Amateur movie with Big budget

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Catholic priest Sang-hyeon volunteers for an experiment in hospital. The experiment fails and he's infected with the deadly virus. After getting blood transfusions, he miraculously recovers. He becomes infatuated with his childhood friend Kang-woo's wife Tae-ju. He gets sick and finds himself drinking human blood.This has some great erotic bloody sexual vampire scenes. It gets weird. I do find the story meanders a bit. That's probably part of poetry that I don't get but the movie has some captivating scenes. Kang-ho Song is a great lead. He is so magnetic and so charismatic. This may not be everybody's taste. It is slower than most modern horrors. It's a different kind of vampire movie.

I like to keep my reviews short, i rather review the film than compare it or describe it scene by scene like a lot of people like to do, so let's get to it.I honestly came close to not finishing the movie because I was looking for scary and this isn't much of that, but there is A LOT of blood and violence. The only reason I kept watching was because even though it wasn't creepy or scary, it was a beautifully shot and very well made film. The story feels different than other vampire movies it's not just a bunch of the same old vampire clichés. the acting is good for the most part, personally i think the 2 main characters were amazing. It's kind of long, but the movie gets better as it progresses, the ending is nothing less than what You would expect(considering who directed the film). So in short, if you're looking for scary in the traditional sense You won't find it here, but if You're a fan of the Vampire and gore genres or just want to watch a good movie You'll certainly enjoy it.

Thirst: A bit speechless. Where to begin reviewing this film? Well, it is certainly a fantastic Thriller, some elements of Horror and Gore. It is unlike any film I have seen, and I have seen it all! Psychological, disturbing, creepy at times, culturally quite accurate (Korean), a must see for fans of Vampirism for sure, but also anyone that wants to see a disturbing, complex, form of a Thriller. I have not seen any other films by this Director but I certainly will be doing so now. Thirst has a bit of everything in it - not strictly about vampires by far. And to those reviews that mention that it is "Twilight" for adults? You have it wrong. It is nothing like Twilight. Yes, there are some similar traits but no, it is not a Vampire Romance...it is SO much more than that and the other positive reviews are bang-on and speak for themselves. I particularly enjoyed the character developments, the struggles with faith, family, friends as well as the eerie facial expressions. What a creative and well-written story. You need to see this for yourself and come to your own conclusions!

It was interesting to see a new kind of vampire in Thirst. A priest turning into a vampire, this idea is fresh and new. This movie reminds me of the literature The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Both works have the same links in terms of religion, gender, sin, redemption, etc. As Hester and Dimmesdale were suppressed by the society and religion, Tae-ju and Sang-hyeon were under oppression. In Thirst, the oppression suffocating them revived and became tremendous desires when the couple turned into vampires. The desires gulf almost every people including Tae-ju and Sang-hyeon. A little bit unlike The Scarlet Letter, Thirst shows throughout the process how they sinned and its reason and result.In The Scarlet Letter, Hester should live along with redemption due to the love with Dimmesdale, a minister. She put a letter A on her clothes as a mark of her sin. However, she made the A with fabulous scarlet color, which stands for her desire. In Thirst Tae-ju displayed her desire by sucking red blood. She lived with the desire pretty much excessively. The reason why Sang-hyeon and Tae-ju became to live like this is, i think, not because of their innate endless desire, but because of the irresistible oppression put on them. Just like human would fly without landing forever if he is released from the physical fetter. However, the reasons of oppression are different for them. As a priest, Sang-hyeon chose the oppression of his own will in order to be faithful to God. In contrary, Tae-ju had lived under suppression, and she could not had resisted against it. It was not her own will. Furthermore, it is very interesting that it is a priest and a vampire Sang-hyeon who revived, killed, and incriminated Tae-ju. Even after Tae-ju got to get rid of oppression, she had to face another tragedy that she actually has nothing to choose on her own. What is more, she couldn't help but wait for her death sitting next to Sang-hyeon who wait for redemption. Tae-ju couldn't be redeemed, not like Sang-hyeon. In short, she had to live only with another's will from start to end. The situation is repeated in Thirst that Dimmesdale made his destiny by himself with much relief although Hester got ignored and sacrificed in The Scarlet Letter. It might be the reason the death of Taejoo is reliving and pitiful at the same time. Horrible desires are punished in the film. But the punishment is not applied to Sang-hyeon, because he was redeemed. The one who got it is Tae-ju, and her desire is still in her boot which didn't turn into ashes. All the actors did great job. Especially, Kim Hae Suk and Shin Ha kyun worked nicely. In the film, Shin didn't take a big part, but his character Kang-woo is very important and he played well. (maybe he is Chillingworth from The Scarlet Letter? they have pretty many similarities) If you like this movie and Shin, i would like to recommend the korean film called "Guns and Talks."