Rating: Summary: Tedious and lackluster vampire film with no teeth, literally Review: "Habit" is a simply awful movie with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Yes, I know that is harsh, but I truthfully can find nothing of value in the 112 minutes of my life I wasted watching this film.
"Habit" is the stilted and passionless story of Sam, his ex-girlfriend Liza, friends Nick and Rae, and new squeeze du jour Anna. He meets Anna at a Halloween party, and when next he meets up with her they have a "bout of fun" in the park and she bites him on the lip.
Anna pops up now and then, couples with Sam, Sam's friends get concerned, Sam gets sick, and on to the anticlimactic ending from there.
Usually there is some redeeming quality in even the worst of films, for instance, "Queen Of The Damned" was a poor movie but used very attractive actors and sets, and had a killer soundtrack.
"Habit" uses very unattractive actors (couldn't they have bought this guy a dental bridge for the role?) who are as untalented as they are unattractive, a horrid folksy soundtrack, stilted and repetitive dialogue, mediocre photography, and skittish editing. The supposedly wonderful "knockin boots" scenes are atrocious, it's like watching Chester and Trudy from the trailer park get it on in the automotive aisle at Walmart. Disgusting! And as for the vampire angle, I remember seeing more fangs and blood in The Lion King.
When the cat does the best acting in a movie, and the most exciting scene is the extended close-up of a ticking clock, and you spend your whole time trying not to look at the huge gap in the lead's teeth, it's time to eject and grab up a copy of Innocent Blood or The Hunger.
So do yourself a favor and rent this first if you are considering a purchase, or even better, back slowly away from it and count yourself lucky to have missed it.
Rating: Summary: A smart contemporary vampire film Review: A horror story is ultimately about collapse or deterioration and this film is one of the best contemporary horror films, easily surpassing the commercial cheese of Scream and its ilk. The theme of collapse when combined with lead characters whose emotional environment is one of isolation gives the story its momentum and intensity. Add to that some truly eerie imagery and sudden, startling occurrences that make the viewer wonder if what happens is actually supernatural or a product of the leading man's (Fessenden) bleary psychology and you have a real gem of a film.Fessenden, upset and confused by the death of his father, takes to alcohol on occasion in an attempt to move away from reality. It's really a reinforcement of his alienation; he also separates from his girlfriend and so, credibly, is open to another woman who comes into his life both unexpectedly and sensually. His isolation is not tested because the woman does not demand anything of him emotionally. Their meetings grow quickly more sexually ferocious, simultaneously with the onset of strange disturbances that nevertheless don't prevent the man from wanting the woman--all the more, in fact. Both the development and the ending are strong. Along with Cronos, Guillermo del Toro's very strange, beautiful Mexican film of 1992, the best vampire film of the 90s. Highly recommended.
Rating: Summary: Uninteresting Review: Although the premise of this movie was interesting in and of itself, the execution was drawn out way too much. Aside from bland to melodramatic to horrible acting, the beginning of the film, while it explains and give us an idea of the main characters, it does it too much, adding useless scenes that could have been taken out or done more "to the point". If the exposition is TOO MUCH of an exposition, in other words, if the begining of the movie throws in your face the characters and who they are, being all too well aware that that's all it's there for, it becomes boring. The begining, should, in my opinion, not only give us a well-rounded look of the main characters (and ONLY the main characters - lest you spread yourself or the script too thinly) but be in some way related to the rest of the film. In Habit, this is not true. I was too much aware that the first 20 minutes was simply to get the characters, their motivations, etc. out of the way, so that you could understand them, which is fine. The problem, really, for me, is that it's done in a way that does NOT set the mood for the rest of the film and does NOT introduce anything of real interest. About 5 minutes of the first 20 minutes was really necessary. Basically, they movie should have started about 15 minutes after it actually did. I DID force myself to watch the entire movie, but as another reviewer noted, the tone throughout the film it bland and monotonous.
Rating: Summary: Excellent! Review: Being a long time fan of vampire books and movies, especially those that depict the vampire's world as gothic and sexy, I've occasionally found myself wishing vampires were real. Following those thoughts down their inevitable dark and twisted path, I've puzzled over whether the reality would be as romantic as the fiction. You know, finding myself locked in a room with an incredible hunk claiming to be a vampire who wants to make love to me, suck my blood and offering me the chance to die and become a vampire, too...well, could the guy's claims be believed or is he really just some psycho who's going to torture and brutally murder me?! The movie, Habit, seemed to bring my mental dilemma to life. The people and settings are commonplace and familiar. When Sam tries to share his fears about Anna with Nick, Nick finds it impossible to entertain the idea of vampires really existing, but then so does Sam for that matter. Sam's just trying to figure out exactly what's going on; he knows he's getting all messed up. The viewers aren't given the answer either, but rather they are left to come to their own conclusions. For myself, I'm with Sam and lean towards Anna being a vampire; but then maybe Sam's perceptions are skewed due to the problems already in his life, his drinking among them. Habit is the most believable vampire movie I've ever seen, and I give it a resounding five stars and two thumbs up!!
Rating: Summary: SOLID INDY PSYCHODRAMA!!! Review: Captivating! That's the best word I can come up with to describe Larry Fessenden's HABIT. Yes, it does have a somewhat slow beginning and middle. Yes, the director should've cut 20 minutes out to speed things along... But you know what, it works anyway. Because regardless of the slow pace, I found myself GLUED TO THE FILM. Hence, the word: 'captivating.' Fessenden succeeds in giving the streets of New York City a certain 'gothic' feel while his actors excel on all fronts. My favorite character, besides them all, is Lenny - you gotta love'em. "On the f*%$in poop deck, man!" More impressive... HABIT comes across as a beautiful, dark, poem - very much in the tradition of Edgar Allen Poe. I highly recommend this intelligent film!
Rating: Summary: Intriguing, tense, and unique. Review: Caught this one on an independent film channel, and I can't resist a vampire movie so I gave it a try. This movie is certainly an experience, after I saw it I wasn't sure what to make of it. It's not a horror film, but there were a few scenes that genuinely scared me (not an easy task). The end of the film left me utterly shell-shocked. It's a romantic film, but not in the sense most people consider romantic; it's very dark and twisted and REAL, and I think that's what makes this movie more romantic than many mainstream films that try so hard to idealize love. Real love is often gritty and difficult, just like this film. The pace is slow and there is very little violence, so this movie is definitly not for most horror fans, yet it is very dark and twisted so it not for fans of drama either. I think this film has a definite niche among independent film fans who just want a really well told story that keeps them thinking about it days after the movie is over. Certainly worth a look for serious movie affecionados, but not for your average action-film watching yahoo.
Rating: Summary: Intriguing, tense, and unique. Review: Caught this one on an independent film channel, and I can't resist a vampire movie so I gave it a try. This movie is certainly an experience, after I saw it I wasn't sure what to make of it. It's not a horror film, but there were a few scenes that genuinely scared me (not an easy task). The end of the film left me utterly shell-shocked. It's a romantic film, but not in the sense most people consider romantic; it's very dark and twisted and REAL, and I think that's what makes this movie more romantic than many mainstream films that try so hard to idealize love. Real love is often gritty and difficult, just like this film. The pace is slow and there is very little violence, so this movie is definitly not for most horror fans, yet it is very dark and twisted so it not for fans of drama either. I think this film has a definite niche among independent film fans who just want a really well told story that keeps them thinking about it days after the movie is over. Certainly worth a look for serious movie affecionados, but not for your average action-film watching yahoo.
Rating: Summary: In a league of it's on!...Not Horror ..A Sick Love Story! Review: Honestly this isn't a true vampire film but it is an exotic and independent effort. The acting from the main characters was mediocure with the exception of Anna. Anna ws the vampire woman and she wasn't a very good actress. Being that this was her first role it is somewhat excusable. But I will tell you one thing about the directer's choice in casting her. She was very exotic looking and unisex, She was a woman in deed but there was something unusual about her appearance. Through the movie there were hints that she was Bi sexual,but there was never an illustration. Anna was indeed an alluring woman and to some extent made the movie believable and interesting. Basically she had sex with this guy but never told him her secret. In exchange she took a little blood from him each time while they were in ectasy with one another, Way to do it HUh? Well anyway he began to get real sick and drained. And that is when he realized who and what she was doing. When he threatens to leave her and go back to his X that is when the mystery and Mayhem unravels! Anna doesn't take No for an answer in this film. But the sad part about it all she was lonley and she really loved him but she didn't give him a choice. I think this is a good movie, but you have to except that this is a sick love story not a horror movie. Arish
Rating: Summary: american horror is not dead after all... Review: Hot-**** acting from Fessenden, plus an intriguing story with little creepy touches makes another great American horror flick. Meredith Snaider(?) is very sexy yet mysterious as the love interest. If you like this, you should check out "No Telling", also by Fessenden.
Rating: Summary: Excellence in a worn out genre. Review: I am into the indie movie scene, and I did not expect this to be as good as it is. Well, it's great! The actors are surprisingly good and fessenden does a good job with mood and tone. Watch this in the dark, alone, and you will never be the same again.
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