THIRST

(A.k.a. BAKJWI; EVIL LIVE; UNTITLED CHAN-WOOK PARK PROJECT)

Sang-hyeon (Kang-ho Song, THE HOST) is a priest who quietly devotes his time to taking confessions from the living and the near-dead at his local hospital. A meek man who wants nothing more than to help people, he believes his calling is to venture out to a medical camp in Africa and take an experimental drug said to be capable of curing sufferers of the dreaded Emanuel Virus.

Writing regularly to the patients he's left behind, Sang-hyeon tells them he's taken an extended holiday at short notice. In truth, he has volunteered for possibly the worst secret medical research imaginable - being injected with a developing vaccine that causes his skin to erupt in welts.

Six months later, and after temporarily being declared dead in an operating theatre before receiving a seemingly life-saving blood transfusion, Sang-hyeon returns to his native Korea with bandages covering his blistered skin. The locals hail him as a martyr, believing his role as the sole survivor of the notorious medical trials has left him with healing powers.

It's here that he's welcomed into the family home of old pal Kang-woo (Ha-kyun Shin), whose family hope can be cured of cancer at the priest's hands. Although unconvinced that he has helped Kang-woo, Sang-hyeon continues to visit the family home weekly and join in with their gambling games. His reason for returning soon becomes apparent: he has developed feelings for Kang-woo's much-beleaguered girlfriend Tae-ju (Ok-bin Kim).

A passionate and secret affair grows between Sang-hyeon and Tae-ju, much to the priest's initial guilt. But before long, Sang-hyeon realises that his newfound lust for the pleasures of the flesh is not restricted to having sex: he feels the need to feed on blood too.

Trying his best to avoid killing for blood, Sang-hyeon steals blood from the hospital to begin with - specifically from a patient who lies in a coma. But as his love for Tae-ju and resentment towards the brutal Kang-woo grow, you just know his bloodlust is going to lead him into darker terrains ...

Often beautiful, frequently engaging and not without a whole heap of charm, THIRST has many positive attributes to be fond of. Song continues to be an amiable leading man, while set-pieces and technical factors such as musical score and cinematography are consummate throughout. It's a great film in many respects.

While not scary, the film manages to enthral as an examination (indeed, possibly a subversion of religious and sexual beliefs upheld by middle Korea. It is, beneath the slick blue hues and lusty shagging, quite probably Chan-wook Park's most political film to date.

Where the film falls is with a few annoying traits that Park shares with his own famous uber-fan Quentin Tarantino. Firstly, the annoying pop culture chic they both adhere to is no longer fresh. In particular, Park is quick to dispel the impact of many a gorgeous composition by reverting to music video-style flashiness that really does nothing to enhance his otherwise finely crafted thriller.

Then there is the penchant for heavy-handed humour, another foible of both filmmakers. THIRST has a sombre core, a sense of yearning and restraint that is immediately at odds with any clumsy comedy tossed in unnecessarily by Park.

Most obviously though, a major fault that Park shares with Tarantino is that neither seem to be capable of finding editors brave enough to throw footage to the cutting-room floor. In this instance, THIRST is well over 2 hours long and doesn't need to be. It sags in the second half, and ultimately would've benefited from being 20 minutes shorter.

But despite these misgivings and a finale that is too similar to a certain other 21st Century vampire film to be effective, I don't want to be too harsh on THIRST. It is, after all, an entertaining and brilliantly stylish romp. It's also surprisingly erotic, original and, as far as recent bloodsucker films go, it's head and shoulders above that TWILIGHT guff.

Palisades Tartan's DVD presents the film uncut in a very agreeable anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer. Blacks are controlled extremely well, while the naturally restrained colour schemes are accurately represented in an exceedingly sharp and clean presentation.

Korean audio is proffered in 2.0, 5.1 and 5.1 DTS mixes. These all offer well-balanced playback, with the surround options allowing for more bass in the film's racier scenes. Optional English subtitles are easy to read.

An animated main menu page makes use of the director's artful rendering of blood splashes, a'la the opening credits sequence of the "Masters Of Horror" TV series.

From there, sub-menus are static affairs. These include a scene-selection menu allowing access to the main feature via 16 chapters.

Extras begin with the original trailer. Presented in anamorphic widescreen over the course of 2 minutes, this successfully conveys the film as a crossover of arthouse and grindhouse.

A 13-minute interview with Park follows, and is a UK exclusive. Conducted by the Daily Mirror's Jessica Mellor, her questions are presented as English text on the screen. In-between, Park speaks to the screen in a shy but generous manner. He gives good insights into how he perceives his own films as being thrillers, speaking about how his tight storyboarding techniques leave little room for improvisation, and discussing the journey undertaken by the characters in THIRST. It's a reasonable promotional interview.

In a move that will certainly prove to be irksome for some, the blu-ray disc also includes 13 minutes of excerpts from an NFTS masterclass conducted by Park.

A flawed but frequently gorgeous and undeniably entertaining film, THIRST may not hit the heights of Park's earlier gems OLDBOY and LADY VENGEANCE, but is well worth a look regardless. It's worth a buy purely because it's more rewarding upon a second viewing.

The presentation here is very good, although I'd be surprised if more comprehensive extras aren't offered in a subsequent DVD release.

Also available on blu-ray.

Review by Stuart Willis