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Thirst More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 24 reviews in total |
9 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Aussie Vampire Films?, 23 December 2003
Author:
Jay Thompson (j.thompson4@ugrad.unimelb.edu.au) from Melbourne, Australia
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Visually, the film has dated: the hairstyles are tres out-of-date, and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.
10 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Highly Original Vampire Movie, 28 August 1999
Author:
Carrigon from United States
If you're looking for a vampire movie that's a little different, this is it. This movie is a total classic. It's about a cult of humans who keep a farm of other humans and milk them for their blood. This cult abducts a woman who is the direct descendant of their founder, Elizabeth Bathory. The poor woman is horrified at the vampirism and the cult continually tries to force her into drinking blood. It's a wonderful, creepy, scary, weird vampire film. This one is a must see for you vampire enthusiasts.
10 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
Australia's best horror movie and one of the most underrated vampire movies of all time. 'Thirst' - acquire the taste!, 9 May 2004
Author:
Infofreak from Perth, Australia
Back in the 1970s the Australian film industry went through a renaissance due to Government investment and tax cuts. Many of the best known movies from that period and into the early 1980s were costume dramas ('Picnic At Hanging Rock', 'My Brilliant Career', 'Gallipoli'). Though there were a handful of exceptions to this, most notably the biker movie 'Stone' and Peter Weir's black comedy 'The Cars That Ate Paris', there were very few genre or exploitation movies being made. Inspired in part by Roger Corman local producer Antony Ginnane attempted to shake things up by making sex comedies, thrillers, and this, Australia's first vampire movie. Ginnane recruited experienced TV directors who could work quickly and effectively with small budgets. 'Patrick' was his first major success, and that was soon followed by 'Thirst', which is arguably the best horror movie to come out of Australia. 'Mad Max' was in post-production around the same time, and both movies deserve some kudos. Ginnane continued with a few other movies (including the schlock classic 'Turkey Shoot') but sadly his dream of creating the Aussie equivalent of AIP or New World just wasn't to be. Chantal Contouri, a popular TV actress, plays Kate Davis, a successful advertising executive, who is the descendant of the Countess Elizabeth Bathory. A secret society of hi-tech (for the time!) vampires kidnap her at try to convince her to fulfill her destiny. They try all kinds of tricks, including drugs and brainwashing. The supporting cast includes Max Phipps (later The Toadie in 'Mad Max 2'), and Rod Mullinar ('Patrick'), even Patrick himself, Robert Thompson. The Australian cast is helped out by two overseas imports Henry Silva and the late David Hemmings. Silva doesn't do all that much apart from look cool, but Hemmings gives a good performance as the enigmatic Dr. Fraser. He and Ginnane continued to work together after this movie e.g. 'The Survivor' starring Robert Powell which Hemmings directed and Ginnane produced. The DVD of 'Thirst' features a great looking print. For such a low budget movie (under Aus$750,000) it stands up well and has surprisingly strong production values. The commentary from Ginnane and director Rod Hardy is also an eye opener and emphasizes just how resourceful Aussie film makers had to be back in the 1970s and 1980s. It's no wonder so many of them went on to successful Hollywood careers. 'Thirst' in my opinion is not only the most effective and interesting Australian horror movie, but one of the most underrated vampire movies of all time. It has languished in obscurity for too many years. 'Thirst' - acquire the taste!
8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
DRACULA meets the 20th Century, 13 December 2001
Author:
Ksael Agnulraon (ksaelagnulraon@hotmail.com) from Adelaide, Australia
Interesting, ambitious take on vampire horror stories is good - if you get past the 70's music and porn-style hair+moustache!! Chantal Contouri is a wealthy young woman who is told she comes from a strong family of vampires...enter a BRAVE NEW WORLD-type scenario in which subjects "donate" blood, which is packaged in milk cartons and delivered to all the vampires living in the outside world. It's overlong, and overdramatic for such a story, but it's worth a look all the same - genre fans should enjoy it, as should fans of Australian film: this was definitely a landmark, as most films released by this country during the late 1970s were either "ocker" (BARRY McKENZIE, ALVIN PURPLE) or "quality" (PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, BACKROADS, DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND). Of course, MAD MAX was released in the same year. Rating: 6/10.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Interesting, atmospheric modern-day vampire movie, 2 October 2007
Author:
HuggyBear1 from Sydney, Australia
In this late 70's Australian horror, Kate Davis is abducted by a
strange Brotherhood, a secret society of vampires, and is taken to
their farm where humans are kept as cattle to feed upon.
There Kate learns that she is a direct descendant of Elizabeth Bathory,
but refuses to accept her birthright as a vampire that the Brotherhood
are determined she will inherit.
Good, atmospheric horror has good acting, direction and score, and the
modern day vampire farm theme is certainly interesting. Not much
character development or plot, but great production, special effects
(for the time) and direction means this film is well worth watching.
8 out of 10.
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Fangs ain't what they used to be, 9 September 2007
Author:
darnmay from United Kingdom
A modern, clinical approach to a vampire tale with a group of experts
trying to ensure that a young woman willingly joins a vampire cult.
By controlling her environment, playing psychological tricks and mind
games on the unfortunate girl they hope that they will have succeeded
in their task before her boyfriend returns home and finds her missing.
There are those who will stop at nothing until she succumbs, regardless
of the detriment to her state of mind, and those who are determined
that she will embrace their lifestyle without coming to any mental
harm.
There are numbers of anaemic looking people wandering about, looking
decidedly lethargic and boring, which the story was in danger of doing
also. The plot, however, does have a number of twists and turns to keep
you guessing until the final outcome. . Directed by Rod Hardy who has
many film and TV series to his credit, including Battlestar Galactica,
The X Files and JAG, to name a few. He uses his talent to good effect,
but is helped by David Hemmings, whose acting ability lifted the film
from what could otherwise have been a dreary outing.
The majority of cast in this Australian film have been more familiar
with appearing in a variety of TV series, and the outing onto the big
screen was perhaps as much as an experience for them, as watching the
film was to me.
If your idea of a vampire movie is one with bats, capes, crucifixes and
coffins, then this is not for you. But, it is still worth a look.
Darnmay
9th September 2007
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
The blood farm, 20 February 2004
Author:
ptb-8 from Australia
This murky oddity is great fun and well made on eerie locations in
Victoria Australia at a real scary place that actually exists called
MontSalvat 'castle' by 70s drive in auteur Antony Ginnane. He also made
a very strong Carrie like thriller called Patrick. Other Aussie
thrillers of the time include Summerfield and The Chain Reaction.
THIRST should be a cult film but lacks the 35mm availability for
cinemas to make it exactly that. Like Rocky Horror, Legend Of Hell
House or Phantom Of The Paradise, all part of a mad parochial horror
cycle of the 70s. Find it and have a great time. You will love the, er,
milking scenes.........Antony..your films are languishing! get em out
there again!
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Gothic horror, 12 October 2011
Author:
trashgang from Midian
Rod Hardy, the director isn't well known for his flicks. He's still in
the business doing series like Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica and
back in those days the much acclaimed Return To Eden. Not only that, he
also made a lot of TV movies but back in 1979 he made his one and only
feature for the cinema's, Thirst.
Just when the Hammers and Amicus releases were over and not popular any
more and just before the heydays and start of the slashers he made this
beautiful Gothic story. As so many did it is based on the story of
Elisabeth Bathory but then again not really. It's about a woman having
a normal life being chosen by a Brotherhood to become a vampire. But
the score and the atmosphere are sublime. And this flick really needs
the Gothic atmosphere because it never becomes really bloody or even
gory. The red stuff do flows but not that often. There isn't even
gratuitous nudity a thing that was a must be back then although Chantal
do appear naked. But what the movie makes watchable is the performance
by Chantal Contouri. The expressions on her face, excellent.
There are some other well known actors in it especially from the horror
genre or faces like Henry Silva. This is one of those gems that still
haven't seen a proper release. Oh yes, it's out on DVD but the sound is
really bad. Nevertheless, worth watching if you like the old British
Hammers and Amicus flicks.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
I am not a number, I am a socio-political metaphor..., 3 April 2010
Author:
JoeytheBrit from www.moviemoviesite.com
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
One mild spoiler...
Kate Davis (Chantal Contouri), a successful businesswoman unknowingly
descended from the notorious vampiress Elizabeth Bathory, is abducted
by a cult of modern-day vampires with a view to uniting her bloodline
with that of another upper-class vampire bloodline. The cult - whose
membership numbers 70,000 worldwide - harvest humans for their blood on
farms and consider themselves a superior race. However, Kate stubbornly
refuses to accept her vampire links, which means the cult has to use
methods that threaten to cause a split amongst their leaders…
Thirst came across as to me as The Prisoner (TV series) coupled with an
updated version of the Nazi holocaust camp, and a study of the
inevitable adoption of brainwashing techniques of any widespread
organisation whose power is allowed to grow unchecked. While it uses
vampirism as a theme, it doesn't really serve as a device for horror in
the way that more conventional vampire films do. In fact it is more a
psychological thriller focusing on the systematic destruction of a
person's will. For this reason it's difficult to compare it with any
other vampire movie to provide a frame of reference. That doesn't mean
this is any better than others of the genre, but it is definitely,
well, different.
The acting is pretty strong throughout, although Shirley Cameron as one
of the more sadistic leaders of the cult, acts like she's in one of
those spoof spy thrillers of the 60s: all she needs is an eye patch, a
cigar, and a flick-knife in her boot to make the impression complete.
David Hemmings, whose pretty looks were already fading while he was
still in his thirties, provides by far the slickest - and understated -
performance, and seeing him run rings around the rest of the cast makes
you wish he had found roles more deserving of his talent. Henry Silva
also makes an appearance, although he has practically nothing to do
other than die a memorable death.
Thirst does have a fairly slow pace that won't appeal to fans of more
conventional vampire flicks. It disregards vampire lore - the
'vampires' have no fangs, can stand daylight, garlic, crosses,etc - and
for that reason it's to be applauded. Made at a time when the vampire
genre was going through something of a hiatus - it at least makes a
better fist of transplanting the genre to the modern day than other 70s
efforts like the Yorga films and Hammer's Dracula 1973 AD, but it still
seems a little unsure of itself and fails to make its basic idea
entirely convincing simply because it tries to merge old-style
religious ceremonies with production-line technology. For anyone who
likes to see movies that at least try something different - even if it
doesn't succeed completely - this one would definitely be worth a look.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Semi-Gothic horror down under, 1 March 2008
Author:
mike65-2 from Ireland
Although clearly not a top-draw production being hampered by some less
than crisp plotting, low budget and a cast tending to the wooden,
Thirst nonetheless manages, after a slow uncertain first third to
develop into a quiet enjoyable light horror drama.
The production is at its peak when it veers closest to "traditional"
Gothic territory - indeed the sequence in Kate Davis' home where she
progresses through a spiraling sensory nightmare is almost worthy of
Mario Bava - lead actress Chantal Contouri even shares a passing
resemblance to Bavas female lead Barbera Steele as she becomes
overwhelmed by visions.
One thing that struck me was that for a film made in sunny new world of
Australia much of the production had the feeling of the Old World with
mock tudor buildings, rough hewn stone and brickwork and lead decorated
windows. I can only surmise this was a deliberate ploy as its harder to
invoke atmospheric horror in a world of concrete, glass and wood
panelling.
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