Thirst (1979)

You won't be disappointed!

To me, this movie is perfection.

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Good movie but grossly overrated

Kate (Chantal Contouri) is abducted by a group called The Brotherhood. She is informed that she is a direct descendant of Elizabeth Bathory as she is destined to be the baroness and part of their group. She is reluctant as the group maintains its power by drinking well tested untainted human blood from human drones they keep on a farm.Kate has a boyfriend with Hasselhoff hair and a 70's porno mustache (Rod Mullinar). He shows off his muscular butt during the love scenes. At some point in time when people like drinking blood, their eyes glow red as they insert fake metal teeth in order to bite people. That's right. The teeth do not miraculously grow, but they use dentures.Outside of the flashback to the 70's the film offers nothing in horror or to the vampire genre.Parental Guide: Sex and nudity. Chantal Contouri takes a shower, and Rod Mullinar' butt.

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

Below is the first paragraph of my review of another genre-breaking film, Robin Campillo's Les Revenants (2004): My memory of the 1979 Australian film Thirst turns on a single misleading image: blood in milk cartons on supermarket shelves. Well-heeled shoppers push carts to and fro down spic-and-span aisles. Though the film's creators hadn't the nerve, or perhaps the imagination, to carry through -- their vampires are conventionally dangerous since the blood in the cartons is human -- that image broke genre. It suggested a maligned, maybe ghettoized yet worldwide minority not just making do but thriving. To analogize any of several possible real world minorities would be wrong, considering where the film goes. But if Thirst were newer, we'd wonder, is the blood in the cartons artificial, created humanely in a lab? Is it vampire "soy milk"? Are these vegan vampires? Whatever the answer, in that supermarket image Thirst's vampires are us. They're no more horrific than we are. The genre collapses.

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!