Thirst

Noelle (Lacey Chabert) thinks she may be pregnant with her boyfriend Bryan (Tygh Runyan). Tyson (Brandon Quinn) leads them and Atheria (Mercedes McNab) to Devil's Children in the middle of nowhere to shoot some pictures. They swerve to avoid a wolf in the road and drive off the trail.

Neither guys are likable although Tyson is a deliberate choice. Bryan isn't much better despite probably suppose to be the nicer guy. He's not a good boyfriend. Atheria is the classic superficial blonde. Noelle played by Chabert is closest to a likable human being although her relationship is more annoying than anything. This is a boring survival movie for a long time. Some guys may be bowled over by Lacey in a bikini but there is nothing here. The only interesting thing is where Noelle finds water. I can honestly say that I have never seen that before.

Thirst is a truly embarrassing film, a genuine waste of footage that falls short in virtually every way. It has bad acting, bad characterization, and even bad camera work. It is a debacle.

The film follows four people who get stranded in the desert after a minor accident. Four of the most annoying people you will ever see on a film screen. Only the Lacey Chabert character is even vaguely intelligent. Her husband is too stupid to pick up on the fact she is pregnant after she starts having morning sickness and avoiding alcoholic drinks. The model played by Mercedes McNab is so stereotypical and stupid you practically root for a coyote to come eat her.

These characters fail to use even common sense desert survival techniques such as traveling at night. Similarly, the best way to deal with an angry rattlesnake is not to stand still within striking distance. I've never even been to a desert and I know this.

Furthermore, the camera work borders on the disgraceful. Although there are a few nice shots of sunsets, the scenes filmed at night seem murky, as if they left on the lens made for bright light. Many of the day scenes seem bleached out, although that could be a result of the geography.

Avoid this film at all costs.

This is a well done independent film that has it's weak spots but overall is very good. The cinematography is beautiful in this film and the acting is well done by the four principles. I do wish that the Tyson and Jennifer characters had been flushed out more, their back-story was just not there and it made it harder for me to care about them, the married couple was played out very well and the ending was very heart wrenching. There are of course the "how could these people be so stupid" moments, but they are few and the film really does its job in showing how dangerous it is to be in any isolated area with out adequate supplies and ALWAYS let people know where you are. But I remember doing stupid things when I was young so you just have to get past those some points and take in the movie as a whole. Good weekend afternoon flick.

I found "Thirst" to be a lovely little film that I doubt most people will see. Flipping through Jeffery Scott Lando's other films, I'm afraid I haven't seen any of his previous work, but being a fan of all things Buffy-related when I saw Mercedes McNab was in the cast I scooped it up without a second thought. I wasn't disappointed. With breathtaking, oppressive scenery the movie creates a sense of despair mingling nicely the backdrop of the film with the inner turmoil of the lead couple's relationship. The movie reminded of films like "Open Water" and other man vs. the natural world themed films.

I liked three out of four of the cast. Mercedes McNab did a good job with a relatively standard character in Jennifer. Lacey Chabert seemed well suited to the roll of Noelle, and ultimately showed the most emotion in the film. Bandon Quinn seemed to suit his character of Tyson quite well alternately making me dislike and root for him and wasn't bad to look at either. However, Tygh Runyan's portrayal of Bryon seemed emotionless and out of sync with the rest of the cast. Whether this was due to a character I genuinely didn't like or to the actor's performance I'm not sure, since I haven't seen Runyan in any other roles.

As the four, two couples, struggle onward through the desert the plot increasingly revolves less around the characters interactions and more around the dangers that the desert presents. I would have liked to see a bit less of people protesting that they couldn't go onward and a bit more desert danger. Lacey Charbert's character came off as a bit of a know it all, a limitless source of information and the hero of near every scene while the men came off as a bit whiny and rather useless and the ending hit full throttle suddenly and just slammed through a scene that could have built a good long bit of hopelessness.

On the whole though, if you like the 'stranded and must survive' style films you'll probably like it, if you don't it'll probably drag.

Despite relying on atmosphere rather than blood and gore, this film does not quench my thirst for a good horror/suspense movie. There may be fine acting, but the film's prone to horriblathermia: Stage 1 - poor characterization; Stage 2 - bland chemistry; Stage 3 - its inability to scare or create feelings of unease; Stage 4 - complete boredom (this is also known as the stage in where there's no hope for this movie now); Stage 5 - predictable ending. The music failed to make it any better. Instead of trying to find a plot (or watch this movie), actually hike through the desert, but bring a lot more water than the idiots in this film did (They only brought 2 bottles, which wasn't very smart).