.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

When the words, "From the director of Old Boy" appears at the top of a DVD cover, you can be sure it has my interest. Old Boy is no longer a hidden gem due to the large amount of good press it has received since its 2003 theatrical release, but even with the hype, the movie still delivers.

So picking up director Chan-wook Park's, Thirst, was a no-brainer. Winning the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, Thirst is the story of a priest named Sang-hyun (Kang-ho Song) who, working for a hospital, volunteers for an experimental vaccine project when patients start dying of a deadly virus. As the priest nearly dies, he is given a transfusion of vampire blood that begins his 'thirst' for human blood. Although Sang-hyum finds ways of pleasuring his need without taking human life, the woman to which he is having an affair, Tae-ju (Ok-vin Kim) whom he turns into a vampire, has a different immoral and inhuman approach to appease her appetite for blood.

Although I was turned off by the film's length (a whopping 130+ minutes), most of the movie was a pure treat. Chan-wook Park knows how to incorporate a complex story with the requisite blood and gore and Thirst does not disappoint.

The first third of the film is Sang-hyun's dealing with his new lust for blood. Being a priest has both its advantages and disadvantages in this regard. Obviously, his faith will restrict him from the killing (and the other sins for which he has a heightened appetite). In contrast, his work as a priest in the hospital allows him access to blood in ways that Sang-hyun tries to pawn off as innocently practical.

As interesting as Sang-hyun's journey to the darker side of vampire-ism is, it is when Tae-ju's transformation is complete that the Thirst really begins to soar. Where she is ruthless and manipulative - a sexpot with attitude, Sang-hyun is still shows human compassion and refuses to kill unless necessary to save another.

Not overly gory, but plenty for the horror fans, Thirst can rank among some of the better vampire titles that grace our DVD rental shelves every week. I am not reserving it a place amongst the classics, but it was an above average vampire film. And with what seems to be 100 or more of the genre released each year, that says a lot.