characters' personal justifications for their actions. The finale is open-ended but, if taken on its surface value, how could it be indicative of redemption and recovery as Ferrara suggests rather than critical of religion-based recovery programs? One of the few overt horror films in director Abel Ferrara's oeuvre alongside THE DRILLER KILLER and his remake of BODY SNATCHERS, THE ADDICTION was one of a number of nineties indie vampire art films alongside Jon Jacobs' shallow THE GIRL WITH THE HUNGRY EYES and Larry Fessenden's personal HABIT that were overshadowed by the release of Michael Almereyda's NADJA, a loose remake of DRACULA'S DAUGHTER that had the cachet of being executive produced by David Lynch (BLUE VELVET) and starring Peter Fonda and nineties Hal Hartley staples Elina Löwensohn (SIMPLE MEN) and Martin Donavan (AMATEUR). Lightning did not strike twice with Almereyda's follow-up THE ETERNAL, a quirky adaptation of Bram Stoker's "The Jewel of the Seven Stars", (which also featured Walken) even though it was arguably the better of his two genre films.

Released theatrically by October Films – once an indie/world cinema mover and shaker who picked up such titles as CHERRY FALLS, THE CELEBRATION (FESTEN), and DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE (as CEMETERY MAN) for US consumption – THE ADDICTION was one of the few nineties Ferrara productions not to receive a DVD release stateside (possibly due to October being swallowed up by Polygram and then Universal and then merged with Gramercy Pictures into USA Films). With the exception of Germany's DVD edition, international DVD releases have all featured the same fullscreen master until Arrow's 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen Blu-ray which finally restores a degree of luster inherent in the film's monochrome cinematography despite Ferrara's desire to remain gritty and improvisational with more apparent degrees of stylistic deliberation than the director seems comfortable about acknowledging in the extras. The Dolby Stereo soundtrack is offered up in LPCM 2.0 as well as a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 remix that is in keeping with the intimate nature of the production, coming alive during the exterior scenes as well as the climactic party sequence. Optional English SDH subtitles are crucial in appreciating the philosophic dialogue.

Since there has not been a domestic DVD or a special edition DVD edition of the film before, Arrow's extras are all brand new with little overlap, instead able to reflect and comment upon one another. A contentious Ferrara appears on an audio commentary track with Brad Stevens in which the director downplays any stylistic elaboration in the photography and production design in favor of "taking what's already there to the next level" noting only that his inspirations for shooting in black and white included Wim Wenders' WINGS OF DESIRE and Gordon Willis' work for Woody Allen, suggesting that Kelsch's cinematographic touches were more instinctual owing to his Vietnam War experience, but speaking highly of the onscreen performers (particularly Walken and Taylor). Stevens is at pains to draw out interpretation beyond what's on the surface for Ferrara who insists that the ending is not open to interpretation.

In "Talking with the Vampires" (30:55), Ferrara and cinematographer Kelsch interview and interact with Walken, Taylor, and composer Delia with their reflections on the shoot, the preparation of Taylor – who also looks back on her battles with alcoholism in comparison to Ferrara's with heroin (he claims he used but did not become addicted until later) – and Walken who trained as a dancer, claims to just learn his lines rather than build character as he feels that a character is believable as scripted until someone or something in the script contradicts them. Most interesting is Kelsch's interjection when discussing the film's ideas about recovery and redemption, drawing from his own experience and suggesting that the addict themselves may be able to walk away on the other side of addiction but can hardly make amends for the victims they have turned onto the addiction (be it heroin or vampirism). An interview with Abel Ferrara (16:19) covers some of the same ground as the commentary track but in a more freewheeling manner, going into more detail about his friendship since childhood with screenwriter Nicholas St. John (THE FUNERAL) – noting that many of their works were not collaborations, with the writer sending him scripts he was not even aware were in the works, as well as Kelsch who is behind the camera in the interview, before expounding on the notion of recovery, spiritual change, and the possibility of relapse when faced with the same challenge in the future.

An appreciation by Brad Stevens (8:47) gives the critic the space to better discuss the manner in which Ferrara as a director seems to cast doubt and comment upon the Christian notions of St. John's script and the possibility that their differences of opinion on the ideas in the film may have been the reason that their collaboration would end after the next film THE FUNERAL. "Abel Edits THE ADDICTION" (8:43) is an interesting archival piece from the time of production with Ferrara and editor Mayin Lo in the cutting room with the director half-distracted by events going on in the streets below but also watching edited sequences from the film on videotape, commenting upon the dialogue and the performances in an interactive manner that makes one yearn for a DRILLER KILLER-esque follow-up with the director himself taking center stage. Also included is a gallery and the film's theatrical trailer (0:36). Not included for review were the reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain, and the illustrated collector s booklet containing new writing on the film by critic Michael Ewins included with the first pressing only. (Eric Cotenas)

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