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Re: Thirst
Directed by Chan Wook Park
release date: July 31st, 2009 (limited)
Sang-hyun is a beloved and admired priest in a small town, who devotedly serves at a local hospital.
He goes to Africa to volunteer as a test subject in an experiment to find a vaccine to the new deadly infectious disease
caused by Emmanuel Virus (E.V.). During the experiment, he is infected by the E.V. and dies.
But transfusion of some unidentified blood miraculously brings him back to life, and unbeknownst to him, it has also turned him into a vampire.
After his return home, news of Sang-hyun's recovery from E.V. spreads and people start believing he has the gift of healing and flock to receive his prayers.
From those who come to him, Sang-hyun meets a childhood friend named Kang-woo and his wife Tae-ju. Sang-hyun is immediately drawn to Tae-ju.
Tae-ju gets attracted to Sang-hyun, who now realizes he has turned into a vampire, and they begin a secret love affair.
Sang-hyun asks Tae-ju to run away with him but she turns him down. Instead, she tries to involve Sang-hyun in a plot to kill Kang-woo...
Re: Thirst
Been waiting a LONG time for this. Been talked about off and on for several years now(with different titles), and is finally on the verge of release. I have never been a huge fan of vampire films, but if anyone can bring something new to such a stale, bland subgenre of horror, its Park.
Re: Thirst
I was wondering whether or not you were going to post about this. The trailer looks great and Park from Sympathy for Mr. Vengance plays the lead character.
Why is it that Asian cinema seems to write and release better psychological drama/thriller/horror films than Americans?
Re: Thirst
This is hilarious. I saved this film to my queue to be sent to me the moment it's released, just yesterday! 
Why is it that Asian cinema seems to write and release better psychological drama/thriller/horror films than Americans?
Because they take Horror films and Thrillers very seriously.
American producers/directors/writers/studios usually don't. Asian Horror/Thrillers don't follow a formula. I don't like horror films that give a wink and a nod to an audiance, or uses camp... Which is why I hate most 80's slasher/horrors. You treat it like a dumb genre and that's how your movies are going to end up... These American assholes actually brag that they don't take themselves serious. What the fuck? This is why we haven't had a horror film in the same caliber as The Exorcist or Rosemary's Baby, or any a number of films from the 1920's to 1970's since the beginning of the 80's... Back when they took horror films seriously. As real pieces of art.
The last "real" serious horror film was The Ring, which was an Asian remake, and a, albeit Americanized, nearly scene for scene copy of the original. You saw what happened when the same writer tried to make the sequel his own movie from his own idea... It sucked... Big Time.
Spain is putting out some good Horror, too.
28 Days Later also showed what kind of horror film you'll get when you take your work serious.
*rant over*
Re: Thirst
I was wondering whether or not you were going to post about this. The trailer looks great and Park from Sympathy for Mr. Vengance plays the lead character.
Why is it that Asian cinema seems to write and release better psychological drama/thriller/horror films than Americans?
I am a big time Chan Wook Park nutswinger, but was simply waiting for concrete info about the film before posting it. I remember a couple years ago at the old site bringing this film up when its working title was "Evil Live", and nothing happened. I think Park threw it on the backburner while doing a couple other films.
Why is it that Asian cinema seems to write and release better psychological drama/thriller/horror films than Americans?
Thats a trillion dollar question that may never be answered. Foreign films are light years ahead in quality than the garbage Hollywood feeds us.
Hollywood cant even get asian remakes done right. Go watch Tale of Two Sisters, and then watch its remake The Uninvited. A clusterfuck and everything great about it was just lost in translation. Even when foreign directors are involved in the actual US remakes, they still fuck it up.
Oldboy is being remade, and lynch mobs may need to be assembled. 
Re: Thirst
With remakes, I actually prefer the remake of The Ring to the original. There were some supperior aspects in the characters in the first, like the boys father being psychic, too, but in the remake I thought Samara was much scarier, the deaths were better, the video was better, the visions were better.
Oldboy remake, from what I hear, isn't going to be based on the movie but the original comic that didn't have the killer twist the Park's film had. Park inveneted a lot fo that for his film.
Re: Thirst
In reference to Asian horror being better than American these days... it's because Asian horror actually has minds behind the camera that are taking risks, and trying fresh things, what American horror directors were doing back in late '60's to early 80's.
American horror has become so streamlined and refined to a purity, that every film seems like a commercial creation (yes, even Blair fucking Witch, GOD) and everything is about profitability over quality these days.
Whatever can be made cheap, make millions, and spawn countless sequels, is what they go with. With that being said.... i'll be seeing H2 (Halloween 10) in a few weeks, go figure.
Re: Thirst
Oldboy remake, from what I hear, isn't going to be based on the movie but the original comic that didn't have the killer twist the Park's film had. Park inveneted a lot fo that for his film.
Yep you're correct on this. I also read somewhere that Park refused to sell the rights to the film for remake. So good for him. The rumor is that Spielberg and Will Smith are involved in the remake. Since I don't really care for Will Smith, I will safely avoid this. I suspect that this is going to be turned into a generic thriller.
Go watch Tale of Two Sisters, and then watch its remake The Uninvited.
I haven't seen this yet, but its high on the list. I will watch Battle Royale and Lady Vengeance next.
To Mister ID's point, I think foreign countries are less obsessed with the bottom line (profit) when making films so there is a bit more autonomy there. In America, you see the same hack writers and directors directing films when it is clear that they don't have much talent. In Asia, I think the horror/atmospheric drama/thriller is more ingrained in the culture and treated with respect and not held down by conventions or assumptions. I think that foreign films tend to be better character written stuff where modern American cinema is more action oriented--especially with the rise of CGI graphics where it seems directors are basing their stories on stunts and graphics and not characters.
On a last unrelated point, I really hope that Da-vinci code like films don't turn into the next big thing in Hollywood. Those films are glorified easter egg hunts with zero substance and all adrenaline.
