film

Here's a polarising mid-nineties work from the never less than intriguing Abel Ferrara, who shot it in black and white and achieved a starkly atmospheric feel in alignment with its dark themes: addiction, sin, corruption, and the loss of self. The story follows Kathleen Conklin (Lili Taylor), a philosophy doctoral student in New York City, who is attacked by a mysterious woman and becomes a vampire. She struggles with her new condition – especially her growing dependency on human blood and the moral, philosophical, and spiritual consequences of her transformation. 

Ferrara takes this premise in some disturbing directions and intersperses the action with footage of real-life horrors, including Nazi death camps and the war dead in Bosnia. It all adds up to a sometimes shocking cocktail hated by some and beloved by others, including the Guardian's film critic Peter Bradshaw, who named it on a list of his 10 favourite films a couple of years ago. Sopranos fans have an extra reason to check it out, with three future stars of the show featuring in this: Annabella Sciorra, Michael Imperioli and Edie Falco.