2/5 not very good
  by Joseph L. Kolb (harris, mn USA)
whoever wrote this movie must have watched: rob zombie flicks, near dark, texas chainsaw, troma movies, and dusk 'til dawn too many times. a pale imitation to these with subpar soundtrack. a previous reviewer stated that there was too much sex in this movie. we must have watched different versions because although there was topless scenes, nothing remotely close to eroticism. there is plenty of gushing blood for you gorehounds out there. this is definately a "rent once only" release. as you all probably know, clare kraemer is in this mess and i got it for that reason. she was far better and more dynamic in buffy. anyway, purchase at your own risk.

2/5 Not as horrible as it seems, but nothing special either
  by N. Durham (Philadelphia, PA)
As The Thirst starts up, it wouldn't come to a surprise if one were to think this is an absolutely horrible flick just by watching the first few minutes. Between some horrid acting and just some generally confusing plot elements, it is easy to think this. Still, there's something about The Thirst that keeps you watching, and there's some depraved fun to be had as well, even though that doesn't last quite long. Matt Keeslar (Masters of Horror: Family) and Clare Kramer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) star as a couple who are recovering addicts, and both get drawn to a vampire clan led by accent-changing Darius (Jeremy Sisto). It isn't long before blood starts gushing like water, and the two face a new addiction while they begin to rebel against their new "family". While there is a great amount of blood, gore, and nasty moments, The Thist doesn't offer a whole lot. There are many times when its small budget becomes too aparrent, and many of the action and effects sequences don't help things either. Even the supporting cast, which includes Serena Scott Thomas, Tom Lenk (another Buffy vet), Neil Jackson (Blade: The Series), and the great Adam Baldwin come off as not being too interested in what's going on. Still, there's enough bloody and nasty moments to hold your attention, and for that alone, The Thirst is worth a look for vampire flick fans.

3/5 A generic vampire title for a generic vampire film.
  by trashcanman (Hanford, CA United States)
"The Thirst" may not be the worst vampire film I've ever seen, but it's far from the best, even by B-movie standards. But if you're a vampire-philic gorehound looking for 90 minutes to kill, you may want to give this a whirl. It stars "Buffy" alum Clare Kramer (murderous blonde goddess from season 5 ring a bell?) with strong support from petite sexpot Charlotte Ayana (most notably seen playing a vamp herself in The Insatiable) and Firefly's Adam Baldwin. Geek factor: engaged. The story is stupid and blatantly rip off superior films like Near Dark and even points out some of the annoying similarities to Sid & Nancy itself.

Yes, this is a story of vampire junkies. Blood junkies. In love. A more obnoxiously and clumsily executed allegory I could not imagine. But for we real life blood junkies, this flick delivers big time. This may well be the single bloodiest vampire movie I've ever seen. I'm not sure if that deserves praise when every little nick on the arm creates a torrent of red fluid so profuse that dubbing it "arterial spray" just doesn't cut it. It's almost slapstick. The characters are almost across-the-board lame, the protagonists unlikeable, the "detox" scene is embarrassing, and I seriously wanted to harm the actresses paying a pair of grimy feral she-vamps who spend every on-camera second making the most obnoxious noises you can imagine and generally behaving like twin spastics on meth (in fact, that's the exact direction I imagine the director giving them on the set) and yet I enjoyed this movie for several reasons. Reasons one and two: nudity and gore, the saviors of many a half-aSzed vampire flick. Reason three: I actually loved the scene where the protagonist attempts to "turn" his friend and fails. I've never seen it happen before, it adds a degree of reality, and it's just a great eye-opening scene for both audience and character that worked. And reason four: the music was pretty interesting and varied.

If I were a bull, I would have demolished my television because all I saw was red. And I wasn't angry. Lots of blood and quality over-the-top gore: check. Exposed breasts: double check (I made a funny!). Vampire family that wants to be from "Near Dark" and Texas Chainsaw Massacre (dinner scene and everything) at the same time: check. Burning bodies aplenty: check. Goth dance club where the undead lie in wait to have blood orgy with unsuspecting sado-masochists: check. Dracula reference: check. This is exactly what you'd expect from a movie titled "the Thirst". It shouldn't be at the top of your must-see list, but if you're in the mood then this will scratch your B-movie itch. A renter, for sure, but not a buyer.

3/5 TRIES TOO HARD TO BE STYLISH BUT NOT BAD
  by Tim Janson (Michigan)
I have a bit of a hard time classifying The Thirst. It's a vampire movie and it's exceptionally gore-filled, but I have a hard time calling it a horror film because it's not scary. I know...a lot of horror films are not scary, or some are scary for the wrong reasons (House of the Dead, anyone?). But it's really more that it doesn't try to be scary. What it does try is to be a very stylish vampire film (even with the buckets of blood) and succeeds to a degree but is guilty of trying too hard.

Clare Kramer is an interesting actress. I've seen her in three different roles, first as the God, Glory, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then in Gravedancers, one of the After Dark Horrorfest films, and now in this film. I didn't recognize her in either of these two films initially until I had to check to see which part she was playing. To me that's a real tribute to her as an actress and her ability to blend in to any role. She simply did not look like "Glory" in either of these two films.

In The Thirst she is Lisa, a drug-addicted stripper who is dying of cancer, a fact she has carefully hidden from her boyfriend, Maxx (Matt Keesler). While dying in the hospital Lisa is visited by a woman who poses as a therapist but in reality is a vampire. Lisa commits suicide but she's already been bitten Sasha and returns to life and is welcomed into Sasha's clan of vamps that includes the leader Darius, a Brit named the Duke of Earl, Lenny, and two rather bizarre women who chatter in an unknown language known just as the sisters.

When Maxx discovers that Lisa is still alive he tries to rescue her from the clan but is captured and given the choice of being killed or joining the family. He chooses the latter and soon is joining them on their depraved blood fests as they descend upon various Goth and strip clubs, slaughtering everyone in a literal deluge of blood. Before long, Maxx and Lisa have second thoughts about their new family and know they need to escape. But Darius and Sasha are not going to let them walk away...

The Thirst is one gory film! The victims of the vampires don't just get a couple of fang marks in their necks, they get their throats ripped out, sending blood gushing out like a ruptured water pump. Entrails are torn out and snacked and on unfortunate stripper has the back of her head torn like a Christmas present. This leaves our vampires covered in red from head-to-toe.

The Thirst goes for a stylish look which detracts from the horror. When the vampires are attacking, the film speeds up to a frenetic, strobe-like pace, and jumps from character to character. Combine that with a techno industrial soundtrack, and it's all a bit disorienting. One of the best scenes is when Maxx and Lisa try to eat a couple of cats and end up with what amounts to a bad acid trip. Kramer and Keesler are able to just go wildly over the top and it's quite amusing.

While the actors may not be household names they are all screen veterans. Adam Baldwin plays Lenny, a backwoods, hillbilly vampire, in a rather wide departure from his usual prim and proper roles as a military officer or government agent. Another Buffy alum making an appearance in The Thirst is Tom Lenk who plays Kronos, an androgynous regular at a Goth club. Also look for Ellie Cornell as Nurse Linda. Cornell is best remembered for her roles in Halloween 4 & 5.

Not a great film but not horrible either. It's certainly different and has abover average performances from the entire cast. The DVD does come with a very wide range of extras including a making of documentary, deleted scenes, Director Commentary, photo gallery, and a "Favorite Vampire Movie" featurette.

REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

1/5 Horibble Movie
  by ~Hayley Cherie (Oregon, USA)
I bought this movie for my boyfriend for his birthday, were both really into vampire movies and books, and it was only ten dollars so I figured I'd give it a shot. That was worst waste of money i've ever done. The plot might have been semi good if it had had a different director, and possibly writer. But as is, it wasn't even funny. The blood was too fake and too much, and they way they went about killing people was just pathetic. It had a very sweet ending. But unless your high, if you want to watch a movie worth seeing you should look elsewhere.