Salt Lake Tribune Review
By Sean P. Means
The Salt Lake Tribune
"Thirst" is an insanely inventive vampire tale from Korean director Park Chan-Wook ("Old Boy"), overflowing with bloody action, dark humor and kinky sexuality -- just the ticket for celebrating Halloween away from the little trick-or-treaters.
Father Sang-Hyun (played by
Kang-ho Song, star of the 2006 monster mash "The Host") is a Catholic priest depressed by his work ministering to dying hospital patients. He signs up for what's essentially a suicide mission, as a test subject for researchers seeking a vaccine for a dreaded disease that has killed dozens of missionaries.
Sang-Hyun becomes the first person, out of 500 volunteers, to survive the medical test, making him a worshipped figure, a walking Lourdes. But Sang-Hyun soon learns that the vaccine has turned him into a vampire with superhuman powers and an aversion to sunlight. To stay alive, he must drink daily doses of blood, which makes his old job at the hospital suddenly very convenient.
Things take a nasty turn when Sang-Hyun answers the plea of Mrs. Ra (Hae-sook Kim) to heal her cancer-ridden son, Hang-woo (
Ha-kyun Shin). Sang-Hyun is instantly besotted by Hang-woo's much-abused wife, Tae-ju (Ok-vin Kim), and vice versa. Faster than you can say "Double Indemnity," the two are having sex and hatching a plot to rescue Tae-ju from her domestic hell -- but things don't go according to plan.
Song is the star of "Thirst," drawing out the depths of Sang-Hyun's grief and guilt over his unquenchable need for blood. But the scene-stealer is Ok-vin Kim, a sexy spitfire who pairs with Song for some potently erotic scenes, and then goes gleefully over the top when Tae-ju begins to understand the reality of an undead life.
Park masterfully switches moods throughout "Thirst," with arresting lighting, seamless camera moves and a script (with his writing partner,
Seo-Gyeong Jeong) that finds patches of offbeat comedy amid the horror-movie gloom. It's a delicate balancing act, and Park nails the mix of scares, laughs, sexual tension and even a wistful finale.
There are moments in "Thirst" where you wonder if Park is taking things too far, either in bloody spectacle or irreverence. But there's not a frame in which you see something that isn't scarily original.
movies@sltrib.com
Thirsting for More
Submitted by: Digital Bath
I loved Chan-wook Park's <i>Old Boy</i> when I saw it several years back at the Broadway (with my friend Heather who still hasn't forgiven me for taking her to it), and had highly anticipated <i>Thirst</i> coming to Salt Lake City. I was not disappointed at all.
Sean Means wrote in his review that there wasn't a scene that didn't have something original in it. Sometimes, that could be used as a euphamism to describe an otherwise dull movie, but the not in this case. In fact, it's a spot-on desription of Park's work.
This movie is very much worth seeing and I hope it's at the Tower long enough for word to get out that it's really a great movie, and probably the best horror film since 2008's <i>Let The Right One In</i>. Go see this movie.
The rundown: A priest (
Kang-ho Song) is turned into a reluctant vampire and falls for an abused wife (Ok-vin Kim), in Park Chan-Wook's sexy, scary thriller. Subtitled; 133 minutes. (SPM)
Synopsis: Sang-hyun is a priest who cherishes life; so much so, that he selflessly volunteers for a secret vaccine development project meant to eradicate a deadly virus. But the virus takes the priest, and a blood transfusion is urgently ordered up for him. The blood he receives is infected, so Sang-hyun lives – but now exists as a vampire. Struggling with his newfound carnal desire for blood, Sang-hyun's faith is further strained when a childhood friend's wife, Tae-ju, comes to him asking for his help in escaping her life. Sang-hyun soon plunges into a world of sensual pleasures, finding himself on intimate terms with the Seven Deadly Sins.
