Review: Thirst: The Thirst (for a Good Vampire Movie) Mutilator

Thirst may not turn you into a vampire, but it will certainly turn you into a fan

Today we live in the Twilight era.

 No, not Nietzsche’s Twilight of the Idols. Nor the Norse Ragnarökkr ("Twilight of the Gods").

No, as much as it makes me scream “NO!” This is the prissy, sparkly and downright sissy era of Twilight. Whereas in the past a dashing vampire could subjugate an entire town merely with his fearsome presence, in the Twilight era vampires don’t do anything more dastardly than play baseball in secret while making preteen girls feel warm and fuzzy inside in a totally non-threatening manner. But there is hope (or, perhaps, despair for all us week tasty mortals).

 Korean director Park Chan-wook (Oldboy) has come to the rescue with his latest film, Thirst. It’s the twisted tale of Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho), a priest who becomes a vampire after undergoing a failed medical experiment with good intentions. Astounded, frightened and simultaneously drawn to his newfound vampirism, he has to deal with the biting moral dissonance between his religious convictions and his new heightened desires. With plot elements lifted from French 19th century naturalist author Émile Zola’s novel and play Thérèse Raquin, Thirst weaves a chilling account of slowly boiling tensions between the cute, unhappy and deceptive housewife Tae-ju (Kim Ok-bin), her idiot husband Kang-woo (Shin Ha-kyun) and his overbearing mother (played by Kim Hae-sook) which explode into brutal Vampiric ultra-violence as Sang-hyun and Tae-ju begin a bloody, passionate love affair.

Dark, haunting, and full of brooding nervous energy that erupts into moments both comical and horrific, Thirst won’t disappoint. Visually the movie is stunning. Not only does it include fast-paced, vicious scenes of man-as-prey, but there are superb dramatic and slow build-ups, and arresting scenes of Sang-hyuns newfound vampiric powers. From shots of Sang-Hyun smoothly gliding through the air, to him hanging upside down like a bat, to him becoming suddenly overwhelmingly aware of his newfound sensory prowess, Thirst always dazzles.

That’s dazzle, not sparkle. These vampires burn in the sun and the things they do on screen will be seared into your psyche. But your eyes won’t be the only organ assaulted; Thirst will attack your ears as well (and maybe even your neck). The film’s use of sound sticks out like a vampire's teeth. It's an incredibly sloshy movie, full of spurts and gulps. At times it can be a bit stomach retching, but the supremely bodily sights and sounds come with the vampire territory and add to the realism. Thirst may slurp and gurgle, but one thing it sure doesn’t do is suck.