Thirst (1979)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Rod Hardy

Writer:

John Pinkney (writer)

Release Date:

29 September 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

This ancient Evil is now a modern industry.

Plot:

The descendant of Elizabeth Bathory is abducted by a cult of self-proclaimed supermen who achieve this...

Plot Keywords:

Cult | Blood | Occult | Supernatural | Male Nudity

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Chantal Contouri	...	Kate Davis
Shirley Cameron	...	Mrs. Barker
Max Phipps	...	Mr. Hodge
Henry Silva	...	Dr. Gauss
Rod Mullinar	...	Derek
David Hemmings	...	Dr. Fraser
Rosie Sturgess	...	Lori
Robert Thompson	...	Sean
Walter Pym	...	Dichter
Amanda Muggleton	...	Martha
Lulu Pinkus	...	Nurse
Chris Milne	...	David
Jacqui Gordon	...	Leah
Val Christensen	...	Toni
Glenys O'Brien	...	Guide

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M (TV rating) | Australia:R | UK:18 | USA:R | UK:15 (re-rating :2003)

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company:

F.G. Film Productions

Movie Connections:

Featured in Puberty Blues (1981)

Bloody awful

Terrible, badly-made modern-day vampire tale. Chantal Contouri plays a businesswoman kidnapped by a league of vampires who run a remote farm where mindless humans are routinely 'harvested' for their blood, which is then neatly packaged in milk cartons.

The thinnest of thin plots is padded-out to feature length with endless chase scenes and incomprehensible dream sequences. In fact the entire plot is fully revealed within the first half hour, after which the film has nowhere new to go, so it constantly rehashes the same scenes of blood harvesting, the brainwashing of and hallucinations experienced by the film's heroine, and the spectacle of the sect's grisly ceremonies. The haste in revealing the entire plot so early implies that there will be a major plot twist in the film. None is forthcoming.

Best part of the film is the wonderfully high-camp performance by Shirley Cameron as a sinister sect insider. Henry Silva and David Hemmings were clearly imported to help assure the film's boxoffice success but their presence does little to help the film itself. Meanwhile when Contouri enacts terror or anger it comes off looking much like the intense irritation she would experience on finding a parking ticket on her Mercedes sports car.