Thirst (1979)

The descendant of Elizabeth Bathory is abducted by a cult of self-proclaimed supermen who achieve this state of superiority by drinking from the "blood cows" (read: people) kept at the "... See full summary »

Director:

Rod Hardy

Writer:

John Pinkney (original screenplay)

Stars:

Chantal Contouri, Shirley Cameron, Max Phipps

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chantal Contouri	...	Kate Davis
Shirley Cameron	...	Mrs. Barker
Max Phipps	...	Mr. Hodge
Henry Silva	...	Dr. Gauss
Rod Mullinar	...	Derek
David Hemmings	...	Dr. Fraser
Rosie Sturgess	...	Lori
Robert Thompson	...	Sean
Walter Pym	...	Ditcher
Amanda Muggleton	...	Martha
Lulu Pinkus	...	Nurse
Chris Milne	...	David
Jacqui Gordon	...	Leah
Val Christensen	...	Toni
Glenys O'Brien	...	Guide

Storyline

The descendant of Elizabeth Bathory is abducted by a cult of self-proclaimed supermen who achieve this state of superiority by drinking from the "blood cows" (read: people) kept at the "dairy farm", and they try to get her to join them.

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Plot Keywords:

cult | blood | sex | male rear nudity | bare chested male | 

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Taglines:

This ancient Evil is now a modern industry.

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ânsia

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

AUD 750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

F.G. Film Productions, New South Wales Film Corp., Victorian Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actors with international recognition such as American Henry Silva and British David Hemmings were imported for this Australian film production in order to boost the picture's saleability in foreign markets. Both these actors play characters who are doctors and both have billing down the cast order, at fourth and sixth respectively. This lower billing order for imported actors was unusual for an Australian film at this time. Normally, imported American or British actors received top or higher billing.

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Connections

References Rosemary's Baby (1968)

User Reviews

Aussie Vampire Films?

An Aussie vampire film? Never would have thought. Not to denigrate my country's film industry, but ... well, it's not known for producing bloodsucker flicks. The exception is this little oddity, released in 1979 and now hidden away in the 'horror' section of video stores across the country.

Having heard of the film for several yrs, and seen the cover at my local video store (Chantal Contouri drenched in gore), I decided to check it out. The result: one of the most genuinely horrifying films to emerge from Australia in recent decades. Not horrifying in the sense of 'The Delinquents', where it's horrifyingly bad and let's just sit back and have a good laugh. I am talking, this film is a recorded bad dream. Reality and nightmare blur, blood spurts, and Amanda Muggleton sneers as one of our screen's most genuinely evil villains. Contouri was fantastic, too, as the hapless young woman abducted and brought to a blood farm and made to honour her ancestor, Elisabeth Bathory - bloodsucker extraordinaire, and the figure at the heart of those other 70s horror films 'Countess Dracula' and 'Daughters of Darkness'. The scene where she sprouted fangs and kills a colleague really jolted this horror movie afficionado.

Visually, the film has dated: the hairstyles are tres out-of-date, and the colour cinematography was reminisce of those chocolate commercials I grew up watching on TV as a young boy in Melbourne. Problems also lay in the script's lack of depth. There was no psychological make-up to the characters, they had no history - and this made it very hard to relate to them on an emotional level (Contouri's character in particular). Nevertheless, this is an intriguing and eerie film that will appeal to fans of Australian cinema and horror films alike.