Park Chan-wook, the director of Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, Oldboy, Lady Vengeance and I’m a Cyborg But That’s Okay has a brand new film arriving in Korean theaters next month. Oh, and it’s… a vampire movie. I’m not here to analyze how or why the narrative theme of vampires has become so pervasive across the entire globe these past few years (30 Days of Night, True Blood, Twilight, Let the Right One In to name a few), but if Park wants to experiment with the vampire/horror genre I’m in. Personally, I felt I’m a Cyborg… was a slight letdown with its self-conscious quirkiness, but it looks like Park is playing to his strengths again with Thirst: dark subject matter, an eye for art direction, and stirring use of classical music. This one stars Park Chan-wook (The Host, Secret Sunshine), Kim Ok-bin (who became the star of a viral video on screen and in real life thanks to the “shaky dance” from Dasepo Naughty Girls), and Shin Ha-kyun (Mr Vengeance, Save the Green Planet!). No word on a US release, but that Universal logo at the beginning of the trailer looks promising. Thanks to Twitch for the scoop on this one.
UPDATE: Now with English subtitles.
I’ve read news articles about US release. They decided to release this movie in US for sure. A Hollywood sponsor is working with them since the making.
Hi, skyccm, thanks for the comment! Yes, this picture is scheduled for release from Focus Features, which is the arthouse branch of Universal Pictures. If you visit the main site for the film you can see a clip of James Schamus, CEO of Focus Features, talking about his excitement regarding this the co-production:
http://www.thirst-2009.co.kr/