Unreal Movie Review: Thirst

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Famed South Korean director Park Chan-wook, known primarily for Oldboy, has tackled the ever-so-trendy vampire genre in his latest film Thirst.  Well, sort of.  Park’s take on vampires isn’t the traditional one; in fact, Park’s vampires don’t even have fangs.  While refreshing to see a new spin put on vampires, Thirst ultimately glosses over the more interesting aspects of its story while devoting far too much time to outright silliness and dark humor.  Thirst isn’t a terrible movie by any means – in fact, many scenes will stay with you long after you’ve left the theater – but as a whole, it’s somewhat disappointing, mainly because of unrealized potential.  Keep reading for the full review.  Minor spoilers ahead.

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Song Kang-ho stars as Sang-hyun, a soft-spoken, mild-mannered priest who spends a little too much time with the terminally ill.  All around Sang-hyun are death and illness, causing him to become overwhelmed with doubt and a sense of helplessness.  Truly wanting to help those around him, the selfless Sang-hyun volunteers for an experiment that may lead to the discovery of a vaccine for the lethal Emmanuel Virus.  In short, he’s killed, but later resurrected with an intolerance for sunlight and a thirst for human blood.  Without drinking blood, the skin blisters and deadly sickness that accompany the Emmanuel Virus begin to manifest.

And this is Park’s portrayal of vampires: gone are the hokey myths of garlic, fangs, and mirrors (in fact, quite cleverly, Park often shows Sang-hyun’s reflection in a nearby mirror).  Only the avoidance of sunlight and a thirst for human blood remain from traditional vampire lore.

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Sang-hyun struggles mightily with his new found taste for blood, and Song Hang-ko does an admirable job showing the audience his inner torture.  How can a priest, focused on helping the needy remaining celibate, possibly exist in a world in which he needs the blood of his fellow human to survive? At first, Sang-hyun does the “sensible” thing and drinks blood from a comatose patient in the hospital in which he used to volunteer, but he realizes and is troubled by the fact that this solution is most likely very temporary.  Sang-hyun must also deal with his new fame, as a man who has come back from the dead is bound to have followers, most of which believe he has supernatural abilities to heal.  Some even believe he is the Second Coming.

One of the problems with Thirst, however, is that the themes of resurrection and religious redemption – themes well worth exploring, I believe – are seen only as snapshots.  Instead, much of the film’s focus is on Sang-hyun’s relationship with the wife of one of his childhood friends.  Kim Ok-bin plays Tae-ju, a submissive and oppressed young woman at the mercy of her foolish husband and his Draconian mother.  As good as Song Kang-ho is in this film, he’s completely overshadowed by Kim Ok-bin, who manages to successfully convey fear, lust, and lunacy throughout.

Perhaps as a result of his transformation, Sang-hyun begins to abandon his prior convictions and begins a lustful and somewhat exploratory relationship with Tae-ju.  Where their relationship goes and how it affects those around them I won’t reveal.

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Now, maybe there is something that I, as a Westerner, fail to understand the movie’s tone.  I am well aware that it’s meant to be – in addition to a horror film – a black comedy, but I found myself (and many other members of the audience) laughing at parts that I don’t think were supposed to be funny.  Thirst does have it’s intentionally funny parts – mostly in the dialogue, in fact – but much of the film felt quite silly and over-the-top, and not in a Sam Raimi kind of way.  The serious concepts of resurrection and the life one leads being turned on its head were difficult to reconcile with the bizarre, almost uncomfortable scenes that featured grinning corpses and superhuman feats of strength and agility.  To be honest, it reminded me of the conflicting tones of Southland Tales, and we all know how that turned out for Richard Kelly.  Still, Thirst has received quite favorable reviews thus far, and so I think it may simply be a cultural difference of taste.

Overall, Thirst is unique, well-acted, and features some gorgeous cinematography.  Still, I couldn’t help feel that the film was incomplete.  It’s as if the skeleton of a brilliant vampire movie was in place, but Park failed to correctly flesh it out.  If you’re looking for a good time and are a fan of Park’s other works, you may enjoy this film.  However, if you’re looking for the next Let The Right One In, I suggest you skip this one.

2.5 out of 5 stars

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2 Comments

  1. I think 2.5 stars is kinda cruel. I would give this film 3.7 points.
    I agree that it has a great deal of unrealized potential. It’s very very original and has many interesting ideas. I loved Tae and hated Sang – hyun for being such a lemon.
    The ending is genius.

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