Priest Sang-hyun (Kang-ho Song) selflessly volunteers to help with an experiment for a vaccine of a deadly disease, but something goes wrong and he comes to realize that he is now a vampire. People believe it is a miracle for him to be alive, and everyone comes running for him to pray for them, including the mother (Hae-sook Kim) of an old childhood friend, Kang-woo (Ha-kyun Shin). Sang-hyun starts falling for Tae-ju (Ok-bin Kim), Kang-woo's wife, who is very unhappy in her forced marriage. As a man of faith, Sang-hyun battles with his new life and his attraction to another man's wife.

There has been a new outbreak of vampire popularity lately, thanks to *grumble*Twilight*grumble*. I don't dislike vampires, just this new trend of pansy vampires. Vampires are evil. They are corpses that are alive, but not rotting, needing blood to keep moving. They should give you nightmares, not turn you on. When I was a teenager I was into the sexy vampires so much that if Twilight was around I fear more than anything that I would have been an annoying fan. But, that terrifying thought aside, I much prefer the evil monster vampires now (aside from the fact that I'm in love with The Hollows series by Kim Harrison and have a girl crush on Ivy). What I absolutely love, however, are movies that have a different take on the vampire myth. Which finally brings me to the movie I should be reviewing, Thirst.

Leave it to Chan-wook Park to completely envelope me instantly into a movie. Not only is Thirst a unique take on vampires but it's an awkward love story, two things I get giddy about. Not only does it have a wonderful director and great cast, but it stars Kang-ho Song, whom I adore. Is there any way a movie like this could ever go wrong? Surely not! The first half of the movie I couldn't take my eyes off of it, I loved every minute. The style, the story, the romance! My girliness comes out thinking about it all. The love tension between the main two characters was hot. I wanted to grab a Twilight fan and shake them while yelling, "This is how you make a vampire romance!" Not even halfway through I was convinced I loved this movie. Nothing could cause my love to falter!

Except for when it did.

About halfway through the movie the whole direction changed. It was no longer the movie I believed it was. I was heartbroken. What happened to the characters I loved? Why have they changed? It's like I was in a relationship with Thirst. At first we were so close, so caring, so dangerous, so sexy. But Thirst started to change... and was not the movie I first thought it was. It was so good in the beginning, so caring to my needs! What happened?

I know what happened. I had expectations. I try to have no expectations when watching a movie, it generally ruins it. Very few movies did I have high expectations and they met or exceeded them (A Tell of Two Sisters is one). I went in with no expectation, but loved the first half so much that I couldn't handle the change. The characters I loved so much did a one-eighty on me, and I didn't like it. I wanted them back, I was in denial. After watching Thirst a second time I was able to understand the change better. I realized Chan-wook Park wanted Thirst to be more than just a vampire romance. There is still a religious theme throughout the entire movie. Sang-hyun fights with his human desires and sins that he can't control as well in his new vampire life. If the story went the way I wanted it to it would have turned into a stereotypical love story, exactly what I don't want. It would eventually ignore the Catholic theme Chan-wook Park was sticking with. Considering the events, the changes the characters went through are understandable.

So, after everything I have convinced myself that this change was needed. All is good right? Not exactly. My problem isn't really the change in the story anymore, it's the transition itself. Nothing was gradual and everything was a slap in the face. It was also done in the goofiest way, leaving you emotionally confused in a bad way. The events start to turn into that awkward serious/goofy feel that I normally like. The middle scenes emotionally scarred me so much that when the second half started, I couldn't enjoy it. Thirst changed into a different movie, and if I separate the halves in my mind, I enjoy it a lot. The second half became a lot of fun in a horror sense, and the chaotic scene at the end was awesome. Ok-bin Kim (Tae-ju) floored me with her personality, she was just so devilishly fun. I wish so much to explain more about her, but I fear I have spoiled enough.

I see exactly what Chan-wook Park wanted to do with Thirst, but... through all this I still want the movie it was at the beginning back. I miss it and it's awkward but hot sexiness!

Thirst is a wonderful movie, despite me being thoroughly upset the first time I saw it. The directing, acting, and score is top notch. It is a very different take on a vampire movie, and for that it is awesome. The romance was not your normal romance and continued to stay that way even when I secretly wanted it to go stereotypical. The first half and the second half were great separately, it was just the middle that bugged me the most. In the end I have a love/hate relationship with Thirst, I just hope no one has to go through the same heartbreak I did. Chan-wook Park is still amazing and I applaud him for his very different take on a vampire story.

What I liked: Chan-wook Park; The whole first half!; Kang-ho Song as Sang-hyeon; the night meet up in the middle of the street *swoon* so hot!; the tension between Tae-ju and Sang-hyeon; the awkward sexiness; the last Oasis get-together, so awesome; different vampire stories make me happy.

What I didn't like: The change hurt and my stubbornness took forever to adjust.

What I've learned: Not to judge a film by the... first half of the film?; How a sex scene that looks so awkward can be so sexy at the same time... or I'm just weird.

Thirst is available to buy at the following vendors: