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Thirst
Elite // R // February 4, 2003
List Price: $24.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
While other companies duke it out for the rights to various Italian and assorted Eurohorror properties, Elite Entertainment has been eyeing another continent entirely. Following their releases of such Australian films as The Return of Captain Invincible, Howling III: The Marsupials, and, most recently, Patrick is Rod Hardy's Thirst.
One of those vampire movies where the word "vampire" isn't uttered once, Thirst follows Kate Davis (Chantal Contouri), the descendent of Transylvanian countess Elizabeth Bathory. Kate, a cosmetics mogul of some sort, is unaware of her legacy. She's among a race of 75,000 blood drinkers gingerly distributed throughout the globe. Neckbiting has its definite downsides. Just as most of us wouldn't gulp milk straight from the udder, feeding directly off of strangers has proven to be problematic thanks to diseases and various other impurities. In an attempt to stave off vampiric anaphylactic shock, a group known as the Brotherhood has established a series of blood farms. In these morbid dairies, sedated human "blood cows" are periodically drained, and their blood is processed, purified, and distributed in innocuous looking milk cartons. Kate is brought against her will to one of these dairies, where she's informed of her destiny. She refuses to have any part of it, seizing every possible opportunity to resist and flee. Kate's role in the Brotherhood's future is too significant to ignore, and even if they have to take her to the brink of madness, they're determined to bring her into their fold.
I was first introduced to Thirst twelve years ago, following a double-feature of Attack and Return of the Killer Tomatoes on USA Up All Night. I thought perhaps my tastes may have changed seeing as how my age has doubled since that initial viewing, but I still find Thirst to be an interminable bore. There seem to have been conflicting views as to what type of film Thirst should have been. In the disc's commentary track, director Rod Hardy states that he was initially interested in giving the movie more of a satirical spin. However, producer Antony Ginnane was interested in establishing a more serious tone, and the end result is a movie that's neither funny nor scary.
Thirst has the sort of concept that, if condensed to twenty-two minutes, would make an excellent episode of an anthology series like The Twilight Zone. There's not enough substance to fill an hour and a half, and the movie feels padded and repetitive as a result. There are far too many sequences following the same basic formula. Mrs. Cameron and Dr. Fraser bicker as to how to best proceed with Kate, with Fraser seemingly winning every argument. Kate wakes up feeling disconcerted, and despite the increasingly bizarre ways in which she's exposed to blood, she refuses to indulge her thirst. Following Kate's inevitable hysterics, Mrs. Cameron whips out an "I told you so", and the cycle begins anew. Wash, rinse, repeat. The movie gets even more surreal as time goes on, and by the end, I genuinely had no idea what in the hell was happening.
Though I'm not particularly fond of the movie, Elite has done a phenomenal job bringing it to DVD, bestowing upon it a beautiful widescreen presentation and a healthy assortment of extras.
Video: Thirst is presented in anamorphic widescreen at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, and this is the first time on home video the film's theatrical scope presentation has been preserved. Previous releases were mercilessly cropped, as seen in the comparison on Steve Hill's shillpages.com. The transfer is stunningly crisp and clear, boasting deep, inky blacks and a remarkable level of detail. The source material is in excellent shape, free of any damage, and what tiny specks remain aren't at all intrusive. Thirst's use of color is a little tougher to gauge. Some exterior shots are bright and vibrant, while others appear pale and cold. Many of the interiors have a dull brown tint, and every once in a great while, fleshtones seemed a bit on the ruddy side. For all I know, this may represent the intended look of the movie, but without a direct point of comparison, I can't say for certain. In any event, Thirst looks incredible.
Audio: There isn't any underlying hiss or distortion present in the robust Dolby Digital mono audio. Dialogue, despite the Australian accents, remained discernable for the duration.
There are no subtitles or closed captions on this disc, though a Spanish dub has been included.
Supplements: Two audio-based extras have been provided on this DVD release of Thirst. The first is an audio commentary with director Rod Hardy and producer Antony I. Ginnane. Quite a bit of their discussion revolves around the cast, as well as the state of the resurging Australian film industry. The Australian distributor had so little confidence in Thirst that it was releases as a double-bill with a black-and-white Bruce Lee movie. Thirst fared better overseas than in its home country, and, anticipating that, attempts were made to make the movie more palatable to foreign audiences. There are also explanations of the movie's modest special effects, such as the glowing eyes and the difficulty mixing chocolate sauce, raspberry sauce, and red dye to create the stage blood. Among the other highlights are an actor's destructive attempt at operating a helicopter and the contest held on-set to come up with a better ending.
There is also an isolated score featuring the music of the late Brian May. Though the award-winning composer is revered in some circles, I didn't care for his work in Thirst at all. It struck me as more reminiscent of '70s TV drama than an eerie horror score. This pair of alternate tracks are available through the 'Audio Setup' menu rather than 'Special Features'.
A theatrical trailer (1:37) is presented in anamorphic widescreen at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and there are also three full-frame television spots. The first is around twelve seconds in length, and the other two run thirty seconds a pop. The latter two appear to be nearly identical, and I'm too lazy to scour through them and figure out what the differences between them may be.
Filmographies have been provided for Chantal Contouri, Shirley Cameron, Max Phipps, Henry Silva, Rod Mullinar, Amanda Muggleton, Robert Thompson, Rosie Sturgess, David Hemmings, Rod Hardy, John Pinkney, and Antony I. Ginnane. The filmographies of the cast include images as well.
Finally, a still gallery contains around twenty-five images, including behind the scenes photos, production stills, promotional artwork, and scans of printed material.
Thirst sports 16x9-enhanced menus, and both the main menus and the accompanying transitions are animated. The movie has been divided into twenty-four chapters.
Conclusion: Elite, true to form, has assembled another very nice DVD release of a relatively obscure movie. Viewers who have seen and enjoyed the film will find this disc well-worth the asking price of $15 at Deep Discount DVD, but Thirst is not a movie I'd recommend purchasing sight-unseen. Rent It.
One of those vampire movies where the word "vampire" isn't uttered once, Thirst follows Kate Davis (Chantal Contouri), the descendent of Transylvanian countess Elizabeth Bathory. Kate, a cosmetics mogul of some sort, is unaware of her legacy. She's among a race of 75,000 blood drinkers gingerly distributed throughout the globe. Neckbiting has its definite downsides. Just as most of us wouldn't gulp milk straight from the udder, feeding directly off of strangers has proven to be problematic thanks to diseases and various other impurities. In an attempt to stave off vampiric anaphylactic shock, a group known as the Brotherhood has established a series of blood farms. In these morbid dairies, sedated human "blood cows" are periodically drained, and their blood is processed, purified, and distributed in innocuous looking milk cartons. Kate is brought against her will to one of these dairies, where she's informed of her destiny. She refuses to have any part of it, seizing every possible opportunity to resist and flee. Kate's role in the Brotherhood's future is too significant to ignore, and even if they have to take her to the brink of madness, they're determined to bring her into their fold.
I was first introduced to Thirst twelve years ago, following a double-feature of Attack and Return of the Killer Tomatoes on USA Up All Night. I thought perhaps my tastes may have changed seeing as how my age has doubled since that initial viewing, but I still find Thirst to be an interminable bore. There seem to have been conflicting views as to what type of film Thirst should have been. In the disc's commentary track, director Rod Hardy states that he was initially interested in giving the movie more of a satirical spin. However, producer Antony Ginnane was interested in establishing a more serious tone, and the end result is a movie that's neither funny nor scary.
Thirst has the sort of concept that, if condensed to twenty-two minutes, would make an excellent episode of an anthology series like The Twilight Zone. There's not enough substance to fill an hour and a half, and the movie feels padded and repetitive as a result. There are far too many sequences following the same basic formula. Mrs. Cameron and Dr. Fraser bicker as to how to best proceed with Kate, with Fraser seemingly winning every argument. Kate wakes up feeling disconcerted, and despite the increasingly bizarre ways in which she's exposed to blood, she refuses to indulge her thirst. Following Kate's inevitable hysterics, Mrs. Cameron whips out an "I told you so", and the cycle begins anew. Wash, rinse, repeat. The movie gets even more surreal as time goes on, and by the end, I genuinely had no idea what in the hell was happening.
Though I'm not particularly fond of the movie, Elite has done a phenomenal job bringing it to DVD, bestowing upon it a beautiful widescreen presentation and a healthy assortment of extras.
Video: Thirst is presented in anamorphic widescreen at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, and this is the first time on home video the film's theatrical scope presentation has been preserved. Previous releases were mercilessly cropped, as seen in the comparison on Steve Hill's shillpages.com. The transfer is stunningly crisp and clear, boasting deep, inky blacks and a remarkable level of detail. The source material is in excellent shape, free of any damage, and what tiny specks remain aren't at all intrusive. Thirst's use of color is a little tougher to gauge. Some exterior shots are bright and vibrant, while others appear pale and cold. Many of the interiors have a dull brown tint, and every once in a great while, fleshtones seemed a bit on the ruddy side. For all I know, this may represent the intended look of the movie, but without a direct point of comparison, I can't say for certain. In any event, Thirst looks incredible.
Audio: There isn't any underlying hiss or distortion present in the robust Dolby Digital mono audio. Dialogue, despite the Australian accents, remained discernable for the duration.
There are no subtitles or closed captions on this disc, though a Spanish dub has been included.
Supplements: Two audio-based extras have been provided on this DVD release of Thirst. The first is an audio commentary with director Rod Hardy and producer Antony I. Ginnane. Quite a bit of their discussion revolves around the cast, as well as the state of the resurging Australian film industry. The Australian distributor had so little confidence in Thirst that it was releases as a double-bill with a black-and-white Bruce Lee movie. Thirst fared better overseas than in its home country, and, anticipating that, attempts were made to make the movie more palatable to foreign audiences. There are also explanations of the movie's modest special effects, such as the glowing eyes and the difficulty mixing chocolate sauce, raspberry sauce, and red dye to create the stage blood. Among the other highlights are an actor's destructive attempt at operating a helicopter and the contest held on-set to come up with a better ending.
There is also an isolated score featuring the music of the late Brian May. Though the award-winning composer is revered in some circles, I didn't care for his work in Thirst at all. It struck me as more reminiscent of '70s TV drama than an eerie horror score. This pair of alternate tracks are available through the 'Audio Setup' menu rather than 'Special Features'.
A theatrical trailer (1:37) is presented in anamorphic widescreen at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and there are also three full-frame television spots. The first is around twelve seconds in length, and the other two run thirty seconds a pop. The latter two appear to be nearly identical, and I'm too lazy to scour through them and figure out what the differences between them may be.
Filmographies have been provided for Chantal Contouri, Shirley Cameron, Max Phipps, Henry Silva, Rod Mullinar, Amanda Muggleton, Robert Thompson, Rosie Sturgess, David Hemmings, Rod Hardy, John Pinkney, and Antony I. Ginnane. The filmographies of the cast include images as well.
Finally, a still gallery contains around twenty-five images, including behind the scenes photos, production stills, promotional artwork, and scans of printed material.
Thirst sports 16x9-enhanced menus, and both the main menus and the accompanying transitions are animated. The movie has been divided into twenty-four chapters.
Conclusion: Elite, true to form, has assembled another very nice DVD release of a relatively obscure movie. Viewers who have seen and enjoyed the film will find this disc well-worth the asking price of $15 at Deep Discount DVD, but Thirst is not a movie I'd recommend purchasing sight-unseen. Rent It.
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