Review: Thirst

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Thirst

The Fantastic Fest/AICN Presents series of special screenings leading up to the festival at the end of September is surpassing last year's screenings, with Deadgirl, The Collector and Chan-wook Park's latest, Thirst (Bakjwi), in the last two weeks alone.

In Thirst, Sang-hyeon is a man of intense faith who subjects himself to an experiment with unexpected results. Starring Kang-ho Song (The Host, The Good, the Bad, the Weird), and an unsettling Ok-vin Kim, Thirst completely twists vampire mythology into an exotic tale of domestic horror with elements of faith, taboo, family and the inevitable consequences of giving in to forbidden desires.

Sang-hyeon isn't satisfied in merely being a hospital priest, and volunteers for exposure to the rare and always fatal disease called the Emmanuel Virus (EV). When he miraculously survives, the price he's paid isn't immediately apparent. As he slowly realizes what he's become, he faces moral dilemmas that would challenge less pious men. As his power grows, so do his desires. As Sang-hyeon struggles to find ways to cope with his new condition and urges, he falls for Tae-ju, the oppressed but rebellious wife of his old friend (Kim).

Park, best known for Oldboy and the Vengeance films, likes to explore consequences from seemingly minor actions, retribution, and taboos. Forcing a pious man into a situation where he has to resort to breaking his moral code just to survive leads to slippery slopes. The dilemma of surviving by drinking another human's blood becomes metaphoric for the growing dysfunctional symbiosis between Tae-Ju and San-hyeon.

Instead of focusing on the dramatic side of the gruesome realities of living on the blood of others, Park focuses on the minutia of turning into a supernatural creature. Visceral desires play out on screen with disturbingly accurate slurping sounds. Domestic politics takes on a lethal edge, and old resentments become pathological impulses that cannot be ignored.

It's often disturbing to watch Tae-Ju and San-hyeon sinks to the depths they do, even as they resist -- or relish as the case may be -- their downward spiral. Park doesn't cut any slack for his characters, and Thirst is no exception. Yet ultimately, this fractured fairy tale is bittersweet, and well worth the experience.