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Park's upcoming film Thirst. Photo courtesy of Focus Features.
One of the highlights of Thursday's Comic-Con was a panel promoting the upcoming vampire film Thirst with South Korean director Chan-Wook Park. The panel featured a Q&A with the film's director, who presented the updated trailer and an exclusive clip of the film. Despite being the final panel of the day in the convention center's massive Hall H, fans of Park's other work (most notably Oldboy) formed a loyal crowd.
Thirst involves a Catholic priest whose sacrifices cause him to become infected with a deadly virus which turns him into a vampire. Already tempted to hurt those around him to survive, the priest is further tested when he begins to lust after his friend's wife. He finds himself caught between his religious beliefs and his new existence as a vampire.
Q&A: During the Q&A, Park remarked that he had not intended to make a vampire film but originally started with the story of a Catholic priest. Park then questioned how he could throw this character into an extreme moral dilemma and then arrived at the idea of vampires. One of the many things that makes this film different than the average vampire film is the lack of traditional vampire mythology. Park explained that he wanted to remove the mysticism of vampires and cliches of these films. He decided to use this "no fang angle" to sell the movie to distributors already saturated with vampire films.
While Thirst is still a vampire flick, Park explained that the film is about a man trying to hold on to both identities. The priest's transformation into a vampire does not only entail his desire for blood, but also causes his temptation to sleep with his friend's wife. For Park, vampirism represents a lose of control and restraint not only when it comes to feeding on blood but with moral questions as well.
Anti-Twilight? When the moderator asked the South Korean director if the removal of so many cliches meant that Park's film was the "anti-Twilight", the director joked stating that if he said that, his young daughter wouldn't like his film. Whether "anti-Twilight" or not, the film certainly avoids many of the characteristics of your traditional vampire film.
The director also jokingly told the audience that the recently released trailer overplays the horror aspects of the film (indeed the graphic trailer is restricted to those over 18). Park says that while the film is certainly bloody and has horror elements, Thirst is also a romance and has many comedic moments. Check out the trailer.
Thirst is set for release July 31 in select cities.
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