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sth78
Reviews
Borderline (2023)
Very good because of the realism
I don't know about the borderline-part, but this movie nails it when it comes to opiate addiction.
The main character shows exactly what torments the addictee goes through, extreme selfishness during withdrawals, lack of money, violence, crime, and with a complete disregard of the consequences, as long as acquiring the objective, which is, of course, drugs.
The main supporting character is perhaps even better. A drug user herself, she is not addicted and mostly able to keep her head cold, and her affection for the more compromised main character is also realistic, although many would have quit before her - there really are some ones that go several extra miles for their friend.
There is explicit nudity, yes, but that is also realistic. The actors are only nude in situations where their characters realistically would be nude. Nothing is exaggerated for shock value.
Can recommend for all drug users currently struggling and for relatives of same. Of course it has its flaws with such a small budget, but it is more than worth it.
The Addiction (1995)
Not a vampire movie
This movie is not a vampire movie. The entire concept of vampirism in this movie is itself a metaphor for addiction (alcohol, drugs etc.).
And why do I say that? Well, for one thing, it lacks many of the non-addictive parts of vampire lore. A human does not transform into a vampire by just being bitten. The very idea of that is ridiculous, since if that was the case, and just 1 person bit another per day, who then turned into a vampire, who again bit 1 person per day etc., the entire world would be populated solely by vampires in a matter of months.
This movie is supposed to depict the descent into drug addiction or alcoholism. When we first encounter the addiction, it (personified by the first vampire in the movie), says "Tell me to leave. Say it as you mean it!". This is the drug/alcohol talking. But she can't. This is the ambivalence of the addicts' mind, when she knows that it is leading into descent, yet is unable to resist. After that, the urge just increases, and gets more and more evident.
Finally, she goes to see a therapist - personified by another vampire, Peina. This vampire is an passive alcoholic, who has been through what Kathleen has, but now is clean. But the therapy is not helping. When she says "What do you want?", and he angrily replies, "No! What do YOU want? You came to me!", is the therapist's notion of that she is beyond reach. He then leaves her with her addiction.
After that, the abuse grows more and more insane. The feasting is an indicator of a raging addiction beyond control, and it leads us to the last stage - the hospital bed. There, all hope is gone, and death wish ensues. But even there, alcohol/drug manifests itself again in form of the initial vampire, who laconically states "According to R. C. Sprouse, we are not evil because we do evil things. We do evil things, because we are evil." We are drug addicts by nature, and there is nothing we can do about it. With this ambivalent comment, we are left without knowing whether death sets in or not.
The movie's title, "The Addiction", does indeed refer to exactly that, the addiction, and follows an addict from her clean stage to the last stage of substance abuse. If only viewed (or at least solely) as a vampire movie, one would not 'get' the movie's intent.