[quote]roybot wrote:
[quote]roybot wrote:
[quote]Stern wrote:
[quote]roybot wrote:
[quote]Stern wrote:
[quote]roybot wrote:
Another film from the director of Oldboy that I enjoyed was Thirst. It’s about a Catholic priest who volunteers as a test subject for an experimental vaccine and becomes a vampire.
It is slightly bonkers, and the switches from horror to comedy are so abrupt that you may not realize it at first (had to rewind a few times because there is some very subtle comic dialogue going on in some very dark visual situations).
The effects, showing the priest’s growing vampire abilities, were great. [/quote]
Just watched this last night and really enjoyed it! Tae-ju is absolutely bonkers and I found myself sickly cheering for her towards the end. Very well done and as you say - lots of curiously funny dialogue. Still not sure what to make of the ‘ghostly husband’ thing they kept experiencing, but that’s that crazy Korean for you ^^
Cheers for the recommend!
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No problem, Stern.
[Thirst spoilers]
I think the ghost is supposed to represent the priest’s guilt at having killed an innocent man. Tae-Ju tricks him into thinking he beat her. She got even worse after Sang-hyeon turned her. Imagine spending an eternity with that! I felt sorry for him by the end.
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/Spoilers cont…
I thought that too but then why would she also be seeing him? The scene where they’re shagging - they both appear to be aware he’s between them and there are a few scenes where each of them, individually, have to deal with the ‘haunt’, for lack of a better word. I assumed it was psychological at first but then it seemed they were sharing the same vision at times; unless of course that was her again playing along…
I did feel sorry for him but at the same time she seemed so batshit insane that she made an excellent vampire/killer. She just fell in to the assumed role perfectly. ^^
/End Spoiler[/quote]
[spoilers]
It could be just a very abstract way of showing their internal states: the ghost isn’t really ‘there’, it’s just a way of showing how the husband’s death both torments Sang-hyeon and delights Tae-ju to think that she made him a killer (I think she had such a hold over Sang at that point, he’d have committed the murder whether he was a vampire or not. In fact, I think it was his human side that was responsible, in this case, not his vampire instincts).
I’d prefer to think of it that way rather than as a straight haunting. That’s just my take on it. S-H was tormented enough by T-J and his vows of priesthood without the need for a ghost vying for his pound of flesh.
Blood-sucking did come (super)naturally to her, but she revelled in his misery every night. She basically did the exact opposite of what he wanted. Kind of takes the edge off immortality. The worm turned in the end, though.
[/spoilers]
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Then again, I know nothing about Korean ghosts. If they’re anything like Japanese ghosts, my interpretation is totally off (I should add that I’m not a ghostist; they are all equally scary).
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This was my thought too. Though you’re likely right and it’s a manifestation of guilt - you never know with Asian horror; supernatural deaths could have supernatural consequences!
Guess we’ll have to leave it at “open to interpretation” =)
