Bakjwi
Tags: comedy, murder, thought-provoking, cult, violence, horror, tragedy

Plot synopsis:
Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho) is a Catholic priest who volunteers at the hospital, providing ministry to the patients. He is well respected for his unwavering faith and dedicated service, but he secretly suffers from feelings of doubt and sadness. Sang-hyun volunteers to participate in an experiment to find a vaccine for the deadly Emmanuel Virus (EV). Although the experiment fails, and Sang-hyun is infected with the seemingly fatal disease, he makes a complete and rapid recovery after receiving a blood transfusion.
News of his marvelous recovery quickly spreads among the devout parishioners of Sang-hyun’s congregation, and they begin to believe that he has a miraculous gift for healing. Soon, thousands more flock to Sang-Hyun’s services. Among the new churchgoers are Kang-woo (Shin Ha-kyun), Sang-hyun’s childhood friend, and his family. Kang-woo invites his old friend to join the weekly mahjong night at his house, and there, Sang-hyun finds himself attracted to Kang-woo’s wife, Tae-ju (Kim Ok-bin). Sang-hyun later relapses into his illness and wakes in dire need of shelter from the sunlight, having become a vampire.
At first, Sang-hyun feels a new-found vigor but soon he is aghast to find himself drinking blood from a comatose patient. After attempting to kill himself, Sang-hyun finds himself irresistibly drawn to human blood. To make matters worse, the symptoms of EV return and only seem to go away when he has drunk blood. Desperately trying to avoid committing a murder, Sang-hyun resorts to stealing blood transfusion packs from the hospital.
Tae-ju, who lives with her ill husband and overprotective mother-in-law, Lady Ra (Kim Hae-sook), leads a dreary life. She is drawn to Sang-hyun and his odd new physicality, including his inability to resist his desires. The two begin an affair, but when Tae-ju discovers the truth about Sang-hyun, she retreats in fear. When Sang-hyun pleads with her to run away with him, she turns him down, suggesting that they kill her husband instead.
When Sang-hyun's superior at the monastery requests some vampire blood so that his eyes may heal and he may see the world before dying, Sang-hyun flees his position at the monastery. He moves into Lady Ra's house so that he may secretly be with Tae-ju. Sang-hyun notices bruises on Tae-ju and assumes her husband is the cause, a suspicion she sheepishly confirms. Sang-hyun decides to kill Kang-woo during a fishing trip with the couple. He pulls Kang-woo into the water and claims that he placed the body inside a cabinet in a house at the bottom of the lake, putting a rock on the body to keep it from floating to the surface.
A police investigation ensues. Lady Ra drinks herself into shock after her son's death, sinking into a completely paralyzed state. In the meantime, Sang-hyun and Tae-ju are haunted by terrifying visions of Kang-woo's bloated corpse. When Tae-ju lets slip that Kang-woo never abused her, Sang-hyun is enraged because he only killed Kang-woo to protect her. Teary-eyed, she asks Sang-hyun to kill her and let her return to her husband. He obliges by snapping her neck, but after feeding on her blood, decides he does not want to be alone forever and feeds her corpse his own blood. She awakens as a vampire. Lady Ra, knocked to the floor by a seizure, witnesses everything.
Tae-ju quickly shows herself to be a remorseless monster, killing indiscriminately to feed, while Sang-hyun acts more conservatively, not killing unless he has to. Their conflicting ethics result in a chase across the rooftops and a short battle. Some time later, Lady Ra manages to communicate to Kang-woo's friends that Sang-hyun and Tae-ju killed her son. Tae-ju quickly disposes of two of the friends, and Sang-hyun appears to eliminate the third. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Sang-hyun tells Tae-ju that they must flee or be caught. Before leaving with her, he makes a visit to the camp of worshipers who consider him the miracle EV survivor. He makes it seem like he tried to rape a girl, leading the campers to chase him away, no longer idolizing him.
Sang-hyun then places Lady Ra in his car, and with Tae-ju, drives into the night. Back at the house, the third friend (having apparently been hidden by Sang-hyun) escapes. Upon waking from a nap in the car, Tae-ju realizes that Sang-hyun has driven to a desolate field with no cover from the imminent dawn. Realizing his plan to have them both burn when dawn breaks, Tae-ju tries to hide but Sang-hyun foils her every attempt. Resigning herself to her fate, she joins him on the car hood, and both are burnt to ash by the sun, as Lady Ra watches from the backseat of the car.

Review: The first time our heroine is carried by the across the tops of buildings by the troubled vampire priest, it has all the magical romance of Lois Lane and Superman - but this romance becomes increasingly disturbing - but driven by a strange and conflicted 'love affair' not by mere horror.The acting is superb, particularly OK-vin Kim, the gorgeous actress in the female lead role who, at 22, shows a range that is remarkable.
But, like LADY VENGEANCE, it's incredibly rich, thought-provoking, and rewarding.If you like beautifully told vampire stories (LET THE RIGHT ONE IN) or are a fan of Chan-wook Park, seeing THIRST should be obvious.
Talk about getting your socks knocked off, this newest amazing movie from Park Chan-wook's would be my favorite new take on the vampire genre, if not for "Let the Right One In", which still remains my fav, but this one is right behind it.
And even though I liked those three films (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance) very much, it was also pleasant to see Park exploring different horizons with the untraditional romantic comedy I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK, and more recently, with the film Thirst, which represents an unusual and very interesting vampire film, where the bloody scenes provoke the same level of impact as the evolution of the two main characters and the twisted way their relationship follows.
In this last aspect, and I will say this with the fear of falling into the hyperbole, Park's direction remembered me to some point to filmmaker Orson Welles (1915-1985)' work, due to the care he brings to every frame and to every camera movement.Besides, Thirst is faithful to the vampire subject, because it respects the "biological" precepts from the myth, wisely avoiding its most theatrical and bland characteristics...something which is an indirect way to say that there is an abundant level of blood and violence in this movie.
The characters from Thirst are realistic and imperfect persons with a strange illness which tests their conscience, as well as their capacity to survive one more day at the expense of losing their humanity.So, despite not being an excellent film, I liked Thirst pretty much, and I think it deserves a safe recommendation as a very interesting experience which I would not classify as a "horror film", but as an intense passional drama with supernatural subjects which work as analogies of the reasoning and the spirituality when they are cloudy by the passion..
'Oldboy' director Park Chun-wook returns with what must be one of the yuckiest and at the same time most serious vampire flicks in movie history.Trusting the latest Hollywood fad, vampires these days are supposed to be rather nonviolent, asexual, love-lorn chevaliers instead of the evil rampantly sexual blood-sucking mind-manipulating man-beasts of yore.
The vampire genre received some exciting new blood (boo yourself!) with Tomas Alfredson's film adaptation LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, so the idea of Chan-wook Park, the director of OLD BOY, doing his take on a vampire movie was pretty exciting.
As far as the vampire story goes, this is 'Thirst', about a priest who, through an experiment gone wrong, finds himself craving the blood of another man's wife.As you would expect from any vampire tale, the layers, metaphors and symbolism are all there, and as you might expect from the man who brought us the recent 'Stoker' and the contemporary classic 'Oldboy', the unsettled tone and attention, almost obsession, to visual poetry is present.
This movie is original in two ways: it's impossible to tell its genre in a word or two, as it is a thriller, a vampire drama love story with some good dose of dark humor.
This is not particularly a bad thing, as the charged visuals and very good acting by the lead characters allow this film to go anywhere.Kang-ho Song is one of my favorite actors who has this genuinely funny face and has shown great performances in Milyang and Salinui chueok, both of them great movies.
All this is hastily nailed together with planks and long rusty spikes made of very very dark humor, so that if Thirst was a staircase it would creak and make lots of noise and you wouldn't trust it to support your weight to the top.Yet it does, and that's part of what makes Thirst so good, that it works despite itself because all the pieces click into a pattern so that the romance is made dangerous by the horror undertones that lurk beneath it, the heady serious themes on regret and guilt the movie touches on constantly swim beneath the surface and are brought afloat on the whalebacks of black comedy that spurts jets of dark red blood all over the floor every time it rises to the surface.
We even get the old vampire cliché, the "good vampire" protests the killing of innocents for their blood while the "bad vampire" proclaims it the way of nature; except this is exchanged while the two of them make impossible CGI jumps across rooftops like it's all an opera or very theatric melodrama, as though Park is saying "you know the tropes, now watch the presentation".All this takes place across empty white walls with crucifixes hanging on them, a bunch of people are huddling around a small kitchen table to play mahjonng over heavy purple velvet, faces are lit sickly green against dark/golden brown backgrounds like something out of a Roger Corman film or a Nakagawa kaidan picture from the 50's and we only venture out of doors when the sun is down and the streets are empty.
If any director makes 4 strong films in a row I always look forward to whatever they come up with next with great anticipation.So when I saw that director Chan Wook-Park had a new movie coming out, and that it was a vampire movie?
Yes and no, Thirst holds true to Wook-Park's deliberate skewing of conventions so that this is not your Twilight, Underworld or Lost Boys vampire film.That's a good thing by the way.But at 2 hrs 15+ minutes there is a little too much "filler" here to sit through in between the stronger scenes, which realistically don't have the impact of Wook-Park's better movies.The movie opens with a Priest named Sang-Hyeon, who is so selfless and giving to humanity that he volunteers himself as a test subject for a horrible disease that basically blisters the skin until the sores and boils explode and move into the respiratory system, killing the infected in a horrible and painful manner.Sang-Hyeon is expected to die, indeed 500 other infected people did...
He is treated much like a religious figure, something that he so uncomfortable with that he practically goes into hiding, staying with the family of a childhood friend.Now the friend is basically an idiot, he is married but treats his wife like sh*t, as does his Mother who lives with them, but it seems at this point that Sang-Hyeon has nowhere else to go.What no-one else knows though, as a result of the blood transfusion that kept him alive through his treatment Sang-Hyeon is now a vampire, but his religious beliefs don't allow him to kill to slake his thirst.
After ingesting the blood Sang-Hyeon is temporarily "super", in a way that many other cinematic vampires are all the time, although without fresh blood he quickly reverts back to a deteriorating state until another fix is available.Another side effect of gorging is that he is super-sensitive, and being around the young wife triggers thoughts that only dramatic bouts of self flagellation can quell, (look it up, it's not what you think).Eventually though Sang-Hyeon allows himself to let the "little priest" go to work, and he and the wife quickly embark on a passionate and clandestine affair, with each episode temporarily returning Sang-Hyeon to full strength.It is at this point that Sang-Hyeon decides to tell the wife of his dreadful secret, and after the understandable initial shock she "volunteers" to join Sang-Hyeon.Now that Tae-Joo is a member of the SPF 100+ club, this brings a new obvious wrinkle to her life, as she still must endure the unwelcome existence that is being the dogsbody of the childish Kang-Woo and his controlling Mum.And from this point the dynamic of the film changes dramatically, with Tae-Joo rapidly coming to terms with the requirements that being a vampire necessitates, and Sang-Hyeon having his own self written code of ethics turned upside down.Chan Wook-Park doesn't "do" genre films.
He is a priest who has become a vampire not through choice, who has learned to deal with his situation.Even the most obvious choice as the "bad guy" in this case, Kang-Woo's Mum, is basically just doing what many other Mothers would (to a point).Kang-Ho Song, who plays Sang-Hyeon, is in many Wook-Park films, and he is ideal here.
He has a great round expressionless face that rarely shows any feeling or passion, and slits for eyes that also don't give anything away - regardless of circumstance - he is equally believable as both a priest and an unwilling vampire here.While I liked Thirst, and I must admit I would have loved to have the opportunity to spruik a "Korean vampire movie" to my mates, I think that there is just a little too much missing here to give it a strong recommendation.(Maybe I am a little disappointed because it was a great director that made this admittedly average film, I'm not sure yet.) Final Rating – 6.5 / 10.
With recycled cast and a failed attempt at recreating the juxtaposed macabre charm seen in his last popular films, 'Thirst' is left feeling like a self righteous attempt at a drunken, incoherent anecdote.Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Chan-wook because of his mellow- toned and classically pedantic attention to detail in terms of photography and colour scheme - with every scene playing off with Takeshi Kitano reminiscent suspense, with altered sets designed by Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen on a hang over.
Korean cinema has the ability to turn genres on its head, and the latest by the celebrated director Chan-wook Park is a tale of a good pious priest who becomes a vampire.
Zola's 'Thérèse Raquin' and its plot line plays a major role in the film along with characters created by the screenwriter and CW Park.Yes, I admit that the plot line is not as fresh as Let The Right One In, though, unleashing issues such as redemption, guilt, lust, religion, and etcetera through this priest-turned-vampire character, is interesting enough to watch for 143 minutes.Acting is superb by any character, Music is sometimes cheesy but overall very brave, Cinematographer/Costume designer...
But with the Priest, and the knowledge of what he is, there's more than meets the eye to the character, whom I feel overshadows the story of the vampire-priest even, as she schemes her way toward a level playing field.Possessing the innate power to tempt, and sacrificing her body even to the extent of inducing Sang-hyeon to renounce religion (much like Adam and Eve and their fall from grace after munching on that forbidden fruit undoubtedly spurred on by you know who).
And these come nothing less than bone-crunching, bloody acts where crimson blood gets spewed and spurted, especially in stark contrast to the all-white rooms that one of the sets got furnished under.Thirst however is far from the perfect film, although as one basking under the guise of a violent, romantic tale it does work to a certain extent thanks to the characters created, and both Song Kang-ho and Kim OK-vin's captivating performances.
A vampire love story loosely based on Émile Zola's THERESE RAQUIN, Chan-wook Park's THIRST (its original Korean title literally means: bat) is a blood-soaked psychological thriller about a Catholic priest Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho), after experiencing a death-defying recovery owing to an undisclosed blood transfusion during his volunteer mission to find a vaccine for a deadly virus, he becomes the only survivor among all the infected, which attracts many devotees to worship him as a miracle from God. But the reality is that a craving for human blood has been commenced after the incident, the virus is still plaguing him, his skin is afflicted with blisters, only human blood can prohibit the symptoms and turn him into a nighttime creature endowed with all its well-established trappings like self- recovery, human-exceeding agility and strength.
The rest of the story can be viewed as a doomed romance driven by the incongruous nature between a man and a woman who may or may not love him.The film harvests a Jury Prize in Cannes 2009, a massive domestic box-office champion too, it highly encapsulates Park Chan-wook's stylishness of drenching gore with nimble camera-movement and lurid colour scheme, paves the way for his next step into mainstream Hollywood with big star vehicle STOKER (2013).
Very few films have had that effect on me.Yes, the acting was very good, the cinematography beautiful, the music haunting...But there really wasn't much there.It wants to make some profound statements about religion, but never really explores them.It wants to be a tragic story about an innocent who falls from grace, but I never really felt (nor cared about) his struggle.It wants to be a horror film, but just ends up showing some splatter and gore for shocks sake without scares.it wants to be a soft-porn film, but even those scenes became boring and unexciting.I think this would have made an excellent 24 minute Tales From the Crypt episode.But at 2 1/2 hours?
I must admit I'm fast becoming a fan of Park's work, this was every bit as good, if not better, than many vampire movies I've seen before (the one exception being the excellent Tomas Alfredson film, Let the Right One In [2008]).
We can say very easily that Park excels again, he is a genius treating the "vampirism" of the priest as a disease and directing a "stylish exercise" full of great images like paintings but I have to admit that the plot was a bit confused at times, I can' make any sense from what the characters said, the film goes too long trying to say everything, in conclusion Park seems like a stylish director but not a good narrator at all.
Chan-Wook Park, writer and director of the already legendary Vengeance trilogy ("Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance", "Oldboy" and "Lady Vengeance", directing a vampire movie?
After watching Oldboy I went on to watch Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, needless to say I found much enjoyment in all three of these movies.Thirst is very different from it's former films because it is not quite about revenge...it takes the genre of Vampire/Thriller and pushes it to new levels, both in it's artistic nature and it's refreshing storyline.Every scene throughout this film was obviously meticulously and painstakingly shot, giving the movie an overall beautiful texture with lustrous backdrops and great shots.The length of the movie, around 2:30, might seem a bit long but there is not a single boring moment during the entirety of the film.
I watched it after seeing a high review of a 7.1, which is great for a horror film.Sex scenes were so annoying, and I was expecting a kick ass vampire movie.
From the director of Oldboy, Thirst tells the story of a Catholic priest who volunteers for an experiment to find the cure of a deadly virus but himself gets diagnosed by it after the experiment goes horribly wrong & ends up turning into a vampire after a blood transfusion.
Apart from a horror film, it also serves as a romantic story where this priest of ours after turning into a vampire desires all the things it considers sinful like flesh, blood & lust.Though Thirst didn't turn out to be as good a cinema as I was expecting it to be, it nonetheless deserves a watch because it dares to do something different with the vampire mythology.
The director of Oldboy, Chan-wook Park has a bucketful of awards, and just added a couple of more with this vampire tale.With graphic bloody violence, disturbing images, strong sexual content, nudity and language, you can be sure that this vampire tale is not in the Twilight vein.OK-bin Kim, a former beauty queen with very little acting experience, uses her beautiful face to advantage as she turns into a lascivious bloodsucker who wreaks havoc on the family that has abused her when she gets a dose of "bad blood" from a vampire priest.
While Sang-hyun tries to hold onto his humanity (he refuses to kill and has a novel way of getting the blood he needs), Tae-ju really gets into this whole vampire thing, whereupon Sang-hyun realises something has to be done.Fans of Park Chan-Wook will have no trouble with this film.
Another reason I wanted to see this, is the fact that the main vampire is a Priest.The first half hour or so is very good & interesting, as many films do, this slows down a bit, instead of improving, this goes on & on.What this film needed was an editor that knows that a good vampire horror type film should be not much more than 90 minutes.Thirst runs a very long boring 134 minutes.The acting by all was skillful & the production was OK for this type movie.Good sex scenes BUT a needlessly excessive amount of blood.Nothing really horrifying or that interesting.Ratings: ** (out of 4) 54 points (out of 100 IMDb 4 (out of 10).
Having enjoyed previous films from director Park Chan-wook, The Vengeance Trilogy and I'm a Cyborg, I was keen to see what he would bring to the vampire genre; I was not disappointed.
South Korean director Chan-Wook Park - best known for his vengeance trilogy including the highly rated Oldboy (2003) - explores the life of a vampire priest in his newest movie Thirst (Bakjwi, 2009).