Thirst

Horrorphile

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Thirst

January 11th 2010 00:41

A vampire movie with lots of baggage, the South-Korean Thirst (2009), directed by Park Chan-wook (who made the masterful Oldboy), is a difficult kettle of putrid fish, and not a wholly successful stew. The darkly humourous tone sits uncomfortably with its crooked faith whilst straddling the classic vampire mythology it becomes a farce, and frequently falls flat on its face.

Thirst slapped me in the face with disappointment. Having waited all year to see it, my expectations were admittedly very high, especially considering how powerful and potent his mutant revenge flick Oldboy is. He’d raised the bar so high it was going to be very hard to top it. I haven’t yet seen the other two movies in his “revenge” trilogy (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Kind-Hearted Ms. Geum-ja AKA Lady Vengeance), but plan to.

Song Kang-ho as Sang-hyun

Priest Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho) works for a hospital and volunteers for a vaccine development project. However the virus nearly kills him and after a tainted transfusion he discovers he has become a vampire, with a carnal desire for blood and the pleasures of the flesh. Oh the humanity!

Kim Ok-bin as Tae-ju and Shin Ha-kyun as Kang-woo

The priest turns to help the wife, Tae-ju (Kim Ok-vin), of an old friend Kang-woo (Shin Ha-kyun). She is beside herself with torment desperate to escape her mundane life. They embark on an illicit affair which becomes much more complicated than your normal act of adultery. It seems the Seven Deadly Sins have come to destroy the priest’s life and the world around him.

Director Chan-wook, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jeong Seo-gyeong, is very talented director who seems to have floundered in his perverse take on vampirism, the tone and thematic elements confused and laboured. The performances are solid, but they’re not enough to carry the two-hour meander. The last quarter of the movie becomes downright absurd as the two leads leap across buildings, the priest in pursuit of his blood-lust. The ending feels lifted from 30 Days of Night (an altogether more chilling and visceral vampire movie).

Thirst – not to be confused with the anemic Australian vampire movie from 1979 – feels like a vampire movie that wants to be something else; something more profound, but can’t rise above its domestic trappings. Virtually none of the stylised visual flair of the director’s previous movies is evident, only the weirdness, which doesn’t hold nearly as much gravitas outside of the director’s propensity for graphic symbolism.

Thirst Kang-ho Song, Shin Ha-kyun, Kim Ok-bin

This is not to say Thirst doesn't have its moments; some striking imagery, flashes of dark sensuality, and an subversive ickiness that would make Takashi Miike smile. Measured against other vampire movies Thirst certainly commands a particular level of respect; delving into the nature of duplicity and faith amidst the rigors and fragility of domesticity and family loyalty in very different ways to any previous vampire flick. Although the vampires in Thirst possess superhuman strength and agility, they don’t have fangs, nor are they xenomorphic shape-changers. There is a base human level to Chan-wook’s vampires that grounds them like an anchor. It is the precariousness of their existence, the human frailties vs. supernatural cravings, that gives them such an unholy edge; an edge that will invariably cut them.

The darkness before the dawn

Thirst is for those whose taste for blood is a little more coppery than most.

Here's the U.S. trailer (which makes the movie look decidedly exhilarating):

Thirst DVD is courtest of Madman Entertainment, many thanks!

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

5 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by David O'Connell

January 11th 2010 04:27

Screen Fanatic

I'll be sitting down to this one later in the week too Bryn but like you I have high expectations which I'm worried about.

As great a director as Park is, there really can be a distinct lack of coherance in his narratives. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance suffers from it to some extent but has a much better second half.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, on the other hand, is a real mess and easily his weakest film for me.

Comment by Bryn

January 12th 2010 00:13

Horrorphile

Hi David, tell me is the version you saw of Lady Vengeance the Fade to Black and White version? I'm curious as to your thoughts on Thirst.

Comment by David O'Connell

January 12th 2010 05:52

Screen Fanatic

No mate, only the regular version. In fact I'd never heard of the Fade to Black and White version until I read your post and googled it.

Comment by JohnDoe

January 16th 2010 04:30

Film & TV on DVD

Hi Bryn,

i actually purchased this one unseen the other week. it still sits in the to watch pile as the better half insists on seeing it too.

I'm quite excited about screening as I do love old Boy and the rest of the revenge trilogy...will fill you in once I've viewed it.

Comment by Bryn

January 16th 2010 08:29

Horrorphile

JD, will be very curious to know what you think. Like you I was very excited, then a month or so ago a good old friend of mine, a director and cinephile, was in town and she said she hated it, which totally threw me. She loved Oldboy too. So then I went in with a little trepidation, and was rather disappointed.

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