Thirst

Flicking through the channels last night landed me with this film: a low-budget action horror with the usual bad acting and bad script.

Yet I somehow watched it all, and by the end I wondered if I'd nearly enjoyed it? Yes the pacing was atrociously slow, the premise has been done to death, but the stupid actions of the characters made me laugh. I also laughed at how often the actors got their cue wrong.

But the monster stole the show. The director clearly wanted this thing to be a splice of everything - an alien queen, a cyborg, a dinosaur, a centaur... it was such a muddled mess of ideas (it almost reminded me of Cartman's Scuzzlebutt creation). It also appears to have ninja-like stealth abilities, despite being a huge noisy, clunking, clangy machine-thing, because it can literally show up anywhere at any time and the characters only realise it is present thanks to electrical interference of a radio they carry.

So yeah, a totally garbage film that somehow manages to entertain.

It's entertaining for what it is ! I initially played it as background noise as I worked from home, but soon found my head lifting and looking. I was intrigued and have to say it was fun. People are too critical and are quick to dissect. Of course it's not a blockbuster or worthy of an award, but it's still watchable and the people that created it tried their best.

THIRST opens with the crash of an alien craft. Something has arrived, quickly relieving some poor extra of his life.

Next, we're introduced to a group of hikers, preparing for a week-long excursion into the same place that the creature landed. It's a "second chance" hike for young offenders. Their adult guides take away their cell phones, drugs, etc.

Not long into the hike, the not-so impressive extraterrestrial introduces itself, causing chaos and death.

Several factors pretty much sink this production. The older actors who play the guides are killed off quickly. The problem is that they're also the better performers! The younger survivors just turn this into another mindless, teen monster movie. Also, the sub-par CGI, as always, looks so cartoonish that it takes us out of the movie every time it appears! Granted, it's cheaper than practical effects. However, it not only looks fake, but jarringly so!

Still, this movie might be enjoyable as a bleary-eyed, late night's entertainment...

This film just dragged and was boring. Special Effects are alright, like Sci fi channel good. I normally am a sucker for b grade creature features with cheesiness but this was just a complete drag. And it wasn't so bad it's funny movie it was just alright enough to not be special at anything really. Like completely mediocre. If it was at least funny or creepy I would've enjoyed it more.

RELEASED TO TV IN 2015 and directed by Greg Kiefer, "Thirst" is about a 'Second Chance' boot camp for wayward youths in the New Mexican desert wherein the group stumbles upon a formidable alien creature and her freshly hatched infant. Horror ensues.

The plot is borrowed from "Flu Bird Horror" and "Grizzly Park" (both from 2008), but lacks the meaty subtext of the former (I'm not joking) and the humor of the latter. The desert wilderness cinematography is magnificent while the no-name cast takes the material seriously and performs with gusto. John Redlinger, who's reminiscent of Chris Pine, plays the youthful trail guide and arises as the main protagonist. Clare Niederpruem, who looks like a younger Kate Mara, plays one of the troubled kids who inspires Redlinger's character.

The vicious alien monster has a centaur-like form and is interestingly biomechanical in nature, which is never explained. Someone insisted that the mechanical elements reveal that it MUST have originated from Earth. No, all it reveals is that the creature is curiously made-up of android-like components (the arrogance of some to think that Earth is the only planet of the gazillions of planets in the Universe to contain intelligent beings that can produce technical machineries).

Bottom line: Sure, it's a hackneyed TV horror flick with a beginning that borrows from "The Blob" (1958) and an ending that borrows from "Aliens" (1986), but it has its unique points and works well for what it is. The score by Sean Jackson us superlative.

THE MOVIE RUNS 87 minutes and was shot in Utah. WRITERS: Elizabeth Hansen & Greg Kiefer. ADDITIONAL CAST: Jes Macallan & Karl Makinen play the adult instructors while Ryan Zimmer, Cardiff Gerhardt, Ashley Santos & Bryan Dayley appear as other delinquent juveniles. Christina Thurmond and Mike Law are also on hand.

GRADE: B