Four lovely young ladies are kidnapped off the streets of Manila, and are taken to a remote jungle location. Here they find out that they're supposed to supply a primitive tribe with the all-important blood that the tribe needs to maintain their youthful appearance. They fixate on one of the quartet, a stewardess named Laura (Jennifer Billingsley), who resembles a portrait in their possession, and intend to make her one of their own. Only, a tribe member named Baru (John Considine) falls in love with her and takes sympathy on her and her fellow abductees. While not altogether terrible, this is incredibly silly stuff, with dialogue spoken by Baru and tribe leader Ranu (Tani Guthrie) that may strike the viewer as being hilariously ridiculous. The principal problem with this thing is that it lacks humour, and is also a PG rated exploitation / schlock genre piece, meaning there is not going to be enough depravity, profanity, violence, and nudity to satisfy most trash lovers. Also, the direction by Terry Becker lacks any sense of style. The pacing is much too sluggish; it could have been sped up, to make the movie more fun, and there really should have been more action and not just talk. In any event, it's worth it to see the level of 1970s era cheese on display ("The Thirsty Dead" does have an adequate "late show" sort of appeal), right down to some absurd costumes. Get a load of those collars! A climactic ageing scene, using the old fashioned time lapse technique, is a mild highlight. Billingsley is much too stiff in the lead role, but she is a looker, as are her three co-stars - Judith McConnell as Claire, Fredricka Meyers as Ann, and Chiqui da Rosa as Bonnie. They make for fine scenery attractions in their skimpy outfits. McConnell delivers the standout performance in this thing as the go-go dancer who would be perfectly happy to change places with Laura, although Considine is remarkably sincere, giving his role lots of gravitas for such a silly movie. Frequent Filipino cinema performers Ken Metcalfe and Vic Diaz appear fleetingly, and the story really would have been better off had Diaz had more scenes. "The Thirsty Dead" is immediately forgettable in the end, but if one is a forgiving and easy enough to please fan of Filipino made schlock, they might find this modestly entertaining. Five out of 10.
Review of The Thirsty Dead
