The Thirsty Dead

source: The Thirsty Dead

The Thirsty Dead

"The Thirsty Dead" tells the story of several young women kidnapped in Manila and brought into the jungle to become victims of an immortality cult. When one of its leaders falls in love with his victim, he beguns to question his actions and regrets. This is probably one of the movies that was designed to be scandalous by depicting semi-dressed girls. Nowadays, you can barely say that a lot of sexuality plays a role here, which offers the chance to focus more on the storyline. There are some logical errors and I wouldn't call the plot a whole lot creative but to be fair it delivers a stringent story that is not worse than many other low-budget action/adventure movies. I even liked some elements of the production and I think with a little more focus on those this could have been a decent film. All in all you shouldn't expect too much from this piece, however if you are looking for distortion and are willing to accept a rather fantastic plot, you can still have some fun with this film.

I read reviews on this movie stating that it's reminiscent of the original Star Trek TV series - then I watched the film and they aren't kidding. The entire film feels like Kirk and Spock will show up at any given moment. That's not necessarily a bad thing but it doesn't give the film an original feel or overall look. As far as the story goes - it's strange too. 4 women are kidnapped and taken to an island by a man named Baru and Ranu. The 4 women are relaxed generally speaking - minus one, Laura, and she just seems a little bit nervous but not in a panic over being kidnapped and held captive. Human sacrifices are necessary for the cult on the island to survive - to live forever on fresh human blood. The movie is a mild horror film - it's not bloody, no language concerns and no nudity. It's an OK film - it's not great but it's mildly entertaining in an odd sort of way. 4/10

This imaginative horror take on "Lost Horizon" fails to engage due to poor acting, low-budget and pacing which is too slow. The only memorable performance is that of John Considine in the role of Baru, the sensitive and loving male leader of the Blood drinkers who never age. When he makes the mistake of falling in love with one of the cult's unwilling donors he must pay the ultimate price for leaving his heritage. Considine acts this part well, and it's too bad there wasn't more development of his part and better pacing. His presence creates the only interest in the film.

This film was one of the regulars on the NY area TV's "Fright Night" horror showcase. And anyone who has stayed up late, week after week to watch these movies, knows that most of the movies have to be watched multiple times. This particular movie does get better the more you view it! It has a special quality about it that one never gets tired of. Some people, myself included, thought the sets had a "Star Trek" look about them. For that reason alone, check it out. The "video" version was released under the title Blood Hunt, with inferior color quality. Even still the on location Philippine scenery adds so much. Now with it being available on DVD the improved color makes all the difference in the world. Hey, if you liked the other Philippine horror movies such as Mad Doctor of Blood Island, this is 10 times better! And yes, the Blood Island films are pretty good. Stick with the single edition DVD, though.

Beautiful young girls are kidnapped off the streets of Manila by a death cult that needs their blood to remain immortal. Apparently, back in the 70's the dark streets of Manilla were littered with hot blonde white chicks. They get captured by crimson hooded guys and offer no resistance whatsoever. The movie is fairly typical of these Philippine 70's films. Dark, little real action and the same music over and over, all filmed on grainy high speed over saturated 35 mm. There was a documentary made about these movies recently and apparently, there was little safety on the sets and sometimes stunt men died! I guess Marcos made it very advantageous to make movies here back then because so many cheapo horror/girls in prison films were made there. This movie follows the same format and if you are a fan of the genre because the films are so bad, you'll probably like it. It's a fun midnight movie to laff at.

Philippines lensed story of four women kidnapped by a group of men in monk's robes and hauled off into the jungle. There they find themselves unwilling guests for a vampiric cult that follows Juan, a living head in a glass jar full of a red liquid. One of the women attracts the attention of one of then men who wants her to stay with him in their underground lair. Will the girls escape? The real question is will the audience remain awake? This is a snoozer of a film where everything is in a pastel color and it all looks like Hollywood sets. The film is okay to start (I like the sewer sets) but once we get into the jungle this film goes into the toilet. Its so dull and ponderous as everyone talks but no one really does anything. To be perfectly honest once you get to a certain point in the film you realize that there is no real danger any reason to watch kind ceases to exist. For insomniacs only