DVD movie review: Vampire tale Thirst makes Twilight teens look silly
Despite Saw, Hostel and a plethora of 80’s horror remakes, the U.S. is not the leader in horror filmmaking.
That distinction actually belongs to the French, but South Korea has produced a number of good thrillers and chillers over the past decade.
Filmmaker Park Chan-wook has made a big splash internationally for his “vengeance” trilogy, a series of grim and violent dramas including the massive cult hit Oldboy. Now, he’s making waves again with Thirst, a fresh take on the vampire genre.
The central character, Sang-hyun, is a Catholic priest who wants to do good for humanity. His desire to help is so great that he volunteers for a controversial biomedical experiment, eventually contracting the deadly “EV” disease.
After receiving a last-minute blood transfusion, he dies on the operating table - only to unexpectedly come back to life. His second lease on life is described as miraculous and the poor and ill travel from far and wide to receive his blessings.
By chance, he stumbles upon an old acquaintance, and his family, and falls into their daily routine.
Around the same time, the priest realizes that the transfusion that saved his life has turned him into a vampire. Consuming human blood spares him from the ravages of the EV virus, but only temporarily.
Despite living his entire adult life in the priesthood, Sang-hyun becomes a human leech, desperate to stay alive and desperate to avoid killing. The pious priest must find a way to avert both his ever increasing bloodlust and the forbidden affection he begins to share with his old friend’s wife.
I won’t give any more away except to say that Thirst is one of the more interesting vampire films I’ve seen in recent years. This ain’t no Twilight, and the teen angst, yearning and sophomoric romance seen by millions last weekend comes off as immature and silly when compared to the raw lust and eroticism seen in Thirst.
This is a very adult tale and a fairly realistic portrayal of what might happen when a deeply religious man and a woman dominated by her husband and mother enter the vampire world.
Park Chan-wook has another winner to add to his impressive resume and Thirst won the 2009 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize. It’s easy to see why: it’s grim, funny, shocking and a bit bloody at times.
Thirst goes places you don’t expect and manages to deliver some genuine surprises. The gore is subtle and used sparingly to maximum effect. This is more of a psychological film and the story abruptly changes in tone at the midpoint. It’s a little jarring at first, but it all pays off nicely.
I do have a little warning for viewers not used to Asian cinema. You might think you know Asian filmmaking by watching Jackie Chan or Jet Li’s import hits but you probably don’t. Japanese films and South Korea’s, to an extent, are a little on the slow side.
Northeast Asian directors use a lot of static and leisurely paced shots; a complete opposite from the frantic, frenetic action style seen in a lot of Hong Kong films. Thirst runs for 134 minutes and it’s a little slow to get started. Don’t lose patience because you will be rewarded for sticking it out.
Korean star Song Kang-ho (The Host, The Foul King) is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors. He’s the epitome of the everyday man and his non-macho persona is a great contrast to the tough-guy actors who have made the transition from Asia to international stardom.
His co-star Kim Ok-vin is equally good and she’s probably the real star of this movie. As a woman dominated and emotionally abused by her family, her transition from victim to monster is beautiful and frightening to behold… but I don’t want to say anymore.
Thirst deserves its R-rating, so don’t show this one to the kids. It features sex, nudity, violence and blood. It also explores some very adult themes which is a nice diversion from the vampire baseball seen in Twilight.
If you’re looking for a horror/romance with a little bite to it, set aside your fear of subtitles and give this one a try.
4.5 out of 5
Thirst
Rated R for graphic bloody violence, disturbing images, strong sexual content, nudity and language
The DVD
While I wholeheartedly recommend this film, the DVD is sadly lacking. The anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen image is clean and vibrant but the technical aspects are the only thing going for it as the disc has zero, count ‘em, zero bonus features.
You get the movie and that’s it. Considering Park Chan-wook is an internationally acclaimed director and considering this movie won big at Cannes, you’d think there would be some discussion, self-congratulation or something. There isn’t even an English dub, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Still, with the lack of any supplements, Thirst gets a zero rating. Hopefully there’ll be a special edition released sometime in the future.
Bonus Features
0 out of 5
Tony Robinson is a past host of KATU's Movie Guys film review segment and currently reviews movies exclusively for KATU.com. He lives in Portland with his wife, son and action figure collection. He can be reached at tonerobe@hotmail.com.