Thirst (2009)

Read more

A priest becomes a vampire, another mans wife is coveted, a deadly seduction triggers murder. Thirst is the new film from director Park Chan-wook (Old Boy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance), and already a box-office smash in Korea, Continuing his explorations of human existence in extreme circumstances, the director spins a tale that he conceived and then developed over several years with co-screenwriter Chung Seo-kyung, inspired by Émile Zolas Thérèse Raquin. Sang-hyun (played by top Korean star Song Kang-ho, of The Good The Bad The Weird, The Host and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) is a priest who cherishes life; so much so, that he selflessly volunteers for a secret vaccine development project meant to eradicate a deadly virus. But the virus takes the priest, and a blood transfusion is urgently ordered up for him. The blood he receives is infected, so Sang-hyun lives but now exists as a vampire.