Short Review: 'Thirst' (2009)

One of Korea’s few genre filmmakers, Park Chan-wook has garnered a feverent worldwide cult following since the release of his aptly titled ‘revenge trilogy’, consisting of the stunning Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, Oldboy and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. A unique talent in his own right, Wook is comparable to the distinctive likes of the Coen Brothers: highly in tune with the importance of story structure and character development while also daring enough to bend audience expectations in both areas. While previously having only dabbled in the avenues of fright fare with his gnarly segment of Three Extremes, the heartfelt nightmare that is Thirst marks the maestro’s first real attempt at a fully fleshed-out horror story - a vampire tale with a definite difference.

Feeling the need to do more than facilitate the regular confession, dedicated priest Sang-hyeon (Kang-ho Song) volunteers himself with a research team investigating a deadly virus that infects only Caucasian and Asian peoples. After contracting the fatal disease he soon dies, only to be brought miraculously back to life by way of a blood transfusion and subsequently considered a ‘saint’ by local worshipers. After agreeing to help the sick brother of abused high school girl Tae-ju (Ok-bin Kim), Sang-hyeon and the young woman plot together a scheme to rid her of her wretched husband, only to have their plans suddenly disrupted when they discover the blood used in the priest’s rescue was from that of a vampire, resulting in a now-insatiable bloodlust. Can the couple continue their forbidden affair knowing all too well the price paid by one of them being a creature of the night?

Thirst is undoubtedly a fine movie. All the elements that make Wook’s style so idiosyncratic and personal are present: the honesty with which the characters are drawn, the immaculate attention to detail, gloriously bizarre visuals, etc. However, while the director’s stamp is firmly embedded throughout the majority of the film there does exist a certain feeling of detachment and remoteness with regard to the development of the story and its over-complicated plotting that keeps the movie at a frustratingly unfriendly distance. For example, there is an uneven attempt at humor involving a vengeful spirit that raises more head scratches than laughs and some inconsequential characters that deserve far better pay-offs than they end up getting. More importantly, the film is unnecessarily long (clocking in at just over 130 minutes) and when the story delves into its more over-the-top moments of elaborate fantasy the sincerity of the drama is often nullified, thus taking you out of the movie and occasionally lost in translation. The insanity of Wook’s absurdist comedy sensibilities is generally spot-on in his other films but here it simply feels out of place.

With that said, the tremendous performances by both Kang-ho Song and Ok-bin Kim in no way go unnoticed. Bold, daring and often times fanatically enthusiastic, Thirst’s zealous onscreen couple create an unbridled sense of affection; sometimes passionate, sometimes dangerous but always interesting to watch from an audience point of view and far from what one would normally be treated to in a romantically driven bloodsucker story. If the movie deserves any true accolades it would undoubtedly be for its leading lovers.

An inimitably contemporary tale of vampirism told from the perspective of one of today’s most atypical visionaries, Thirst may indeed have its failings yet it remains a visually striking, conceptually intriguing tale of the macabre that both horror aficionados and Asian cinema fans looking for something a little different should seriously consider devoting their time to. Thankfully, for every Twilight-inspired violation of the vampire myth there still exists a mini gem in the form of films such as these.



Dir: Chan-wook Park
Writer: Seo-Gyeong Jeong & Chan-wook Park
Cast: Kang-ho Song, Ok-bin Kim, Hae-sook Kim, In-hwan Park
Country: South Korea
Run Time: 133mins
Rating: MA15+