Reviewed by Adam Boult
Stars Song Kang-ho, Kim Ok-bin, Shin Ha-kyun, Hae-sook Kim, In-hwan Park,
Young-chang Song, Mercedes Cabral, Eriq Ebouaney | Written by Park Chan-wook & Seo Gyeong-jeong
UK certification 18 | UK RRP £19.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 129 minutes | Directed by Park Chan-wook
Thirst, from Oldboy director Park Chan-wook, is a slow-burning exploration of vampirism that’s definitely at the more adult end of the spectrum, in terms of the themes it tackles and in the sex and violence stakes. Song Kang-ho stars as Sang-hyun, a Catholic priest who volunteers for a highly dangerous medical experiment which initially leads him to death’s door. Against expectations he survives, but is left with an unquenchable thirst for human blood and a fiery aversion to daylight.
Seeking a humane way to deal with his blood-lust, Sang-hyun hits on the idea of feeding from a coma patient at the hospital where he works. However, some other side-effects of the vampirism prove harder to deal with - after years of self-denial in the priesthood, his libido goes into overdrive. Before long he embarks on a torrid affair with the wife of a childhood friend – and when he reveals his secret to her, her reaction leads him further and further away from his Christian principles, and closer towards everything he’d previously thought of as evil.
With its naturalistic approach to vampirism, focussing on the psychology of the outcast, Thirst has much in common with George Romero’s Martin (itself a neglected classic). Song is a compelling lead and has the audience’s sympathy from the get-go, and Kim Ok-bin, as his mistress, puts in a terrific performance as her character slowly transforms from down-trodden domestic slave to super-charged Lady Macbeth. The many stunning and beautifully filmed set-pieces further cement Park’s reputation as South Korea’s answer to Stanley Kubrick, and there’s a lot of perfectly judged humour.
However, it’s not without its flaws. It takes a long time to get going and slightly outstays it’s welcome; if anything Park has tried to squeeze in too many ideas at the expense of pacing. Moreover, at times there’s rather too much dwelling on domestic melodrama, and after the berserk genius of Oldboy its a shame to see Park keep his feet on the ground so much, even as his characters start leaping from rooftops in search of their prey. Nevertheless, it’s a hugely original take on the vampire myth, and certainly as good as the best of the current wave of vampire movies.
EXTRAS *** An audio commentary with director Park Chan-wook; a UK exclusive interview with Chan-wook; edited highlights from the NFT Masterclass given by Chan-wook; the theatrical trailer.