Rating: Unrated, but could have been an R or even NC-17 for extreme gore and violence, profanity, nudity and sexuality.
!!!WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!! THIS IS A RATHER HUGE AND ADMITTEDLY OVER-ANALYZED COMMENTARY!!!
I've watched THE THIRST a total of 5 or 6 times now. The first time, I hated it. I thought that it was just god-awful. Horrible. With no redeemable qualities whatsoever. The second time I still hated it. The third time must have been the charm. I had decided to watch the film with my earphones in, in a nice quiet room, with no distractions. The fourth time, today, I have warmed up to it quite a bit. I know I've been pretty harsh and my opinion of this film has shifted to a more favorable one. I'm not a professional critic, so I get the luxury of changing my opinion, thank you very much. Besides, I was sick for 2 days straight when my boyfriend brought the movie home to me from Blockbuster. (My order got lost in the mail and I got impatient to see the film. I should NEVER watch a horror movie when I am sick.)
THE THIRST is not going to win any Oscars, but it has some good points. One reason I have so drastically changed my opinion is the audio commentary. Sometimes, let's face it, a film is so out there, that it takes some explaining for me to get it.
Not to mention the fact that this film was only meant to be a blood-soaked good time, a gory, ultraviolent yet light-hearted escape from your real life cares and worries. If you're going to enjoy this film at all, and you have a bad habit of over-thinking like I do, you have to set this film apart from any other Sisto film, or any other film period, and just take it for what it is: a giddy UNserious horror film.
THE THIRST is a very over the top schlock horror film with a lot of gushing and spurting blood. That doesn't bother me at all. WRONG TURN had quite a lot of blood. So did MAY. And let us not forget DEAD & BREAKFAST, which was another very over the top horror/comedy with oodles of gory spraying red stuff.
There is a moderate amount of nudity and sexual content. That doesn't bug me either. The story is about a stripper and there is also a sex/fetish club in the story. 98% of the females on the cast roster, including the 2 lead females played by Clare Kramer and Serena Scott Thomas, have at least one nude scene. Unlike the squealing bimbettes in those horrid schlocky '70s and '80s films, the 2 LEAD females have intelligence, spunk and power woven into their characters.
The cast is made up of moderately known or completely unknown actors. That CERTAINLY doesn't bother me. You all know that. I happen to enjoy all or most of the work of Matt Keeslar, Adam Baldwin, Serena Scott Thomas, Clare Kramer, Neil Jackson, Erik Palladino, and of course Jeremy Sisto. I had never heard of Charlotte Ayanna or Alicia Morton, but ended up enjoying their performances in this film. And after 5 or 6 viewings, I'm enjoying every one else's performances too.
I'm a cat lover and there is some disturbing content involving cats. That didn't even bug me. I promise. It wasn't nearly as graphic as I imagined it would be.
Now that I am grasping the plot and the structure and the characters in this splatter-fest, I really do understand and like it much better than at first. I won't lie. I expected to be profoundly moved by this film. I couldn't get it through my thick skull that it was supposed to be just plain fun. There is SOME depth to the story, mostly concerning Lisa and Maxx. Thanks to another DVD extra, the deleted scenes, I am mustering up more respect for their "love story" the plight of their addictions.
The plot of the story is that Lisa (Clare Kramer), a stripper who wears a bright purple wig, has cancer, and has not told her boyfriend Maxx (Matt Keeslar). While being hospitalized after vomiting blood onstage, Lisa meets an elegant but rather scary British woman who claims to be a "therapist". After the strange visit, Lisa sneaks out of the hospital, returns to the flat she and Maxx share (a pink job, walls and everything...even their fridge is pink), and slits her wrists. Maxx is both horrified and guilt ridden over the suicide, because he had gotten angry at Lisa for not sharing her health problems with him. After Lisa is laid to rest, Maxx burrows into a deep depression, and only comes out after being nagged by his friends Jason (Erik Palladino) and Macey (Charlotte Ayana). They take him to Club Inferno, a 2 story nightclub. Maxx, Macey and Jason hang out on the bottom floor, called Heaven, and Maxx suddenly seems to be hallucinating his dearly departed, only now instead of shiny purple hair, she has long beautiful blonde locks.
Lisa at one time had been an aspiring ballerina, which is why Maxx said, "Nobody dances like her."
Needless to say, Maxx is unsure whether or not he's gone completely insane. His friend Jason thinks Maxx is having denial issues, and when Maxx tries to dig up Lisa's grave to see if she still lays in her casket, Jason bails him out and then leaves in disgust. Maxx pays Club Inferno another visit, this time going to the upper level of the club, called Hell. Unlike Heaven downstairs, Hell is not just a place to dance, drink and mingle. It is a fetish club. Naked women roam freely, and whips and chains are employed liberally. Maxx literally runs into Lisa, and ends up being introduced to her new "family" as they abruptly murder just about every one in the club. There is, of course, Darius, whose favorite dish appears to be blood-soaked intestines and delicious wrist blood; There is Mariel (Serena Scott-Thomas), the same woman who posed as a therapist that night in the hospital; There is Lenny (Adam Baldwin), a yellow-toothed cowboy who likes big band rock while he feeds; There is the wickedly cool bleach-blonde Duke (Neil Jackson) who's got himself new girlfriend Kiki (Dawn Weld); And lastly, there is a pair of nameless scantily-clad girls in matching outfits.
The bloodthirsty family gives Lisa an ultimatum when she tries to get back together with Maxx: Turn him or kill him. Lisa choses the first option, and Maxx, once weighed down with a half-ton depression, gets a new lease on life. A lot of criticism has been given to Matt Keeslar's performance as Maxx, but I thought he did a splendid job, turning Maxx from a tearful and angry mortal to a euphoric, energetic and gleeful vampire.
I admit freely that horror is my least favorite genre. Every week there are at least 2 new horror movies in the theatres or video stores. And most of them I find stupid, gratuitous and juvenile, many with barbaric violence and crappy writing and idiotic characters.
THE THIRST doesn't come across as stupid to me, just fast paced and hard to understand at first. I once believed that there was a huge potential lurking underneath that was missed somehow, but with each new viewing, I am seeing more and more things about it that make it a fun and individual vampire film.
THE THIRST could be considered a wee bit gratuitous, with its abundance of female nudity and gallons of bright red gore, but the audio commentary confirms that that was the very intention of the filmmakers, to create an exploitation film, only this one had to have heart and substance. My first commentaries of this film were ones where I called the filmmakers liars, saying there was no substance or heart at all, only blood and boobs. But thanks to the extended scenes and audio commentary, I am now reading between the dribbles and jiggles.
THE THIRST has too much clever writing and above-average actors who make the most of their material to be juvenile. It tries valiantly to do what NEAR DARK did so well in 1987, present a vampire family of really unforgetable characters. There is some success in making THE THIRST characters unique. I also complained that none of the characters was developed at all. If you want backstory on any of them, you might as well listen to the commentary, where Darius is explained as an ancient vampire who has lived somewhere in eastern Europe, and also in Great Britain and Dixieland America. We also get some badly needed explanation for the two weird sisters. With blue dots on their cheeks and blue lipstick that only partially covers their lips, the girls apparently lived as Geishas serving a Japanese Emperor back in Meian dynasty or something. They're supposedly the oldest members of the vampire clan. They're speaking a mixture of Chinese dialects, not just strange retarded gibberish. Okay, so I don't quite scorn them as much as before, but it would have been more fun if they had spoken English, or better yet, Japanese. I got my fill of crazy killers speaking their own special language in WRONG TURN.
Another unspoken truth I got from the commentaries is: Mariel is the real leader of the family, not Darius. She just lets him PLAY at being the leader, and THE THIRST follows the widely held lore that vampiric society is matriarchal, and that "turning" new family members can only be done by female vamps.
I finally noticed this with viewing #5 or so: Mariel had a special place in her heart for Lisa. When they first met in the hospital, Mariel saw a lot of potential. After a few weeks, though, Mariel and the rest of the bunch regarded Lisa as a weakling because Lisa has never relished killing people, and the addition of Maxx into the family is no accident, but rather a plan concocted by Mariel and Darius in hopes of making Lisa more "enthusiastic".
This family travels a lot, as the one in NEAR DARK. Only they don't use an RV or cheap motels. Darius, Mariel and company just do the home invasion thing. Their latest nesting ground is a Christian camp getting ready to have a childrens' bible study. The two old people who live on the grounds, Owen and Barbara, have no choice but to "welcome" their thirsty new visitors. Darius is glad there are no phones, and looks forward to a nice quiet vacation and some tasty little snacks to feast on soon.
Another difference between the families in THE THIRST and NEAR DARK is that the ND family are a bunch of white trash southerners, while the one in THIRST is multi-ethnic, with communist sensibilities, complete with the "leader" who sleeps with everyone and the valued belief that everything, EVERYTHING, is to be shared. Some articles said Darius was a mixture of Charles Manson and Quentin Tarantino. What I kind of saw was rather a mixture of Manson and David Koresh.
Speaking of sleeping with everyone, I was VERY intrigued by the subtle hint (that I missed until the commentary) that there could have been a homosexual relationship between Maxx and Darius, and I really wished there had been some liplocking instead of just the peck on the forehead. I have my own set of perversions and desires for gratuity. To see Keeslar and Sisto swapping spit would have made my millenium. Damn, can women get blue lips?
THE THIRST is said to be a horror comedy, and at first I couldn't really see it. It's a different kind of comedy than NEAR DARK. ND has Bill Paxton's hilarious one-liners. THE THIRST has a lot of deadpan comedy and some visual funny stuff like Darius' robe and slippers and his nailgun episode to a techno version of "The Barber Of Seville". It didn't evoke gut-splitting laughs from me, but I do enjoy it.
There were several undeniably clever plot devices, like the young girl with hemophilia who befriends Lisa. There was a definite knowledge of who was supposed to be "evil" and who the "heroes" were, once the couple began to feel repulsed by their recent deeds. Even after Lisa turns Maxx, she cannot bring herself to murder people. Because of her cancer, she knows too well what it is like to be facing death with terror and to be trapped with no escape. Maxx has no problem at all with ripping throats out and drinking jugular blood, and Lisa does not like this "new" Maxx, who is already as ruthless as Darius, at all. I totally did not get that scene where Maxx slapped Lisa's face and the film became black and white except for a smear of blood around Lisa's mouth. I still wonder if Maxx decided to visit with Macey because he was mad at Lisa and maybe wanted a "replacement"?
I was very entertained during the scenes of Maxx wanting to turn Macey (Ayanna is an actress with AMAZING eyes!!!) and the whole thing going wrong. The horrific screams from Ayanna added a lot to the scene. Maxx is traumatized by Macey's death. Lisa is disgusted with Maxx for trying to turn someone when it's impossible, and she knows that the family will always treat her with disrespect if she refuses to kill. The couple decides to quit the family and quit blood, cold turkey.
The "detox" scenes were a little overacted and filmed in a way that kind of made me motion sick. I was also really grossed out when it looked like they were eating cotton from their mattress. And of course, it's sad what happens to their cats. You can feel a lot more for the cats, too, when you see the extended "suicide scene" where Lisa kisses them goodbye.
Director Jeremy Kasten has a certain directing style, and the sometimes blaring, sometimes washed out color pallettes are intentional. I can hear proud shout-outs being made to fellow asthetic indie horror filmmakers everywhere. It's definitely a stylish film. I think the Niagra Falls effect with everyone's jugular blood is part of the deadpan humor.
I also enjoyed the Rasputina and Dames Violet songs in the film. My favorite is "Endless Dream" by Dames Violet.
I no longer believe that this is my least liked Jeremy Sisto horror film. Like I said way, way, way above, take it for what it is: a fun horror. HIDEAWAY is fun too, but has a serious and spiritual side. MAY is tons of fun, but it has deep emotional themes. DEAD & BREAKFAST is the most similar to THE THIRST, with it's splatter and gush quality, and is lots of fun too.
Now I like THE THIRST very much. I will always admire Sisto's attempts to try on and explore different characters and work in different genres. He never fails to give 110% to bring his characters to life. He enjoys improving a few character tidbits into Darius, and everyone agrees he and the other actors are having nothing short of a blast in this film. I had a huge problem because at first I couldn't find anything "reedeemable" about Darius. Hello...he's not meant to be someone to search out the goodness in. Most of Sisto's other characters, even villains, surprise you with a scene or a moment of goodness or something. Even Earl from WAITRESS has a few moments where you don't hate him as much as usual. Darius, however, is just a fun and evil vampire. He does no good deeds to redeem himself. He's the villain to Maxx and Lisa's heroes. He's meant to be looked on as the pimpish, pompous, outrageous ringleader. Along with his hilarious robe and slippers, he has some wonderful quotes, along with the rest of the cast, that make this an instant classic.
Kill me if you must, but I'm up "grading" yet again. The film gets an A. It is what it is and either you can have fun with it or you can be like me with my first commentaries, hell-bent on finding something serious about it and getting mad and bashing the shit out of it when I couldn't. I wouldn't blame any of you for thinking me a complete idiot by now. It took me at least 4 or 5 viewings of DEAD & BREAKFAST to win me over, now that I look back.
CAST
Matt Keeslar as MAXX
Clare Kramer as LISA
Jeremy Sisto as DARIUS
Serena Scott Thomas as MARIEL
Adam Baldwin as LENNY
Neil Jackson as DUKE
Alicia Morton as SARA
Ellie Cornell as NURSE LINDA
Erik Palladino as JASON
Charlotte Ayanna as MACEY
Dawn Weld as KIKI
Tom Lenk as KRONOS
Kylah Kim as SISTER #1
Ave Rose Rodil as SISTER #2
and Michael Mantell as LISA'S DOCTOR
Directed by Jeremy Kasten
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