Habit

Film: Habit

Year: 1995

Director: Larry Fessenden

Writer: Larry Fessenden

Starring: Larry Fessenden, Meredith Snaider and Aaron Beall

Review:

This was a film that I had never heard of, until it was included on a list of the best horror films from the 1990’s. This was for the Podcast Under the Stairs where I was a member of the People’s Council. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Larry Fessenden was the writer, director and star, because I had seen some of his later works before this. I’ve now given a second watch for my Voyage through the FiVes.

Synopsis: autumn in New York. Sam (Fessenden) has broken up with his girlfriend and his father has recently passed away. World-weary and sloppy drunk, he finds solace in the arms of Anna (Meredith Snaider), a mysterious woman who draws him into a nightmare of addiction and madness.

The film opens with Sam handling affairs at his father's apartment before attending a Halloween party hosted by Nick (Aaron Beall) and Rae (Patricia Coleman). Interactions reveal Sam's alcohol abuse. He gets drunk, meets Anna, and they leave together. After realizing he had taken the wrong coat, he asks her to follow him back to the party. She declines, saying she'll wait, and hides her number in his pocket. She's gone when he returns.

Sam ends up sleeping on the subway where he’s robbed. He then goes home to go about his normal routine. He is a manager at a local bar and we see him at work. He is friends with Lenny (Jesse Hartman) who tells him about a girl he hooked up with. She took him to a boat that she is living on, which we see in the harbor. Lenny seems a bit off, like he’s coming off a bender.

We then see Sam as he is moving his ex-girlfriend Liza (Heather Woodbury) into a new apartment. The two friends that are helping them give Sam the cold shoulder and we learn that she is moving out due to Sam’s drinking. She still has feelings for him, but she wants him to get his life back together.

Sam lost the number for Anna. It is comical how it falls out and then his cat takes it. He calls Nick, trying to see if he can find any information about her. Sam then runs into her at a carnival when he’s there with Nick and Rae. The two of them go off and spend the rest of the evening together, which ends up with them messing around in the park. She bites his lip to the point of drawing blood while masturbating him. He wakes up and she is gone.

This is the start of a fling, which involves more rough sex and more biting as she keeps drawing blood. They don’t use protection and Sam starts to act more like Lenny before he disappears. His friends and ex-girlfriend are concerned, but we are given some subtle hints that Anna might be hiding a bit more than what she’s letting on.

That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Now if you know me, I’m a big fan of arthouse films. This film falls into this. There is a gritty feeling due to its low budget. I’d go as far as say it has a Frank Hennenlotter feel, as Fessenden does a great job at bringing the feel of New York City to his film. It almost feels like a character. I saw that a synopsis calls Sam a Bohemian. That’s a good way to describe him. We’re getting an interesting look at living in NYC during this era.

Now that I have that set up, let’s look at our lead. This is a character study of Sam and his struggles. He has a problem with alcohol, which I can’t fault him too much. His father passed away and his girlfriend left him, he at first is seeking solace in the bottle. It does seem that was an issue before she left though. When Anna comes along, he turns his addiction toward her. Part of it could be grief, but I would bet that he just has an addictive personality from the beginning. With the title of Habit, it makes sense in more than one way.

What's enjoyable about this story is the subtle reveal of Anna's vampirism, hinted at by a full moon and wolves, aligning with other standard lore. I appreciate the clever parallel drawn between vampirism and drug addiction, reminiscent of The Addiction, reflecting the 80s and 90s "war on drugs." The male characters who get involved with her exhibit symptoms mirror drug abuse, a creative and enduring correlation.

I do have to say though this film does have issues for me. Part of it would be the pacing. The buildup was so good in establishing Sam. It becomes manic, but it kind of makes sense. Sam has fully slipped into his addiction to Anna as she is draining him. It becomes a dream to show us what he is experiencing. This could be trimmed as I don’t know if it needs to run as long as it does. There is also another way of looking at this. Vampirism could also be a metaphor for AIDS in the wake of that crisis. Both are parasitic afflictions.

Before I move on here, I want to wrap back around. There is a scene where Sam talks about his father to a group of his friends. A man asks him about Liza and he carries on like they’re still together, but Anna shows up. There is a scene where she shows an artifact and everyone there is intrigued. The old man has something to tell Sam, but we never get what that was. I think that it is a missed opportunity. It is also a subtle reveal that this man made for us to confirm what she is.

That should be enough for the story so over to the acting performances. Fessenden’s portrayal of an alcoholic’s descent into madness with Anna feels incredibly real, making me believe he was the character at some point in his life. Snaider’s subdued performance as Anna blurs the line between monster and exploiter, adding a layer that her monstrous side might be a hallucination. The supporting cast effectively pushes Sam to his fate.

I’ll then just finish out with filmmaking aspects. There wasn't much in the way of effects. It also doesn’t necessarily need them, as I feel it is more about the atmosphere, setting and the acting. I do think that the blood we got looked real. The interactions between Anna and Sam that were violent were good. I also like the look at the climax as well. It adds a subdued look to the creature that I appreciate. Other than that, the sound design and music fit what was needed.

In conclusion, this is a fascinating and gritty arthouse horror film that excels as a character study of Sam's descent into addiction, subtly blending themes of alcoholism, grief and vampirism. Fessenden's triple threat as writer, director and star delivers a compelling performance, supported by Snaider's ambiguous portrayal of Anna. While the film's pacing can be uneven and a missed opportunity regarding a subplot is evident, its atmospheric New York City setting, effective use of practical effects, and thoughtful exploration of addiction as a parasitic affliction make it a memorable entry from the 1990s.

My Rating: 7 out of 10