The Addiction

Kathleen is assaulted by a woman who calls herself 'Casanova' in a stairwell. She is bitten on the neck and the attacker drinks her blood. The encounter marks the beginning of Kathleen's vampiric transformation as she soon develops daylight aversion and other symptoms.

Fearing HIV, Kathleen undergoes medical tests that surprisingly show only anemia. As her body changes, she grows more withdrawn and volatile, with heightened sensitivity to light and an unquenchable hunger.

Kathleen's demeanor grows more aggressive; she propositions her dissertation advisor for sex in his apartment and steals money while he sleeps. This predatory behavior marks a clear slide into vampiric conduct.

In finals week at the library, Kathleen meets a female anthropology student. They go to the student's apartment to study, where Kathleen bites her neck. The moment is chilling in its clinical detachment, underscoring her detachment from normal empathy.

Kathleen meets an acquaintance 'Black' at a deli and propositions him for sex. They leave together, but she attacks him on an empty street and drinks his blood.

On campus, Kathleen confronts Jean, rambles about guilt, and bites her neck, drinking her blood. The act cements her descent into predation.

On the street, Kathleen meets Peina, a vampire who has almost conquered his addiction and is nearly human. He shelters her at his home, encouraging her to confront her addiction and recommending William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch.

Kathleen defends her dissertation before a committee and is awarded her Doctorate of Philosophy. The ceremony marks the peak of her academic success, even as her inner life remains shadowed by hunger.

At the graduation party, Kathleen and Jean feast on the blood of a waitress in a storage closet. After the initial feeding, Kathleen, Jean, Casanova, and other victims attack the partygoers in a chaotic display.

Overcome by the bacchanal and wracked with regret, Kathleen wanders the streets covered in blood. She longs for death and seeks an end to her torment.

Kathleen arrives at a hospital and asks the nurse to let her die, but the nurse refuses. The denial deepens her sense of entrapment and despair.

Casanova appears in Kathleen's hospital room, shuts the curtains, and quotes R. C. Sproul, signaling the persistence of the vampiric influence. A Catholic priest visits and administers Viaticum, offering spiritual ritual in the hospital.

The film closes with Kathleen visiting her own grave in broad daylight, a stark moment of self-reckoning. Her voice-over proclaims, 'self-revelation is annihilation of self,' underscoring the cost of her transformations.