Blu-Ray Review: Thirst

By Brad Henderson

All film fans should explore movies made during the “Ozploitation” era of Australian low budget filmmaking. Just about every film that came out during this time is fantastic. Many people have probably seen these films and are just unaware of the term Ozploitation or what movies fit this description.

The term Ozploitation was coined after the R rating was introduced in Australia in 1971. I’m not sure if people thought such films were just being created to make money or to push limits like other “ploitation” films but that wasn’t the case. Even to this day there are Ozploitation films released and they still carry out the feel, look, brutality, and the hilariousness.

There is something about these films in particular that stands out from the rest. Most of them are absolutely beautiful. Everything is shot and framed perfectly. Films like Razorback, Wolf Creek, Road Games, Dark Age, and others are just spectacular. The action flicks are action packed and the horror films are suspenseful and don’t follow the normal formula that other countries’ horror films do. Of course, we have great and wonderful films elsewhere but Ozploitation is something special and sadly, nearly forgotten about.

There are countless vampire films out there and a whole lot of bad ones. It takes people like me to put ourselves through hours upon hours of torture watching the bad ones to find the good ones. I admit that watching a bad horror film is way easier than watching a bad comedy or drama, but seeing an endless amount of bad horror can discourage you. You have to stick it out and endure the bad. Severin Films has released a few Ozploitation films on Blu-Ray recently and one of them happens to be a vampire flick. I’m happy to say it is exceptional.

Thirst was a first for me and something that I’ve wanted to see for a long time but never got around to. It took me a good minute to get into the movie, but it does have a killer intro. Thirst’s opening scene is intense, with the haunting soundtrack playing over the title sequence. It gets your heart racing. Even just the way the credits appear is very effective and sets the tone and pacing. After the intense opening I did feel that the film drags a little, but just give it a few minutes because it does become one kickass vampire horror film.

Thirst is one of the most complex and clever vampire flicks I’ve seen in a while because it doesn’t follow that “vampire formula.” We already know who is a vampire and what it going on because it is a story about vampires. We don’t have a clichéd story of the hero trying to expose the vampire while the vampire’s actually trying to make others understand where she came from.

I would say some people view Thirst as somewhat satirical, but I think the filmmakers were trying to be different from the usual vampire film. I believe they wanted to make their mark with something that wouldn’t be replicated and dished out again and again. I’m sure Thirst has been a huge inspiration to many filmmakers because it isn’t the norm. Thirst kind of started the blood farm/blood bank concept for feeding vampires that other movies have borrowed from, but they do it such in an uncommon way. It probably seems cheesy or corny to us, but it’s actually brilliant and makes Thirst seem timeless. It is so different from what we see today.

Severin Films has released another transfer that looks and sounds amazing. They kept the dark and dirty look of Thirst, but present it in the clearest form. I have never seen this film on another format so I don’t have anything to compare it to, but I’m certain that nothing compares to Severin’s work on this beautiful release. I’m not a sound connoisseur but I know when a movie sounds good, mediocre, or shitty. I have a pretty decent system and I will say the music in Thirst is outstanding. A very ambient and bombastic soundtrack starts in the very beginning and it continues throughout. It’s so ace that you actually get lost in the music during the film.

This is the third Ozploitation horror film Severin has released, along with Patrick and Dead Kids (review) and I hope and pray they will give us more because there are so many excellent films out there that need to be revisited and seen by more movie lovers.

Note: Severin and Intervision have also put together a DVD full of Ozploitation trailers called Ozploitation Trailer Explosion. I’m still uncertain why companies put together these trailer compilations. They are fun to see, but I would recommend seeking out the actual films and watching them rather than trailers. I’m not a big trailer person because I want to go in blind and be surprised during the film, especially with films that are older. Old trailers can last for over three minutes and spoil every cool scene in the film. If you have the cash to pick this disc up you will be happy, but I highly recommend picking up their three recent Ozploitation Blu-Rays instead.

Thirst was released on Blu-Ray by Severin Films on March 11.