Thirst (9/10)

I'm very glad I watched this movie, it restored my faith. Not in religion but in director Chan-wook Park. I reviewed not to long ago the movie "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance", I was incredibly underwhelmed. However his film "Oldboy" is a masterpiece that giving a 10/10 is easy to do. I may choose to review that one too later, it's worth it. So I've seen movies on opposite sides of the fence with Park and "Thirst" helps confirm he is a talented man.

"Thirst" is bleak, scary, suspenseful, provocative, darkly funny, oddly romantic and just original all around. All the points come across fantastically in this mesmerizing movie. It's a vampire movie... but hear me out. This one is not some "Twilight" thing, nor is it "30 Days of Night" either. Here is an original and off the top of my head, the best vampire movie ever (if you can think of another, tell me, I feel I'm forgetting one). It's the story of a priest who wants to do some good in the world, so he volunteer's for a experiment. He will be infected with a virus and given medicine to see if he is cured. Things go bad for him and he is given some mysterious blood for a transfusion. The priest becomes a vampire in classic sense of the word. He however is not rejected by his friends. His mentor pities and helps him and a child hood friend Tae-ju wants to be like him. I don't want to say much and ruin the shocking things but there are themes of faith, greed, envy, loneliness, making one a monster, acceptance and freedom.

The best trait in the film is how far it goes. Chan-wook Park is a director who does not backdown. He will take you on a mind-bending and exhausting trip. I applaud him for that. Movies that take you to the edge are a nice change of pace. "Antichrist", "Oldboy" and "Pulp Fiction" are unwavering pieces and are better for it. "Thirst" is a great movie.

9/10
Recommendation: It is dark and violent. Something to make the hairs on your neck stand up. It's foreign but I saw watch it.