An official poster for the film. The composition is stunning.

I can’t get Thirst (2009) by Park Chan-wook out of my mind. I haven’t watched it since late August last summer, and the movie still feels fresh in my thoughts. The American title is so fitting for the theme, as it reflects a literal thirst for blood reflected by Sang-hyun’s need for drinking blood, but it also represents a metaphorical thirst by the anti-hero. Sang-hyun begins the film as a Catholic priest who lives an unfulfilling life which leads him to a hopeless mission in Africa. He contracts a virus which no one before him has survived. However, the virus leaves its mark on Sang-hyun in the form of vampirism. He returns home to South Korea, and begins an illicit affair with Tae-ju, the wife of his childhood friend, Kang-woo.

Tae-ju is similarly discontent with her life, after being raised by Lady Ra, an overbearing woman with a drinking problem, she was pressured into marrying her son and playing house with him in a loveless, unhappy marriage. Her mother-in-law and her husband treat her no better than a maid and disrespect her constantly. Sang-hyun and Tae-ju’s affair is intensely sexual, but their connection is much deeper than a physical attraction. The star-struck lovers conduct an affair all while dealing with Sang-hyun’s vampirism.

Kang-woo's demise

Thirst carries the genre of horror with it, but it’s so much more than just a bloody vampire movie. It’s a dramatic and beautiful love story, with Shakespearean undertones, sort of how The Lion King references Hamlet. The fact that vampirism is involved in the plot seems like such a moot point, especially in comparison to Western horror film, where the plot seems completely dominated by death, violence and destruction while putting everything else in the background. The visuals and effects are stunningly realistic, and at one point, the home of Lady Ra reminded me of a crime scene.

Thirst had a high budget, and the special effects definitely reflect that. Scenes featuring blood and gore look terrifyingly realistic and Sang-hyun’s superhuman display of strength seem as if it could actually happen.