AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

nintendovi While the writing for 'Habit' is so-so, I enjoyed the acting in the movie and thought the main character's portrayal of an alcoholic city guy trying to get over the loss of his father and the end of his relationship was pretty realistic. The supporting characters - the ex-girlfriend and the best friend mostly, was also pretty good, though I didn't care much for the vampire's acting. (She got the job done alright, though, and seemed scary anyway.) The first major event in the movie that I thought showed character growth, was when the main character realized there's more to life than lust and that he needs to start taking care of himself and stop making excuses. The second, which I feel really defines friendship and reliability, was when his friend at first dismissed his claims that his girlfriend was a vampire, but later realized something was wrong and tried to rescue him from the vampiress, charging through his house and breaking down doors to try to help him, possibly believing what he told him now. I think that showed true friendship, going to great lengths on a gut feeling to help a friend, no matter how unbelievable their problem sounds.It wasn't the most original story and it wasn't the most exciting one, but Habit does a great job of using an unnatural event to help someone with 'bad habits' realize them. Good morals, interesting setting and not a bad watch for anyone that likes a little thrill in their thinking movies. Worth watching a time or two.

Andy (film-critic) Fessenden, who not only does work behind the camera, but also as the main character named Sam, gives us a glimpse of New York city circa 1990. Times seem to be tough, Sam works nights as a bartender and has found (after the death of his dad), that drinking dulls most of the pains. One of our first introductions with Sam is at a party, where he arrives drunk and continues to drink throughout the course of the evening. It is during this party that we meet the somewhat sensual Anna, who immediately locks target with Sam. She entrances him similar to what Dracula did to Miss Mina, but in an eerie role reversal. They continue their gathering outside, but in Sam's drunken stupor, he misses the opportunity to connect with Anna. Not to worry vampire lovers, they reconnect after Anna supposedly snacks on one of Sam's friends – and the two begin a very physical courtship. Oddly, Anna only appears at night, away from friends, and will not tell Sam anything about her. She bits his lip, he thins its foreplay. It dramatically changes when Sam seems to get sick over time, forgetting the simplest of tasks, and eventually driving himself mad with scenarios of what Anna may be doing to him. Of coarse, nobody believes him, so not only does he battle with Anna's vying but also with his friends who seem to believe he is slowly going mad, which becomes the eventual focus to this film. We are left with this surprising question in our minds as Fessenden ends with anything but your moment of zen.I would like to begin by saying that I thought this was an extremely strong outing for a low-budget director. I wasn't hoping for Troma level, and I didn't get it. I wasn't hoping for another repeat of "Def By Temptation", and thankfully it never showed. What I witnessed with this film was an innovated director reinventing an old genre. Hollywood continues every year to do this type of story, but their moments seem stale and recycled more than innovative and classic. Fessenden uses his mind and truly makes a terrifying film that questions the basics of the vampire genre and relates them to modern cinema. It is almost like a horror version of "Fight Club" except not as strong. He uses violence, nudity, and realism to bring this fictional story into the light of New York City taking us to places that are familiar and at most, extremely spooky. This is not a bad film, but I cannot boast that it is perfect. It is continually flawed, forcing your to focus on the story because at times the acting is laughable at best and his "A to B to C" logic seems too overloaded and detailed. The acting, outside of the verbal slandering of Aaron Beall's Nick, was just poor. This could have been tightened up a bit to create stronger scenes between the characters. I thought Sam was "acting" like he was drunk more than he was, the moments of intimacy seemed to be wanted instead of needed, and as we get closer to the end, the moments between Nick and Rae seem distant and lost. Strength in the words would have tightened up this loose end.Secondly, I had trouble with parts of the story. I don't want to disregard what Fessenden has done here because I think it is a strong moment in cinematic glory, but just small ends that needed to be less loose. He started so strong with "Habit" that he couldn't keep the momentum flowing until the end. One of my favorite scenes in the film is when he walks by a artist doing nude photos at night – a moment that seems similar to the movie that we are watching, but I loose it when he goes to Rae's grandmother's house and the Thanksgiving dinner there. Fessenden also seems a bit loose on the entire "loosing his father" moments that seem to peak in and out of existence throughout the film. I think that it helps us understand Sam's moments of insanity – especially near the end – but we needed more spent towards his father than at the ocean with friends. There just seemed to be an unbalance in the force. There are my only two complaints about the film (outside the fact I wished there was a director commentary), because I think Fessenden can do a decent job – just don't go off focus.Overall, I would suggest this film to only a select number of friends – those that appreciate the cinematic art. I say this because to the unwilling eye, this will look like a cheap "B" horror film that teeters on nothing, but I saw so much more than that. I saw a skilled director revisiting his old work to bring back into the public eye. This is a great film about vampires, or at least the idea of vampires – but it is not for everyone. It leaves the story open-ended, giving us a chance to make decisions for ourselves and that, in itself, is what creates the true horror.Oh, what about that goofy video that didn't seem to fit with the film – I guess I could do without that again, but I digress...Grade: *** out of *****

adsears The bad movie against which I measure all other bad movies. Nothing else ever comes close to bumping it off the worst position. The director seems overfond of shots of himself peeing. Perhaps a fetish for urination is what's required to enjoy this. What ever it takes seems to be something I'm missing. I have never walked out of a movie, but this would have been the first. I was ready to get up and leave after half an hour, but that's when I realized my companion (usually an insomniac)was sleeping peacefully. I felt obligated to finish the the movie so she could sleep, and I've never let her forget the things I'll endure for friendship!

BigGoon Contains possible spoilers. If you get this thinking you're going to see Bram Stoker's Dracula or Blade, get back in line for the latest Hollywood blockbuster and drop your subscription to IFC & Sundance because it just isn't that kind of vampire movie. If you like dark-themed movies about self-destruction, then definitely check out Habit. What I like best about this film is that it leaves it up to the viewer to decide for themselves whether Anne is a vampire or if Sam just totally flips his lid. I think that with the death of his father and his girlfriend moving out, that Sam, already an alcoholic, is near the breaking point. When he discovers his new sex interest's unusual fetish, his paranoid, delirious mind runs with her taste for blood and causes him to see her as a vampire. Take note of the scene where Sam is receiving the award for his father: when Anne approaches him and the professor, there is a brief glimpse of her as another woman completely, which could be alluding to her either being completely physically different from how Sam sees her or, if she is a vampire, that she's a shapeshifter. Both possibilities apply depending on how you look at the question of is she real or is it all in his head. I think the same question could apply to the sex scenes: are they real or did they do an excellent job of simulating them?