The Addiction (1995)
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The Guardian's chief film critic Peter Bradshaw named it one of the greatest films of all time. Tokyo Story. Paths of Glory. Raging Bull. Andrei Rublev. Singin' in the Rain. And this 82-minute black-and-white vampire movie that grossed $302,393.
Christopher Walken was offered the male role. He took the one written for a female actor instead, leaving dialog unchanged. Annabella Sciorra, Edie Falco, and Michael Imperioli all appear four years before The Sopranos.
THE ADDICTION (1995) follows Kathleen Conklin (Lili Taylor), a philosophy PhD student at NYU. She is dragged into an alley one night and bitten by a vampire.
Vampirism here is heroin. Kathleen suffers agonizing withdrawal when she doesn't feed, collects and injects blood by syringe, draws others into her dependency.
Nicholas St. John wrote The Addiction. He and director Abel Ferrara grew up together in Peekskill, NY, and collaborated for more than twenty years. After their next project he stopped writing, and he has not given an interview since.
Buried in the credits, as associate producer: Antony Blinken, the future United States Secretary of State.
About the Film
The dark is their sunlight. What makes them different is what keeps them alive.
- Directed By
- Abel Ferrara
- Runtime
- 82 minutes
- Released
- October 6, 1995
- Certification
- NR
- Country
- United States of America
- Starring
- Lili Taylor, Christopher Walken, Annabella Sciorra, Edie Falco, Paul Calderon
More Credits
- Genres
- Drama, Horror
- Language
- English
- Origin
- US
- Studios
- Fast Films
- Written By
- Nicholas St. John
- Produced By
- Fernando Sulichin, Denis Hann, Preston L. Holmes, Russell Simmons
- Cinematography
- Ken Kelsch
- Music
- Joe Delia
- Also Starring
- Fredro Starr, Kathryn Erbe, Michael Imperioli, Jamal Simmons, Robert W. Castle
- Box Office
- $302,393
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This is one of my favorite vampire films. I mean any excuse to show NYC nights inn black and white, but they really made them a supporting character here. Not just NYC, but the darkness itself.
Ron S Dyer Have you seen Nadja? It’s also a b&w vampire movie set in NYC and was released about the same time. I enjoyed it and discovered the band The Verve that way.
I have not. Thanks, I’ll check it out. Also The Verve? Wow.
Ron S Dyer Right? Turned me onto the shoegaze genre at the ripe age of 12🤯
Personally, in terms of indie movies about vampires as a metaphor for addiction, I’ve always preferred Larry Fessenden’s underrated “Habit.” I think it would be interesting to watch both film as a double feature to see which resonates more with individual viewers.
John Hefner Bliss is another good one.
John Hefner but it’s not just a film about addiction. It’s more a philosophical treaties on the fear of life and then living and the meaning of living at someone who can only survive on death. It’s so good.
Didn’t know any of these movies existed yet alone were a genre. Thanks for the movie recommendations!
It really is a masterpiece. Maybe lost mainstream audiences because it doesn’t put much focus on the actual ‘vampire’ story, but I think that’s part of its charm.
Sven Skoog I remember Lili Taylor being an indie star back then and surprisingly I’ve never heard of this :/
Great film, severely overlooked. The feasting party scene one of my favorite shockers.
I was at the SFFF where this was on the programme. i volunteered, I got to meet Abel Ferrara and Schooly D. I reviewed it for Taste of Cinema- excerpt: After Bad Lieutenant, Abel Ferrara became the bad boy du jour and had so much pull, he could shoot a vampire film in black and white, so he did. Interesting that Ferrara chose vampires as the subject, given that every other film he ever made are about people sucking the blood and life from others and society (and conversely, our utter fascination with them). Lily Taylor as Catherine performs the vampire transformation impeccably, basically because Ferrara is smart enough to understand that the only effect you need is a great actress.
One of the great cutaway edits of the 90’s is when Catherine injects herself with blood in her bathroom for the first time, and the screen cuts to what looks like a home movie of Lily Taylor as an one year old running and laughing without a care in the world. This is what the first high is like, not a care in the world like a one year old. The cut alone is worth the price of the ticket.
What a great grimy film!
It ain’t that good. The script reads like a college freshman right out of Intro to Philosophy wrote it.
Keith Berry I agree with you there but am willing to embrace the idea that the film is highlighting the sophomoric nature of even doctoral candidates in the grande scheme of things.
John William Salevurakis I guess I can see the parody aspect of it. Nicholas St. John was a fervent Catholic (he split with Ferrera over “lifestyle” issues) and the ending can be seen as a reinforcement of traditional morality over postmodern navel gazing.
There’s even a shot where the female vampire played by Sciorra (who mouthed plenty of banalities about will) shies away from contact with the priest, as if confirming the inferiority of her existence.
I somehow missed this. D
Is it available anywhere?
Albert Gotto free on Plex
Ok , I love weird movies and this one checks all of the boxes
On Plex for free. May or may not be the latest scan.
I saw an article on this film on YouTube. It looks very interesting.
Shout out to Andrei Rublev. The ending bell scene is timeless and cathartic and incredible
Gotta check out The Addiction.
I love lily Taylor. I did not know about this movie .
Katherine Fuller that was pretty much gonna be my comment!
Great underrated vampire film. I have the Arrow blu-ray in my collection.
Great movie by Abel Ferrara.😁👍
Be careful when she tries to get you to listen to her 10,000 songs about Joe!
Andrei Rublev isn’t even his best film but whatever.
It’s good for 90s nostalgia. Like it always felt on the verge of breaking out into a poetry slam. Speaking of Slam, I wonder how they got hooked up with the guys from Onyx.
Brilliant movie , great direction .
Pablo Schwartz We watched this and you said it was so 90’s that it was hard to believe it was made in the 90’s! ❤️
Erin Lyndal Martin : I will watch anything with Lili Taylor in it .. and I wasn’t disappointed !
[ flashing on – I’m sure I’ve mentioned – Kelly Reichardt’s RIVER OF GRASS, 1994:
“oo-wee, imagine a cross between a Kelly Reichardt film and a 90s Indie production !”
“but that’s what it IS.” ]
Great film.
This is an incredible flick.
One of my favourite black & white films. Heavy, atmospheric, compelling, great cast. With St John scribing, this was another dark gem of Ferrara’s hectic 90s. 🖤
Love this movie.
Also featuring Kathryn Erbe, before starring as one of the BEST lady cops on TV, Alexandra Eames.
Lily Taylor is so awesome!
Lilly Lilova gledala li si go?
Petko Lilov ne nikoga!
Good film but definitely not one of the greatest.
Also starring a very young Edie Faldo!
To paraphrase a line from Lili’s narration “The old Santayana quote of he who forgets the past is doomed to repeat it is a lie… everything we are is eternally with us” is one of the coldest lines in a script… ever. It stayed with me and hits like a hammer whenever I’m actively pondering human nature. Especially in 2026.
I really liked this film.
I saw this at a small little theater in Baltimore called The Orpheum. Does not exist anymore but was a really cool little place upstairs in an old house in this historic area. Only had like 100 seats and they showed nothing but old b&w films and indie art stuff like this. Very cool experience.
It’s so amazing!
It’s excellent
One of the few, actually unique vamp movies released. I appreciated the drug/addiction analogy through out the movie. Majority of movies glamorize vampirism, this didn’t.
lili taylor for the win!!!
Great film!!
Genuinely unique and completely fascinating. This was in the theatres for about 2 weeks. I saw it 3 times. Not flawless but utterly brilliant.
“If you think you know what’s going to happen, just wait and see.”
And Vampirism in Stephanie Meyer’s books was a metaphor for sexual activity!
Great film.
Another hit from Abel and Walken. The black and white phptography is top notch.
Will Johnston I’m honestly new to Ferrara. I was blown away by what he did with Ms. 45 as a new filmmaker on a nothing budget. Got me some catching up to do.
Anywhere But Hollywood That’s a wild ride. Enjoy !!!
Anywhere But Hollywood oh boy do you! Driller Killer, Mrs. 45, King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, The Funeral. To name a few.
I need to see this! Thanks.
my name… is Payna
Incredible movie. The 90s were a great time for indie flicks. 🥰
It’s an OKAY film
“Heroin and blood-sucking parasitism” certainly sums up Blinken.
Awesome flick
Lili Taylor has such a beautiful face.
A brilliant and criminal underrated film!!