When I'm not on the computer working, I'm more likely to be watching movies than anything else. So from time to time I plan to post on some of my favourite movies from the present and times gone by.
Any of you that are also into movies will have surely noticed the attention given to the Twilight franchise last year. Now I don't want to comment on the merit of the Twilight films. They have certainly been a crowd favorite and while I find them entertaining, I don't place them in the category of great cinema by any stretch of the imagination.
As it turns out, however, 2009 did see the release of two fantastic films in the Vampire genre that I want to draw your attention to. The first is the Swedish film 'Let The Right One In" and the other is a Korean film 'Thirst'.
Let The Right One In (imdb.com rating: 8.1 out of 10) rated R
Voted the movie of the year by Empire magazine this dark coming of age tale of good and evil is a superb genre defining movie. I absolutely loved it as it gave a very different look at the Vampire genre because the Vampire in question is a young 13 year old girl. This is a must watch and I couldn't believe it didn't win the oscar until I watched the film that beat it which I will post about soon.
Thirst (imdb.com rating: 7.4 out of 10) rated R
This film by Chan Wook Park (maker of the brilliant Oldboy) again seeks to explore the Vampire genre in a different way. It is about a priest that becomes infected after a blood transfusion that turns him into a vampire. If you are familiar with Chan Wook Parks work then you won't be surprised by the dark, violent nature of this film with many plot twists and turns.
If you like beautifully told vampire stories or are a fan of Chan-wook Park, seeing THIRST should be obvious. Easily one of the best films of 2009.
So there you go if you like Vampire films and want to explore the genre beyond the slick entertainment that comprises the Twilight films I highly recommend Let The Right One In and Thirst. Please note that both of these films are rated R so would be unsuitable for a young/teen audience.
Enjoy,
GuruBob
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