park chan-wook

Everyone has their own sacred cattle when it comes to the ol' remake machine, but no one seems to think that an Americanized take on Oldboy could possibly measure up to the twisted wonder that is Park Chan-Wook's 2005 adaptation, as much as Will Smith and Steven Spielberg may want to try.

Before we delve into spoilers post-jump, let's set up the basic premise for those squeamish few of you that haven't yet endured this film for yourselves: Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) is drunk on his daughter's birthday when he is kidnapped and trapped in a ratty hotel room with nothing but TV to watch and dumplings to eat... for fifteen years. After his escape and suicide attempts are interfered with, he is abruptly let loose, determined to find out who his captor was and why he was punished to such an extent.

And then things get screwy.

Thirst, directed by Park Chan-Wook, 2009

After bowing in limited release in late July, Park Chan-Wook's latest has finally made it to my neck of the woods, and although I've already reviewed it elsewhere, let me put a bit more plainly how I felt about the acclaimed director's take on the vampire genre.

At the very least, it's interesting, but more often than not, it's little more. When Park starts out concerned about how our priest protagonist (Kang-ho Song, very good at internalizing his guilt) will keep his newfound blood-sucking tendencies in check, it's a nimble and unpredictable little morality play. When Kang-ho re-unites with a childhood friend, it's a passionate and peculiar little romance. But beyond that, the plotting takes a turn towards self-destructive junkie-love turf and is never quite as engaging for it.

Thoughout, Chung-hoon Chung's cinematography proves lovely, and Park doesn't shy away from especially juicy sound work when the time comes for it, but for all the technical prowess on display, Thirst isn't as dramatically complete an outing for Park as his Vengeance Trilogy, JSA: Joint Security Area or I'm a Cyborg.... For running 2 hours and 15 minutes, it doesn't drag so much as ramble, and while it's bound to hold the interest of those already interested, I struggle to think that it's ultimately much more than the sum of its (body) parts.

An adoring girl, a cute boy, and a swooping leap off a building? Gee, you'd almost think that the new clip for Thirst -- available at Dread Central -- is some kind of cheap Twilight knock-off -- until you remember that the director is Park Chan-wook. Park is, of course, the mastermind behind Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance, a trilogy of violent, disturbing films that make him perfectly suited for a tale of a priest turned vampire.

Yup, no matter how cute he might look, Sang-hyun (the great Song Kang-ho, from The Host and The Good, the Bad, and the Weird) is a bloodthirsty creature of the night. And he's none too happy about it. As detailed by Darcy Paquet in his review at ScreenDaily, Sang-hyun contracts a deadly disease in Africa, receives a blood transfusion, and is revived. But the only way to deal with the lingering symptoms of the disease is for him to drink human blood. The adoring girl (Kim Ok-vin) is actually a woman stuck in a loveless marriage who imagines that Sang-hyun is the answer to her long-suppressed desires. I can only hope that the movie will live up to my expectations.

Park will be appearing in person at San Diego Comic-Con tonight for a panel on the film in Hall H, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thirst opens in selected theaters on July 31.

After a long flight on my part and a far longer drive for both of us, Scott Weinberg and I have finally arrived in Montréal for the FanTasia International Film Festival (their thirteenth, our first). The genre-heavy festival lasts for nearly three weeks; alas, we've but one to spare, so without much further ado, here's a look at what I've seen already and what I hope to see before Scott tips his own hand with a title or two to recommend.

Of the features playing, I can highly recommend Michael Paul Stephenson's Troll 2 doc, Best Worst Movie; the Aussie revenge thriller, The Horseman (not to be confused with the barely-seen Dennis Quaid vehicle,Horsemen); and Paul Solet's beautifully bloody baby horror, Grace. Those looking for something a bit stranger might end up being a bit more fond of Black and The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle than I was, though I also seemed more easily pleased by the Nazi zombies of Dead Snow than most, so I guess it all balances out. My enthusiasm for the ultra-kitschy likes of Alien Trespass and Lesbian Vampire Killers, not to mention the admittedly boundary-pushing Deadgirl, is all a bit less than what's already been mentioned, so let's just leave those at that.