A fan of Scorsese and Cassavetes as much as black-and-white fear flicks, Larry Fessenden wanted “to make a traditional horror story in a stark, naturalistic style”, a vampire movie that would “play out all the lonely, confusing feelings of being drained by illness or despair.”

He made Habit. Twice, actually, this being a remix of the film he originally made in 1980 as an undergraduate.

Fessenden also stars as Sam, an unkempt New Yorker who’s on the rebound when he bumps into the mysterious Anna (Meredith Snaider, hypnotic) at a party and slowly sinks into a twilight world of lust, madness and addiction.

As New York paranoia movies go, this is better than Abel Ferrara’s Driller Killer or Bad Lieutenant, yet few have heard of it or, indeed, of writer/director Fessenden. That last is about to change, though – he’s just signed up for the US remake of The Orphanage.

Argh! After much staring into each other’s eyes/souls, Sam and Anna get it on in needy, greedy fashion. Watch out for those lovebites...

Remake rights: Larry Fessenden. He says he’d like to return to Habit every decade or so.