"Order me to go away..."
The Addiction is a 1995 indie horror film by Abel Ferrara, about a New York City graduate student of philosophy who finds herself bitten by a vampire and soon develops symptoms of becoming a bloodsucking creature of the night herself. Ferrara, being Ferrara, turns vampirism into an analogy for drug (specifically heroin) addiction and uses the seedier side of New York as his backdrop.Starring Lili Taylor, with supporting roles by Christopher Walken and Edie Falco.
Tropes:
- Always Chaotic Evil: Casanova takes this position; vampires do evil because they are inherently evil, and they might as well enjoy it.
- Ambiguous Ending: Kathleen is given Viaticum (a Eucharist administered to someone who is dying) by a priest, and is then seen visiting her grave in broad daylight. It is left unclear if she was somehow redeemed and is no longer a vampire, or if she's still a vampire but has sufficiently controlled her impulses yet can't return to her old life.
- Berserk Button: Being presented with a pamphlet by a street missionary causes Kathleen to go into a custodial closet and launch herself into a furious tirade.
- The Big Rotten Apple: How New York is depicted outside of the university.
- The Casanova: The woman who bites Kathleen calls herself "Casanova." She turns Kathleen and participates in the blood orgy seemingly for the thrill and pleasure of it.
- Chiaroscuro: Oh, is it ever. It makes the light/shadow, day/night contrast all the sharper.
- Deliberately Monochrome: The entire film is shot in black and white.
- Descent into Addiction: Look at the title! The film makes several clear analogies between Kathleen's condition and heroin abuse: she initially takes blood through a syringe to the arm; she becomes increasingly aggressive and withdrawn; suffers severe body pains during withdrawal; goes into a confusing, hyperactive monologue; overdoses after the blood orgy; and at one point encourages someone else to share a blood needle in the same manner a drug pusher might.
- Driven to Suicide: Kathleen attempts this by having a nurse open the blinds in her hospital room and letting the sunlight through, but Casanova comes in and shuts them before Kathleen gets hurt.
- Evil Costume Switch: Kathleen begins wearing all-black (including black nail polish) after being turned. Her victims also wear black for the blood orgy.
- Faith–Heel Turn:
Word of God states that Kathleen admits her powerlessness, submits to God, and becomes reborn in the end. - Gorn: The film is interspersed with still images of atrocties such as the My Lai Massacre and the Holocaust, which tie into both Kathleen's thesis and the film's larger themes. The climactic blood orgy may also qualify.
- Not Using the "Z" Word: The word "vampire" is never said, and neither is any common nickname, like "bloodsucker". The common vampire powers are not really talked about either. Cathy talks about not being able to go out in the daytime, but drinking blood is made into a metaphor for addiction. Overall, its "show, don't tell".
- Our Vampires Are Different: Given how vampirism is used as a very blatant metaphor for drug addiction, the film draws multiple parallels between Kathleen's behavior and that of a drug addict (see Descent into Addiction above).
- The Philosopher: Kathleen is explicitly a student of philosophy and ponders the implications of being a vampire in many of her scenes.
