Habit

Writer-director Larry Fessenden also stars as Sam, a perpetually wasted sad sack whose father has recently died and whose girlfriend has moved out. At a Halloween party, he meets a mysterious beauty named Anna (Meredith Snaider, who resembles Winona Ryder), who has the unsettling habit of suddenly appearing and disappearing, not to mention drawing blood during their torrid trysts. Fessenden is not a conventional leading man (one of his front teeth is missing), but his gritty appearance, coupled with the constraints of the film's low budget and the naturalistic performances by a cast of unknowns give this New York bohemian vampire thriller an unsettling believability. This is a subversive take on a popular genre. Aficionados will want a taste. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)