Director: Rod Hardy
Screenplay: John Pinkney
Starring: Chantal Contouri, David Hemmings and Henry Silva
Country: Australia
Running Time: 95 min
Year: 1979
Australia is one of the more underrated countries when it comes to their output in the horror genre. Films like The Babadook, Wolf Creek, Lake Mungo, Wake in Fright are all classics for a reason, and when I caught wind that Indicator had a release of the 1979 cult classic Thirst coming out, I had to request a copy to check it out.
I went into the film fairly blind, outside of seeing the striking cover art for this release featuring the protagonist doused in blood, which was enough for me to be intrigued. Directed by Rod Hardy, the film released right as the boom of Australian genre pictures began. Films such as George Miller’s Mad Max, Richard Franklin’s Patrick, and others that caught the eyes of American production companies were being released, and director Rod Hardy took notice.
Thirst follows Kate Davis (Chantal Contouri), a woman who’s kidnapped by a cult who believe that she’s the relative of alleged Hungarian serial killer Elizabeth Bathory. The cult, known as The Brotherhood, drink human blood to retain their youth and they want Kate to be their new leader. It’s a fascinating premise, one that initially hooked me for how bizarre the cult themselves are.
Unfortunately, I found Thirst to be all talk and no bite, if you’ll pardon the pun. While the film isn’t poorly directed by any means, there’s a lack of real urgency to anything that’s happening in the film and resulted in a fairly dull, bloated experience (even at the short runtime of 93 minutes) that struggled to keep my attention.
It’s an ambitious original take on the vampire genre, bringing it into the modern day (for the time it came out) and attempting to shy away from the tropes of the Hammer Horror pictures that dominated the era it came out in. Remember, this is the same time that Christopher Lee was the face of vampires, so it’s hard not to admire Hardy’s attempt to branch out and offer something unique, but I never found myself invested in what was happening, which was disappointing.
The performances are all decent, with some great character actors such as David Hemmings and Henry Silva showing up as supporting characters, and Contouri is giving it her all, which is commendable, but outside of some well-directed suspense sequences in the latter half of the film, there’s not a great deal that really stuck with me about Thirst.
The general reception for Thirst amongst audiences tends to be divided, and I’m sad to report that I felt myself underwhelmed and let down by the film. However, for fans of the film, the new restoration looks absolutely stunning (I talk about my thoughts on that below) and the extras will undoubtedly impress those who enjoy the film.
Film: 
Thirst released on Limited Edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray March 17th via Indicator. I viewed the Blu-ray version for this review. It’s sourced from a new 4K restoration by Indicator themselves and it looks great. The colours are vibrant, as to be expected from the team over at Powerhouse, even on a regular Blu-ray without the benefit of HDR. I can only imagine how colourful the UHD release is. Audio wise, there’s the original mono audio track which sounds just as good. Those hoping for Atmos like qualities will be disappointed, but with Thirst, there’s little need for a track like that. All in all, it’s a solid effort from the team at Powerhouse/Indicator that I can only praise. The following extras are included:
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION 4K UHD SPECIAL FEATURES
Brand-new 4K HDR restoration from the original negative by Powerhouse Films
4K (2160p) UHD presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original mono audio
Audio commentary with director Rod Hardy and producer Antony I Ginnane (2003)
Thirst, a Contemporary Blend (2004, 14 mins): retrospective interview with Ginnane
‘Not Quite Hollywood’ Interviews (2008, 41 mins): extensive selection of outtakes from Mark Hartley’s acclaimed documentary on Australian cinema, featuring Hardy, Ginnane, actor Rod Mullinar, and cinematographer Vincent Monton
Archival Interview with David Hemmings (1979, 16 mins): the actor-turned-director appears on The Don Lane Show
Archival Audio Interview with Chantal Contouri (1979, 24 mins): Michael Fitzhardinge interviews the Greek Australian actor about her role in Thirst, and her wider career
Film Buffs Forecast: Rod Hardy (2019, 154 mins): far-reaching podcast interview with the film and TV director conducted by broadcaster Paul Harris and Mark Hartley
Seeing Reality (2025, 4 mins): stuntman Grant Page reflects on a demanding action sequence in this short video essay
First Blood (2025, 18 mins): appreciation by the academic and Australian cinema specialist Stephen Morgan
Isolated score
Australian theatrical trailer
US theatrical trailer
TV spots
Image galleries: promotional and publicity material, and behind the scenes
Dialogue continuity script gallery
Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Diane A Rodgers, exclusive extracts from producer Antony I Ginnane’s unpublished memoirs, archival interviews with actors Chantal Contouri, David Hemmings and Henry Silva, and film credits
World premiere on 4K UHD
Limited edition of 10,000 individually numbered units (6,000 4K UHDs and 4,000 Blu-rays) for the UK and US
The audio commentary with Rod Hardy and Antony I Ginnane is a nice way to start the supplemental features on this release. It’s an interesting track that’s been on most releases of Thirst over the years, so you may be familiar with it already. In the track, Hardy and Ginnane discuss how Thirst came to be, primarily due to the Australian genre boom of the late 70s. Given the popularity of the Mad Max films, as well as Richard Franklin’s Patrick, the demand was hot and thus, Thirst was born. The pair deliver a solid commentary track.
Thirst, a Contemporary Blend is a 14 minute retrospective interview with Antony I Ginnane, talking about his time producing Thirst, his intentions to be the Australian Roger Corman and his drive to make a vampire film in general. It’s a good piece that offers some interesting insight into Ginnane’s process as a producer.
A series of outtakes from the 2008 documentary Not Quite Hollywood are included, running for around 40 minutes and feature director Hardy, producer Ginnane, actor Rod Mulinar and the cinematographer Vincent Monton. They’re interesting leftovers from the documentary which has me eager to check the entire thing out. Hardy and Ginnane get the most in-depth interviews, running for 13 minutes and 15 minutes respectively, while Mulinar chats for 6 minutes and the cinematographer talks for around 5 minutes. The interviews from Hardy and Ginnane have some repeated information from their commentary track, but it’s nice to hear from Mullinar and Monton, who briefly dive into their time on the production.
The archival Interview with David Hemmings runs for 16 minutes, and features Hemmings on The Don Lane Show who talks about his career in a light-hearted manner, talking about working on foreign productions, as well as films such as Barbarella. It’s a good watch.
The archival audio Interview with Chantal Contouri runs for 24 minutes, and features her discussing her time working on Thirst, her dedication to her role and almost living as the character during the production, as well as other work of hers. It’s an eye-opening interview, hearing her talk about her time filming Thirst honestly, and it’s easily worth a watch. Hearing her talk about how almost all of the effects went wrong during the production was fascinating.
The Film Buffs Forecast: Rod Hardy episode is the lengthiest extra on the disc, running for over 2 and a half hours and featuring director Hardy recount his career as a whole, touching on Thirst, his first shoots and his expansive career in television. This extra is presented as audio only. It’s a highly recommended extra for those interested in Hardy’s career.
Seeing Reality is a 4 minute featurette, exclusive to this release, featuring stuntman Grant Page who briefly dives into the filming of Thirst’s most memorable stunt. It’s a decent watch, although it feels like it’s over before it really begins. The extra is presented with an audio interview from Page while footage and production stills are shown.
First Blood is a brand new 18 minute appreciation on Thirst by Stephen Morgan, made exclusively for this release. In his appreciation, Morgan dives into the unique nature of Thirst for vampire/horror cinema in Australia and it’s a solid watch. Even as someone who didn’t love the film, I could understand why Thirst resonates so much with Morgan and genre fans as a whole. It’s a great piece.
An option to view the film with Brian May’s isolated score is included.
A series of trailers and TV spots are also included, alongside image galleries featuring the continuity script, behind the scenes images and more.
I wasn’t provided with the booklet, unfortunately.
While I wasn’t a huge fan of the film, Indicator’s release of Thirst is a commendable effort from the label. An incredible array of extras and a great transfer that greatly complement the film. Recommended for fans.
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