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Thirst

Play trailer Poster for Thirst R 2009 2h 13m Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
81% Tomatometer 118 Reviews 74% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho), a respected priest, volunteers for an experimental procedure that may lead to a cure for a deadly virus. He gets infected and dies, but a blood transfusion of unknown origin brings him back to life as a vampire. Now, Sang-hyun is torn between faith and bloodlust, and has a newfound desire for Tae-ju (Kim Ok-bin), the wife of his childhood friend.
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Thirst

Thirst

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Critics Consensus

The stylish Thirst packs plenty of bloody thrills to satisfy fans of both vampire films and director Chan Wook Park.

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Critics Reviews

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Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard Oct 20, 2009
3/5
Park is clearly an exceptional director capable of being weirdly funny, quirkily fantastical, brutal and sexy, sometimes at one and the same time. There's no one quite like him. Go to Full Review Wendy Ide The Times (UK) Oct 16, 2009
With its rapacious appetites and forceful directing style, is definitely a vampire film for grown-ups. Go to Full Review Peter Bradshaw Guardian Oct 16, 2009
3/5
Not one of Park's best films, but it has bite. Go to Full Review Chance Solem-Pfeifer Willamette Week Aug 28, 2025
In Park’s hands, the vampire’s sensuous power is immediately an ironic torment. Go to Full Review Alisha Mughal The Asian Cut Oct 8, 2024
4/5
In turn beautiful and repugnant, saintly and devilish, Thirst is a feast, a ball, an extravaganza of bodies, blood, and life; but it takes its time in getting to it, in the way that we take our time in getting sick. Go to Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand Oct 27, 2023
He just wants to save people but he emerges as a bloodsucker... a man torn between morality and instinct, faith and desires of the flesh (and blood). Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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SIMAS C @simas_eros Oct 23, 2026 From the director of "Oldboy" comes a dark, well-executed film about a priest who turns into a vampire and struggles to resist the temptation to kill—especially the woman he desires, who happens to be married to his best friend. While not as erotic as it might suggest, the story is compelling and maintains suspense right to the end. See more Robert P @Superbad Oct 5, 2026 Thirst is a *4* star Movie! See more Kevin L @Lakeman Mar 1, 2026 I'm generally a considerable fan of Chan-wook's films, but this one hit me more like "Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance" than his other films I've seen. Overly long, it could've made for a fine 90-min. or so movie. The original setup, the priest who acts in a charitable, 'godly' manner w/ good intentions dies as a result, but is 'saved' only to become a man driven by blood lust, erotic lust, and the fall that comes with it. Song Kang-ho gives his usual strong performance. Kim Ok-bin is equally good, if not better. Support roles are competently acted. It just got tedious for me. Felt like some themes/ideas were repeated more than necesary as they were clear already. 3.2 stars See more Christian K @ckacar Oct 23, 2024 Off the rails crazy. With enough bloody and sexual imagery to more than support its runtime. This was awesome. See more Emilliano Jr S @emill_santos Aug 16, 2024 Overlong for a vampire romance movie. See more Alec B @Alec97 Jan 9, 2024 Great elements are here (i.e. having the vampire be a Priest, the ways control and desire are intertwined) but I think that ultimately Chan Wook Park couldn't find a compelling way to connect these ideas. See more Read all reviews
Thirst

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Cast & Crew

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Park Chan-wook

Director

Song Kang-ho

Sang-hyeon

Kim Ok-bin

Tae-ju

Shin Ha-kyun

Kang-u

Kim Hae-sook

Lady Ra

Oh Dal-su

Yeong-du

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Thirst

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Movie Info

Synopsis Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho), a respected priest, volunteers for an experimental procedure that may lead to a cure for a deadly virus. He gets infected and dies, but a blood transfusion of unknown origin brings him back to life as a vampire. Now, Sang-hyun is torn between faith and bloodlust, and has a newfound desire for Tae-ju (Kim Ok-bin), the wife of his childhood friend.
Director
Park Chan-wook
Producer
Park Chan-wook, Ahn Suhyeon
Screenwriter
Park Chan-wook, Jeong Seo-kyeong
Distributor
Focus Features
Production Co
Moho Film
Rating
R (Graphic Bloody Violence|Disturbing Images|Language|Nudity|Strong Sexual Content)
Genre
Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 31, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 19, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$296.4K
Runtime
2h 13m
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