“’I suspect that the less you know about me, the longer you’ll stay interested.’
Habit: [hab-it] noun, 1) an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary; 2) a dominant or regular disposition or tendency; prevailing character or quality; 3) addiction, especially to alcohol or narcotics
The vampire of legend is eternal, and its cinematic brethren are equally durable and widespread. Even before the post-millennial pop culture phenomena of Twilight and True Blood (among others) but especially in their wake, it’s refreshing and rewarding to encounter an undead feature possessing a genuinely grounded and unique interpretation.
As Larry Fessenden’s Habit (alongside George Romero’s Martin, Abel Ferrara’s The Addiction, and Michael Almereyda’s Nadja) shows, it’s not just about bringing the vampire into contemporary settings. Since the 1930s, the silver screen has hosted an array of “modern” bloodsuckers preying upon hip and sensible disbelievers. What’s often missing is a true sense of personality, vision, and passion, and it is here that Habit delivers with both barrels. No other artist could have made this picture; Fessenden’s DNA runs through the sprockets at 24fps and his fierce integrity elevates it above other generic toothy thrillers. Like all great fanged flicks, the fantasy exists as an allegory for something deeper—intelligent and heady material perfectly interwoven with horror trappings such that the subtext eases into our brains unperceived…where it can burrow and grow…”
