Thirst 2009

It is very Korean in the best way possible.

About 1/3 of the way in or so I began to have deja vu. The daughter-in-law working in their fabric/dress shop storefront, the girl having been raised in the household of her abusive now mother-in-law, the demanding and unpleasant sickly husband... Then I saw them all playing a weekly table game with friends and that clinched it. Turns out the movie is based on the 1867 novel Thérèse Raquin, by Émile Zola. Maybe you all knew that already. Not me.It was interesting to see where the movie kept to the novel and where it diverged. The movie managed to stay true to the character development and broad plot development -- despite a complete lack of vampires, priests, or medical experiments in the original novel. :)The actors were great. I ended up being completely creeped out by the mother-in-law. A lesson in how to act without really acting.There are other movies based on this book. Despite the gruesomeness of this one I think it is my favorite

This is my favorite horror movie in a long time (I watch a lot of horror - generally no gratuitous torture or misery - but pretty much everything else). It's not a spoiler to note that this one is a vampire variation and, like all vampire stories, raises issues of addiction, sexual and otherwise.Beyond that, it's a fable about two people who have made the best of difficult childhoods and suddenly find their lives profoundly changed. That is a tiny spoiler and as much plot content as I am going to give you.Kim Ok-Bin is amazing in this. I had seen her before in the Whispering Corridors film "Voice," and she was great, but this film required far more dynamic skills. Song Kang-Ho plays Sang-hyun (play on sanguine). He's in Snowpiercer and Parasite, and he is nothing short of adorable. Calling him that doesn't do justice to the depth of his performance, but the guy is just undeniably appealing.You probably know Park Chan-wook from the Vengeance Trilogy, Old Boy, or The Handmaiden (he also produced Snowpiercer). If you do, you also know that he has his own aesthetic with action/violence/gore. It's gorgeous.Highly recommend this film if you like K-horror or A-horror or horror or complicated love stories.

Rented this for husband's podcast Give Me Back My Horror Movies. Go listen to find out his thoughts.

I really wanted to like this more than I did. Mostly found it very slow, like when i paused it thinking there were 5 min left, and there was a full hour. If this was a tight 90, I think i would love it.Also writing this so the movie can have a nice "even" 666 reviews. ha!

I appreciate a good Chan-Wook Park film. I loved his Vengeance trilogy and proclaim to be a fan of his work, even his short film "Cut" in '3 Extremes' was amazing. However, I do not admit to liking this movie very much. There is a style in its CGI that I confess to being impressive. Instead of watching a film like 'Transformers' where you are constantly unsurprised by its over-compensation of SFX talent, you are fascinated by "Thirst"'s mysterious working of simple yet mystifying tricks. You know there has to be some wire-work in some scenes of this film, though there are some parts where, like trying to guess the secret behind a magic trick, you are left dumbfounded as to how they pulled that off without an over-elaborate tooling with a computer. The intriguing characterization, powerful performances, and magician-like special effects isn't enough for me to like this movie. I don't shy away from erotic movies; so understand this was not the part of the film that bothered me. I suppose I'm biased in not appreciating the protagonist's dramatic conflicts, but it just can't be helped. I appreciate his character's development, however I wish to argue that he should have made more changes when they were necessary. The heroine's character is just heartbreaking to review, because she is, like many males encounter in life, just--pardon my crude opinion but--a silly, tragic yet harebrained, bloodthirsty nympho that just seems more like a child than a sympathetic character. One can tell that the director tries to, once again, present his beliefs in "Vengeance Is Never The Answer," though I feel it burns the movie's integrity altogether ruining a masterpiece that could have been legendary. This was an artistically inspiring take on the vampire trend nowadays, and was original in its own tackling of the over-popular franchise. But in the end I felt truly sad, even though I never shy away from compelling tragedies, but I tragically cannot admit to feeling satisfied with this Chan-Wook Park film. I hope he returns to his jaw-dropping talent and makes a comeback. So in a nutshell: SFX, decent character development, and originality makes this interesting...but altogether not enough to champion its downfall.

Ive seen some other films by the director which were good. This isnt one of them. Acting not very good too slow and boring.

A beautifully crafted story from Park wook Chan which tells of a priest who is transformed into a vampire

got what i paid for

good xmas pressie

starring Song Kang-Ho Shin Ha-Kyun and Kim Ok-Vin this film is around 128 minutes long in wide screen. What sets the Far eastern films apart from the Hollywood film industry is that Korea Japan and China film all tell a story with far more restraint than either Hollywood or Bollywood. The film is about a priest who only wants to do good in the community so volunteers for clinical trials at a clinic where there is a 100% fatal virus. The infection sets in and he is given a blood transfusion that turns him into a vampire. He is conflicted by the change and to keep the virus from returning and killing him he has to drink blood regularly. He finally resolves this dilemma by drinking the blood of a coma patient in the hospital he is working. He plays Mahjong with a group of friends and he fancies the wife of one and they begin an affair as she is trapped in a boring loveless relationship with a bland wifebeater. She too is infected after a steamy romp where he bites her but where the priest is rather weak she takes to her new life with gusto.the lead actress is utterly brilliant here and also gorgeous too and she could bite me anyday. The film actually humanises vampires in a way as it is a radical change from the normal life the inflicted once had and must affect them in ways that would cause mental and physical conflict, this is what this film also explores as a sub context in the film. Wait for the end of the film where the priest finally resolves his and his girlfriends situation. A thoughtful and thought provoking film well worth the purchase.