User reviews

The descendant of Elizabeth Bathory is abducted by a cult of self-proclaimed supermen who achieve this state of superiority by drinking from the "blood cows" kept at the "dairy farm", and they try to get her to join them.

This Ozploitation film has nice gore effects, plenty of blood, and a plot that can only be seen as a reversal of other Bathory tales, where now the usual monster is the persecuted one. We even get a sweet, pseudo-Catholic ceremony in Latin.

The film did not do well at the local box office. Nevertheless, it was highly regarded by influential American film critic Leonard Maltin, who gave it three stars out of four. Although Maltin is often wrong, he might have been right this time -- this one went under the radar, but probably never should have.

This murky oddity is great fun and well made on eerie locations in Victoria Australia at a real scary place that actually exists called MontSalvat 'castle' by 70s drive in auteur Antony Ginnane. He also made a very strong Carrie like thriller called Patrick. Other Aussie thrillers of the time include Summerfield and The Chain Reaction.

THIRST should be a cult film but lacks the 35mm availability for cinemas to make it exactly that. Like Rocky Horror, Legend Of Hell House or Phantom Of The Paradise, all part of a mad parochial horror cycle of the 70s. Find it and have a great time. You will love the, er, milking scenes.........Antony..your films are languishing! get em out there again!

An Aussie vampire film? Never would have thought. Not to denigrate my country's film industry, but ... well, it's not known for producing bloodsucker flicks. The exception is this little oddity, released in 1979 and now hidden away in the 'horror' section of video stores across the country.

Having heard of the film for several yrs, and seen the cover at my local video store (Chantal Contouri drenched in gore), I decided to check it out. The result: one of the most genuinely horrifying films to emerge from Australia in recent decades. Not horrifying in the sense of 'The Delinquents', where it's horrifyingly bad and let's just sit back and have a good laugh. I am talking, this film is a recorded bad dream. Reality and nightmare blur, blood spurts, and Amanda Muggleton sneers as one of our screen's most genuinely evil villains. Contouri was fantastic, too, as the hapless young woman abducted and brought to a blood farm and made to honour her ancestor, Elisabeth Bathory - bloodsucker extraordinaire, and the figure at the heart of those other 70s horror films 'Countess Dracula' and 'Daughters of Darkness'. The scene where she sprouted fangs and kills a colleague really jolted this horror movie afficionado.

Visually, the film has dated: the hairstyles are tres out-of-date, and the colour cinematography was reminisce of those chocolate commercials I grew up watching on TV as a young boy in Melbourne. Problems also lay in the script's lack of depth. There was no psychological make-up to the characters, they had no history - and this made it very hard to relate to them on an emotional level (Contouri's character in particular). Nevertheless, this is an intriguing and eerie film that will appeal to fans of Australian cinema and horror films alike.

Interesting, ambitious take on vampire horror stories is good - if you get past the 70's music and porn-style hair+moustache!! Chantal Contouri is a wealthy young woman who is told she comes from a strong family of vampires...enter a BRAVE NEW WORLD-type scenario in which subjects "donate" blood, which is packaged in milk cartons and delivered to all the vampires living in the outside world. It's overlong, and overdramatic for such a story, but it's worth a look all the same - genre fans should enjoy it, as should fans of Australian film: this was definitely a landmark, as most films released by this country during the late 1970s were either "ocker" (BARRY McKENZIE, ALVIN PURPLE) or "quality" (PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, BACKROADS, DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND). Of course, MAD MAX was released in the same year. Rating: 6/10.

Greetings and salutations; welcome to my review of Thirst 1979

The story gets a 1.25 out of 2: The Direction and Pace receive a 2.5 out of 4: The Performances get a 1 out of 2: And my Enjoyment level hits a 1.25 out of 2:

Giving Thirst a 6 out of 10:

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this picture, and I recently came across the title. Admittedly, I dislike it when writers begin messing around with a monsters mythos: in this case, the Vampyre. I was surprised to find myself being drawn deeper into the progressing tale. John Pinkney carries out a splendid job of constructing a modern Vampyre fable. These are not your night-stalking blood drinkers. No! These creatures can walk by day and have developed an ominous way of farming their beverage of necessity. These thieves of life discover Kate Davis to be the only surviving descendant of the notorious Elizabeth Bathory, and they undertake anything to usher her into their fold. So will the industrial and corporate side of vampirism defeat the older Monarchy's rule? Though this modern take is a breath of fresh air to the sub-genre, there is more to keep your attention. Pinkney adds nightmare scenes and elaborate operatic rituals, which adds to the strength of the story.

The strength of the film comes from Rod Hardy as he directs with a deft hand. On the whole, he keeps the direction pretty standard, which helps to build a feeling of normalcy into the telling. When something shocking happens, it's not overemphasised, and you're left temporarily believing it could happen. But when we get to the nightmare sections, the lights are lowered, and the shadows grow deep and ominous. It's subtle but represents such a contrast to the norm it works to heighten the tension.

I will furthermore say Thirst possesses one of the best opening sequences of any horror film. I loved it. It's the ideal way to hook the viewer. That said, there were times when the film could have upped the tempo a tad. A few overly long scenes begin tapping at dullness's door. But they are few.

One irk I did have with the film is that, even though it's not a special effects showcase, the effects they did show were poor: The double exposure red-eyes made me sigh with disgrace. Granted, at the time, they couldn't have done it any other way. But still, it would have looked dated then as it does today.

Next, there's the acting. I am sure Hardy asked them to be as utterly every day as they could be. Because of this, there's little spark in their personalities. Dr Fraser (David Hemmings) furthers his agenda for helping Kate (Chantel Contouri), but you don't feel he's that driven. And, the characters in the movie suffer from the same malady: Everyone needed a bit more oomph to them. It helps to create the normalcy of the happenings on the farm; everyone is going about their ordinary lives. However, in one scene, a walking blood bottle asks Kate to be kind to his friend because she would be frightened. After all, Kate had chosen her to be the one. This mundanity at knowing you're nothing more than a walking supply of blood is annoying. Nobody in the herd is rising against their suckers. It's merely life Jim, but not as we know it. Hence, when there should be conflict, no matter how small, there's just this plodding normality.

This downside could be due to the writing or the direction. But my point is the actors and actresses are so good at being ordinary that it hurts the film. I can't believe I'm saying this, but a smidgen of wooden or ham acting would have been nice. Not everybody is this mundane.

It's a minor issue though, and I would recommend all horror and macabre lovers to give Thirst a viewing, at least once. Who knows, you may enjoy it so much you may even take a second or third look.

Come on over to my Killer Thriller Chiller and Absolute Horror lists to see where Thirst resides in my charts.

Take Care & Stay Well.

Kate was born a vampire. Though, she grew up completely unaware of this, as she was raised human.

But her whole world changes, when, one day, she is kidnapped by a weird cult, and told that she is the last remaining relative of the Baronness of their people- a race of superhumans who nourish themselves with the essence of humans...blood! "The Brotherhood", as they call themselves, harvest that which they require from "donors" (aptly nicknamed "blood cows") who are held captive, and kept sedated, on a farm, where they are milked like cattle. Sometimes to death.

The blood- after being tested for impurities- is packaged, shipped, and sold around the world to others of their kind.

However, they are unable to win Kate over, simply, with the allure of their lifestyle. So they are forced to resort to manipulation tactics- in order to initiate her into the ways of the vampire.

Basically, they want to break her, and force her to accept her vampire heritage...so she can be married off to some loser vampire from one of the other old lineages.

To achieve this, one of the doctor-vampires has designed a brainwashing technique- to infiltrate her thoughts and memories- and push her in a malevolent direction...

Eventually, she gives in and succumbs to her indoctrination. But the board isn't convinced her conditioning has fully set in.

Only when the only person she cares about in the entire world is threatened, does she truly submit to her psychological tormenter (as was foreshadowed by the earlier scene).

He convinces himself he does it for her...but he was only ever in it for himself...

This is a pretty cool "Ozploitation" horror and first feature from Melbourne, Australia's Rod Hardy (who also directed a few X-Files episodes). It's a psychological horror at heart, but a modern vampire flick on the surface. And it's a bit of a trip. It definitely f*cks with you at points (like when she keeps waking up in succession) to keep you on your toes. And it always has you thinking.

It's hard to say whether this is more a vampire film, or more of a film about brainwashing (if I HAD to choose, I would opt for the latter). So I'll just say it's a pretty damn original combination of the two.

To finish, I'd like to acknowledge the performance by Chantal Contouri, who plays Kate. She does a helluva job. Reminded me of Shelley Duvall's performance in The Shining. The acting is pretty solid across the board, though, too.

All around, this is a pretty cool film about vampires trying to break other vampires (who weren't brought up to be vampires) by brainwashing them...so...not really your typical vampire flick.

Comes Recommended.

7 out of 10.

A far more awesome plot would be Kate gradually wakes up to the true form of her real identity, eliminate all those disrespectful cult members one by one, and in the end reigns her own vampiric empire.

This unconventional Australian vampire movie stars Chantal Contouri as successful businesswoman Kate Davis, who is abducted by a secret society of vampires and taken to a 'farm', where human livestock is drained of blood, which is then processed to remove contaminants before being packaged for consumption worldwide. Kate is informed that she is a descendent of OG vampire Elisabeth Bathory and must accept her birthright as an aristocratic blood-drinker, the plan being for her to marry a vampire from another noble family, thereby uniting two superior bloodlines. Naturally, Kate struggles to accept this (not surprising, since she already has a boyfriend, Derek, played by Rod Mullinar), so the vampires attempt to condition her to come around to their way of thinking. Kind vampire Dr. Fraser (David Hemmings) disagrees with the brainwashing process and attempts to help Kate escape.

Like Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary (1975) and Martin (1977), Thirst, Australia's first vampire film, does away with the gothic conventions associated with the genre: these vampires are not affected by sunlight (which is a good job, given where they live), do not possess real fangs, and have no aversion to garlic, holy water and crosses. While it's not an entirely successful effort to contemporise vampire cinema - the pace is rather slow, and the structure of the film, with its numerous dreamlike sequences, can lead to confusion - the good outweighs the bad: the blood-draining scenes are suitably bizarre and grotesque, the cast is solid, Brian May's score is great, and there are a few memorable moments, including Kate's 'blood shower', a vampire drowning in a vat of blood, and Henry Silva's character falling from a helicopter onto high-voltage power lines.

A modern, clinical approach to a vampire tale with a group of experts trying to ensure that a young woman willingly joins a vampire cult.

By controlling her environment, playing psychological tricks and mind games on the unfortunate girl they hope that they will have succeeded in their task before her boyfriend returns home and finds her missing.

There are those who will stop at nothing until she succumbs, regardless of the detriment to her state of mind, and those who are determined that she will embrace their lifestyle without coming to any mental harm.

There are numbers of anaemic looking people wandering about, looking decidedly lethargic and boring, which the story was in danger of doing also. The plot, however, does have a number of twists and turns to keep you guessing until the final outcome. . Directed by Rod Hardy who has many film and TV series to his credit, including Battlestar Galactica, The X Files and JAG, to name a few. He uses his talent to good effect, but is helped by David Hemmings, whose acting ability lifted the film from what could otherwise have been a dreary outing.

The majority of cast in this Australian film have been more familiar with appearing in a variety of TV series, and the outing onto the big screen was perhaps as much as an experience for them, as watching the film was to me.

If your idea of a vampire movie is one with bats, capes, crucifixes and coffins, then this is not for you. But, it is still worth a look.

Darnmay

9th September 2007

In this late 70's Australian horror, Kate Davis is abducted by a strange Brotherhood, a secret society of vampires, and is taken to their farm where humans are kept as cattle to feed upon.

There Kate learns that she is a direct descendant of Elizabeth Bathory, but refuses to accept her birthright as a vampire that the Brotherhood are determined she will inherit.

Good, atmospheric horror has good acting, direction and score, and the modern day vampire farm theme is certainly interesting. Not much character development or plot, but great production, special effects (for the time) and direction means this film is well worth watching.

8 out of 10.

Rod Hardy, the director isn't well known for his flicks. He's still in the business doing series like Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica and back in those days the much acclaimed Return To Eden. Not only that, he also made a lot of TV movies but back in 1979 he made his one and only feature for the cinema's, Thirst.

Just when the Hammers and Amicus releases were over and not popular any more and just before the heydays and start of the slashers he made this beautiful Gothic story. As so many did it is based on the story of Elisabeth Bathory but then again not really. It's about a woman having a normal life being chosen by a Brotherhood to become a vampire. But the score and the atmosphere are sublime. And this flick really needs the Gothic atmosphere because it never becomes really bloody or even gory. The red stuff do flows but not that often. There isn't even gratuitous nudity a thing that was a must be back then although Chantal do appear naked. But what the movie makes watchable is the performance by Chantal Contouri. The expressions on her face, excellent.

There are some other well known actors in it especially from the horror genre or faces like Henry Silva. This is one of those gems that still haven't seen a proper release. Oh yes, it's out on DVD but the sound is really bad. Nevertheless, worth watching if you like the old British Hammers and Amicus flicks.

If you're looking for a vampire movie that's a little different, this is it. This movie is a total classic. It's about a cult of humans who keep a farm of other humans and milk them for their blood. This cult abducts a woman who is the direct descendant of their founder, Elizabeth Bathory. The poor woman is horrified at the vampirism and the cult continually tries to force her into drinking blood. It's a wonderful, creepy, scary, weird vampire film. This one is a must see for you vampire enthusiasts.

"Thirst" follows a businesswoman, Kate, who is seemingly kidnapped at random by a cult of blood-suckers who believe her to be an ancestry famous blood-bather Elizabeth Bathory. With Kate captive, they attempt to recruit her into their neo-vampire cabal, which harvests blood from live individuals to feed the thirsty.

This little-seen Australian vampire flick is one of the stranger horror offerings produced by the nation, colliding the ancient vampire myth with a new-age industrialized element wherein blood is harvested from living subjects (or rather, prisoners) in a secret group who maintain their own self-sustaining compound. The Elizabeth Bathory connection seems arbitrary to some degree, though it serves as the plot device that gets our protagonist in the clutches of these blood-thirsty monsters.

"Thirst" is a very unconventional vampire film, and much of it plays out with a dreamy, surreal quality as the cult attempts to coerce Kate into joining them. Their use of hallucinogenic drugs and other methods of manipulation to psychologically dislocate her are also utilized to dislocate the viewer, leaving the audience in the half-waking dreamlike state she is experiencing. The lush compound location adds to the sense of otherworldliness here, as do the off-kilter performances and characters. The film ramps up in the last act into more conventional gothic vampire territory, but still keeps a firmly modern twist.

While it may not appease fans of the classic vampire film, "Thirst" functions nicely as a surreal modern approach to an ancient story. The imagery and general sense of strangeness that permeates here is at times intoxicating, and relentlessly weird. Very much worth watching for genre fans who are open to something a bit left-of-center. 7/10.

Thematically old-fashioned (vampirism, brain-washing, hypnotism) and dramatically uninvolving thriller does have some suspenseful scenes and a good performance by David Hemmings. But everything is revealed to the viewer too early, leaving no surprises in store for us. (**)

Generally the movie is slow, but memorable.

I remember watching this when I was a teenager. It was shown on Channel 50's "Creature Feature" sometime in the mid-80's. The plot is as mentioned in the other comments here, but I remember most the vampire Candid Camera moment when the main actress is undergoing forced "vampirization" therapy which consists of a the fake vampire cult sneaking human blood into everything. Initially shocking, when carried to multiple instances it all becomes hilarious.

The scenes that stick in my mind.

The lady goes to the fridge, opens up a milk carton, drinks from it and (SURPRISE!) you see blood streaming down from the edges of her mouth. She reacts as if nearly vomiting and the shock diminishes as these instances are repeated like a series of bloody pranks.

It seems like she cannot eat or drink anything without it having blood previously injected into it.

She goes on a picnic with her cute mustached boyfriend, bites into a deep fried chicken leg and golly gee, it also is squirting out blood like some weird prank.

The one uplifting star of wannabe "Vampire Candid Camera" is that there is a fellow that I mistook for Patrick Macnee (one of the stars of the 1966 British TV series "The Avengers"), but he only plays a minor role.

I'm a big fan of ingenuity in movies, and if a film offers something different from what has gone before it; it's bound to be liked by me. Thirst offers a new take on the classic vampire legend, and it works to fairly good effect. While it retains some aspects of the classic vampire story (fangs for example), it adds enough in to make it unique and the whole idea of vampires farming humans for blood is both ingenious and fascinating, while leaving lots of room for the film to create something fresh and exciting out of it. The plot harks back to the beginnings of the vampire legend with a descendant of one of it's founding figures; Elizabeth Bathory. This descendant is tracked down by a vampiric cult that wants to induct her into their ways. This cult owns a place called "the farm", in which they effectively farm humans for their blood, in much the same way as we farm cows for milk. The descendant, as you might expect doesn't want to be a part of this cult but they persevere and what follows is a psychological horror film, as she gradually makes her decent into madness.

Thirst is extremely surreal, and it capitalises on the strange idea of humans being farmed very effectively. The cleanness of the operation clashes well with the macabre element of the film, and the result is a setting that is totally unique to this movie. The psychological element of the story is very well done, which is lucky as it makes up the backbone of the film. It's constantly invigorating as we watch our heroine descend into madness, and through the way that the story is told we are never really sure of what's going on; much like our central character. The music helps to emphasise this confusion, as it's pounding tones continually bewilder the viewer. The film's problems are mainly in the beginning as it's relatively slow to start, which may annoy some viewers (including me, somewhat) and also the plot can get a little too confusing at certain points. Still, in spite of that; this is a more than admirable take on the classic legend and it all boils down to an exciting climax, which ensures that the film ends on a high.

Kate Davis (Chantal Contouri) is abducted by a group that has been watching her every move. It seems that she's an descendant of Elizabeth 'the Blood Countess' Bathory, yes the Hungarian whore herself. This secret cabal of wealthy individuals feed on peasants who live on a commune. It's not hard to find the ripe political symbolism there. It feels like it goes on to long, and the vampire 'effects' are incredible silly. One couldn't help but feel that the movie would have been better served by going to its approach to vampirism the same way as "Martin" did.

My Grade: C-

DVD Extras: Commantary track; Isolated film score; Filmographies; Photo Gallery Theatrical Trailer; and 3 TV spots

Eye Candy: Chantal Contouri shows breasts

It was enjoyable,different in it's type but there is no real vampires in it.A strange cult (probably MAD!) trying to convert an ordinary lady to one of them because she is descendant of their breed. I hope all the movies of "Vampires WITHOUT Fangs or the POWERS of undead curse" not called a Vampire Movies.That's good for the movie it self ; When you watch a vampire movie you expecting the Fangs,Strange eyes & the UNdead violence if you find nothing of these you will disappointed anyway.

6/10

Atmospheric Ozploitation horror concerns supposed vampire descendant Contouri pursued by a bizarre blood-drinking cult to become its star recruit but the conversion doesn't go to plan when Contouri rejects the overtures of her fanged friends. Hemmings, Phipps and Silva (who is miscast) are the main proponents of a modern day coven of blood harvesters hiding in plain sight in a private blood bank posing as a hospital, whilst the uncooperative Contouri begins to develop a taste for the red stuff that she finds abhorrent but physiologically difficult to resist.

Literal buckets of blood become so over the top it loses impact after a while, and whilst the dream like sequences are effective (e.g. The scene in which Contouri and Mullinar cavort by the lake), the film features a lot of moving parts in its elaborate plot, and is possibly more convoluted than it needed to be. I often found it difficult to distinguish when she was behaving as herself, acting brainwashed or was legitimately under the mind control of the cult.

Great set design, makeup and ambience, there's a constant sinister tone throughout, but overall it was a bit meandering and aimless, lacking a knock-out shock to make it more memorable. Contouri was obviously dedicated to her character, and Phipps is also quite effective as a blood-thirsty board member, but Silva is badly miscast in his passive, incidental role as a one of the Brotherhood's chief haematologists and Hemmings is also quite bland. Had the potential to be an Ozploitation horror opus, but instead it's more of a curiosity than a classic.

Although clearly not a top-draw production being hampered by some less than crisp plotting, low budget and a cast tending to the wooden, Thirst nonetheless manages, after a slow uncertain first third to develop into a quiet enjoyable light horror drama.

The production is at its peak when it veers closest to "traditional" Gothic territory - indeed the sequence in Kate Davis' home where she progresses through a spiraling sensory nightmare is almost worthy of Mario Bava - lead actress Chantal Contouri even shares a passing resemblance to Bavas female lead Barbera Steele as she becomes overwhelmed by visions.

One thing that struck me was that for a film made in sunny new world of Australia much of the production had the feeling of the Old World with mock tudor buildings, rough hewn stone and brickwork and lead decorated windows. I can only surmise this was a deliberate ploy as its harder to invoke atmospheric horror in a world of concrete, glass and wood panelling.

Definitely original and really out there in Weirdoramaland, sees beautiful guinea pig (Contouri) abducted by this blood drinking cult, and kept prisoner out in this country facility of brainwashed young folk, who walk around like zombies, and make a great freak show for depraved tourists. I didn't realize just how beautiful Chantal really is, and she carries this film really well with a strong believable performance. And god knows what Silva was doing in this is as one of the nasty scientists, but playing bad is something he's really good at. The movie really screws with you and there are those moments, that are so ridiculous, you really don't bother caring. Those long dream sequences. Are they real? It gets so crazy, and the blood milk, I mean, and the bloody shower Chantal has. I have to be honest, I didn't think the film would be like this. It's bizarre, and definitely unique, but trying to understand it is so hard.