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THIRSTMovie Reviews
Fantasy about a priest who is inadvertently turned into a vampire from an infusion of infected blood and must wrestle with a host of other appetites in addition to his bloodlust. Cast:Shin Ha-kyun, Kim Hae-suk, Song Kang-ho, Kim Ok-binDirector:Park Chan-wookRelease Date:July 31, 2009DVD Release:November 17, 2009From:Focus FeaturesRating:RLength:2 hr 13 min
Thirst played to good reviews. • Michael Phillips wrote in the Chicago Tribune, "...a pretty terrific movie — unruly, a little attenuated in its unexpectedly lyrical third act, but clearly the work of a major director." • And Norman Wilner wrote in Toronto Now, "...shared the Jury Prize at Cannes... An incoherent mix of horror, film noir and Emile Zola (seriously)..." More Reviews Below...
Richard Corliss, Time: VERY GOOD "...a mad love story that gets down to the essentials... should make audiences sit up in startled pleasure, as if they'd just received the most luscious neck-bite."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 900 words, 07/31/09
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a gaudy, daring, operatic, and bloody funny provocation of a melodrama... gorgeous, every shot a keeper, even as blood flows in rivers and hell beckons."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 267 words, 07/31/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It's awash in excess, but also a fresh take on an old genre and notable for its striking cinematography and intriguing use of color."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 342 words, 07/31/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (10 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: FAIR "...overly long, lacking in narrative momentum and too often choosing sensation over coherence.... offers moments of creepy, winking humor and also of intense emotion..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 867 words, 07/31/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Director Chan-wook Park descends too enthusiastically into sensation and carnal excess, and it's a disappointment... [but] there is an undeniable appeal to 'Thirst.' "(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 679 words, 08/13/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...hungering for that rare vampire movie with serious intellectual heft, ravishing undead, biting passion and a healthy splash of irony as well as iron in all that spilled red blood?"(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 691 words, 07/31/09
V.A. Musetto, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "Song Kang-ho ('The Host'), South Korea's best-known actor, is superb as the priest. (Physically, he brings to mind Gerard Depardieu.)"(See all of V.A. Musetto's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 260 words, 07/31/09
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a pretty terrific movie -- unruly, a little attenuated in its unexpectedly lyrical third act, but clearly the work of a major director."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 581 words, 08/14/09
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: MODERATE "...basically a B horror picture with the addition of a film-noir femme fatale to spice things up. It's fun (if overlong), but for all the noisy slurping, there's no fresh blood."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 300 words, 07/27/09
Jennie Punter, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "...juicy filmmaking - psychologically rich, cathartic, kinky, visually engaging and almost free of vampire-movie clichés.... the movie ultimately belongs to Kim Hae-sook."(See all of Jennie Punter's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 490 words, 08/07/09
Jim Ridley, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "Carnal appetite, not a parched palate, is the accelerant that fuels this perverse, prankish, and merrily anti-clerical exercise in bloodletting..."(See all of Jim Ridley's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 792 words, 07/29/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...shared the Jury Prize at Cannes... An incoherent mix of horror, film noir and Emile Zola (seriously)... Park Chan-wook is unable to navigate the tonal shifts..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 182 words, 08/06/09
KEY CITIES (7 Reviews)
Jan Stuart, Washington Post: MODERATE(cg) "...you can't help but admire a horror movie that prompts us to wonder how vampires with a surplus of blood got by before the advent of Tupperware."(See all of Jan Stuart's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 283 words, 08/14/09
Walter Addiego, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...the most whacked-out version of an Emile Zola novel ever to reach the screen.... the film's excesses will entertain some viewers, but if you want coherence, look elsewhere."(See all of Walter Addiego's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 516 words, 08/28/09
Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "In its briskly paced, rewarding first 45 minutes, the film follows Sang-hyeon as he selflessly volunteers for a dangerous medical experiment, only to become infected..."(See all of Tirdad Derakhshani's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 443 words, 08/28/09
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD(cg) "...seems hellbent on proving director Park Chan-wook can do it all... audaciously entertaining, at times even quite moving. You just have to have the stomach for it."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 510 words, 08/21/09
Ted Fry, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the whole is ultimately an overlong letdown that can't live up to the individual radiance of human (and inhuman) interaction Park captures with such foul sublimity."(See all of Ted Fry's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 251 words, 08/14/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...macabre, darkly humorous and at times nauseating.... cranked up so that every squishy bite, slurp, gurgle and bodily function hits you in full Surround Sound."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 414 words, 09/11/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (5 Reviews)
Jim Ridley, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "Carnal appetite, not a parched palate, is the accelerant that fuels this perverse, prankish, and merrily anti-clerical exercise in bloodletting..."(See all of Jim Ridley's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 792 words, 07/29/09
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "...things get messy, not just with blood and pustules and noisy slurping but also with the storyline.... 'Thirst's' moments of brilliance leave you hungry for more."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 163 words, 08/20/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...shared the Jury Prize at Cannes... An incoherent mix of horror, film noir and Emile Zola (seriously)... Park Chan-wook is unable to navigate the tonal shifts..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 182 words, 08/06/09
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: FAIR "...overly long, lacking in narrative momentum and too often choosing sensation over coherence.... offers moments of creepy, winking humor and also of intense emotion..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 867 words, 07/31/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...hungering for that rare vampire movie with serious intellectual heft, ravishing undead, biting passion and a healthy splash of irony as well as iron in all that spilled red blood?"(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 691 words, 07/31/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...hungering for that rare vampire movie with serious intellectual heft, ravishing undead, biting passion and a healthy splash of irony as well as iron in all that spilled red blood?"(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 691 words, 07/31/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: FAIR "...overly long, lacking in narrative momentum and too often choosing sensation over coherence.... offers moments of creepy, winking humor and also of intense emotion..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 867 words, 07/31/09
19.9 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Thirst's reviews are separated by an average 19.9 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Thirst (25 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Thirst's reviews cover 45.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 12,395 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 496 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 70.9 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Thirst's reviews on average broke 70.9 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Thirst's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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