Do you like vampires?

Do you still like vampires after seeing that video?  If you say “no,” I don’t blame you.  Chan-Wook Park has crafted what some call “the non-vampire,” vampire film.  A horror movie for everyone who is sick of these teeny bopper vampires, and a movie that tends to break a lot of the societal norms for vampires in general.  “Thirst” will be released in the United States on July 31st, 2009, starting off its U.S. screenings in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. (Eventually gaining a wider release to all cities across the U.S.)

This “NSFW” poster was banned in Korea because of their respect for clergy.

All of Chan-Wook’s films seem to push the viewer to the edge.  The edge of insanity, I should say.  His story telling and natural dialogue and humor in his films make them a treat to experience (I attribute that to his advantage of being able write the screenplays on most of his films.)  If you aren’t familiar with Chan-Wook Park, then you might know him from Old Boy.  Old Boy was a great, albeit disturbing film, loosely based on a Japanese Manga of the same name.   The rest of the “Vengeance Trilogy” is just as good (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and Lady Vengeance) and I recommend seeing all of them if you are going to attempt any of them at all.

On a side note, “Thirst” stars Kang-Ho Song, who was fantastic in The Host (another Korean Horror Film.)

“Thirst,” is great in many ways.  First of all, look at the irony of the priest (a person who normally is fighting mosters) as the main protagonist and antagonist.  How crazy is that?  When Chan-Wook Park was being interviewed (a video I will hopefully be able to include in an update to this post) at Comic Con, he talked about how he didn’t want to do another vampire film to just do another vampire film.  Hollywood has already seen it’s fare share of the good (Interview With The Vampire, Let The Right One In) and the bad (BloodRayne, Once Bitten) in the realm of bloodsuckers.  The reason Chan-Wook said he picked to do a vampire film is simply because it fit the story line he was writing.  He wanted to make a movie about a priest who was in the middle of deep suffering.  A priest who had some sort of ailment that fueled his internal struggle.  Vampirism was a perfect fit.  In the priests’ attempt at helping someone who is “diseased,” he receives a blood tranfusion.  The vampirism is treated like a disease.  Crosses don’t do anything, a priest obviously has no affect on the curse, and strangest of all, no fangs are involved.  It’s ideas like these that get me excited for this fresh, bloody take on vampires…
^ — ^

-“Ash”

p.s.  Check out this awesome poster for the finale in the “Vengeance Trilogy,” Lady Vengeance.

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