Producer Paul's Ramblings

It’s been three months since my last blog post. That’s what happens when life intrudes I suppose.  Watched Thirst last night on the recommendation of a friend. Helps that I really liked Oldboy.

This is an interesting and original take on the vampire tale (and those are getting harder and harder to come by). It starts with a priest who is losing faith in his ability to help people. He volunteers for an unusual experiment involving the search for a cure for the EV virus.  The experiment is a “failure and the priest “dies” but then immediately comes back. He soon discovers that in order to keep the disfiguring symptoms of the disease at bay, he must drink human blood.  He finds himself in a moral quandary, which is further tested by his desire to seduce the wife of a childhood friend.

From that point, things spin quickly out of control.  If you’ve seen Oldboy, you have a pretty good idea of how strange this movie becomes. If you haven’t, saying much more would ruin the surprise. Suffice to say, the lesson becomes be careful what you wish for.

I found this movie enjoyable for the most part. Nicely directed and acted, with some nice, very graphic special effects, a few of which actually made me wince (but then, I have a thing about fingernails. We’ll leave it at that).  The only real downside was I thought it could have been about 10-15 minutes shorter. At 2:13, it’s a little long for the type of movie it is. A few places the director was obviously going for tension didn’t quite work and just seemed drawn out. But overall this one is worth a watch, especially if you are a fan of the director’s other work.

7/10