Thirst (2016)

THIRST is an all-too-familiar low budget enterprise shot in the Utah desert. A group of kids are on their way to a tough boot camp, but instead they come across a meteorite site which has brought with it a CGI alien that appears to be a mixture of different creatures. Mucho low-rent action then takes place as the kids are bumped off one by one by the beast while they attempt to figure out a way to kill it. Aside from a small role for THE WALKING DEAD's Karl Makinen, who is reliably good, this is pretty poor, with unoriginal plotting and uninteresting special effects. Films like this only really work when they're bursting with suspense and you won't find much of that here.

Thirst started out kind of fun. By the 30 minute mark we had a nicely established cast of characters (if a little cookie cutter), in a plausible wilderness scenario and I was enjoying myself ready for them to get picked off one by one by the creature.The creature itself was satisfying enough. The sfx, while not great, were passable, and the centaur/biomechanical alien design was unique. They showed it a bit too much imo, when they could have hidden some of the dodgier cgi moments with cleverer direction, but overall the beast was well done.Unless I'm very much mistaken, the director and writer were going for a fun, 80s style horror in the vein of Tremors or The Blob remake. Props for that, because in these days of convoluted plots, a simple people vs monster story is always welcome. However, after the first act, the film falls apart quickly. The characters become increasingly unlikeable as the movie progresses due to really dumb choices and forced bickering. The director makes the poor decision of killing off the most likable and interesting character first, and so the one guy who might have carried the movie is quickly lost. Thirst also suffers from the same problem many indies face - ill fitting music. The score might be fine as a standalone composition but it really just doesn't fit with what's going on on screen. It's tension building when it should be exciting, exciting when it should be tension building, ominous when it should be sad... it's almost like the composer was flying blind and trying to score without actually seeing the film. This along with some lackluster directing really kills any sense of fun, atmosphere or excitement that the movie could have had. Shame, because I usually love these kinds of films. 4/10

Take Alien, Terminator and Blade 2, put them in a blender on its highest setting and you'll soon have a Life sucking cyborg resembling a very large six legged lizard from hell. Now go ahead and throw in 8 or 9 people without an inkling as to what's going on right in front of them, and you've got yourself a B movie aspiring to be even less. Still, it's worth a watch just to laugh yourself silly watching all these morons running around like a bunch of headless chickens. My reason for giving it 9 stars, I'm a sucker-magnet for bad movies, so why not?

This movie is one that certainly shines when viewed for what it is: an entertaining action flick. It's shot in such a way that it feels almost like a graphic novel. Quick, dynamic camera moves, heart- pumping action sequences, big explosions, and a nearly invincible baddie combine to provide an entertaining viewing experience.As with most films in this genre, you won't find much in the way of character development. In some ways, that's part of the fun. I found myself laughing out loud at the gratuitous shotgun-pumping, the Rube-Golberg-esque final sequence, and John Redlinger's character, which takes on the full breadth of the action-hero caricature. Though I didn't feel very invested in any of the individual characters, I found their cohesive whole entertaining. Many of the technical elements are exemplary, especially when one is aware that this movie was put together by only a handful of people in under four weeks of shooting time. There are a couple of interesting long single-shot sequences and some strikingly composed scenes. True, there are a couple of CG moments that are very rough - low budget does have its drawbacks - but the monster itself looks pretty awesome.The music is phenomenal.This is definitely a film to be appreciated for what it is: a straight-up action-thriller flick you'd watch with your mates. It's also a movie that shouldn't be taken too seriously. It's not ground- breaking cinema, but it is certainly good fun, entertaining, and worth a watch.