Perfect Creature DVD Review
Posted by Scotty Flamingo on 07.25.2007
A vampire story without vampires.
This week, I’m doing another blind review on a film that I’ve never heard of, the New Zealand horror film, Perfect Creature. This time, I didn’t even have the benefit of a description on the back of the case, so the only thing I had to go on was the title going in. So did the Kiwi’s give us a good flick? Read on.
The Plot
Perfect Creature can best be described as a science fiction take on the vampire genre. It takes place in a world similar to our own except for the fact that 300 years ago, a child was born that was the first of a group of being called the Brothers. Although the word vampire is never mentioned in the film, it is obvious as to what the Brothers are. Now, in the present, the Brothers are revered as links between man and God. They are the priests, so to speak, of the major religion in this world.
Unfortunately, around the same time the Brothers came into existance, plagues and diseases began popping up through genetic experimentation. In the world of Perfect Creature, Alchemy was not stomped out by the church and there became an odd union of religion and science. On the down side, this led to some early genetic experimentation that led to all of these plagues.
The humans and the Brothers have formed a sort of odd union. The followers of the church go to service and donate blood for the Brothers to feed on. In return, the Brothers provide their blood to the congregation as it is chock full of good stuff that fixes what ailes you. The Brothers also spend a lot of time doing research to provide vacines for the latest flus that pop up.
This is all the backstory. The plot gets underway when people start getting murdered in typical oldschool vampire fashion. Witnesses claim that the killer is a Brother and everyone is trying to keep it under wraps in order to keep the balance and trust between Brothers and humans going. The murderer turns out to be a Brother named Edgar, whose brother Silas has been assigned to track down and caputure with the help of the human police. The rest of the film focuses on Silas’s hunt for Edgar and the truth behind his change in attitude.
The Rest
This is one of the more interesting science fiction/horror hybrids that I’ve seen in recent years. The world of Perfect Creature is completely unique and is a blend of old 19th Century Victorian and Gothic styles blended with the present day and a little bit of the futuristic. There is a real Dr. Who vibe to the whole thing.
The acting is good, but nothing that just blows you away. However, it the performances are solid enough and don’t feel like they were phoned in. The special effects are also solid although it is evident that this film was on a tight budget.
But the strong point of the film is its style. What the film lacks in effects, it makes up for in details. The filmmakers obviously put in a lot of work to make the world of Perfect Creature something completely different with cities with dazzling skylines and a unique blend of costumes, vehicles, and weaponry.
The Extras
There is not too much here except for a couple of Making Of featurettes:
The Making Of Perfect Creature – Short feature. Interesting, but nothing that you would give multiple viewings.
Designing The Perfect Creature – A good feature that goes into the style of the film and the designs of everything from architecture to the costumes.
The 411: Perfect Creature is a pleasant surprise. It definitely has a direct-to-video feel, but at the same time doesn’t feel cheap. I can’t help but feel that this film could have been a successful major release if had a little more runtime (it is surprisingly short at just over an hour and twenty minutes) and a bigger budget. Definate recommendation for you Goth kids that love your vampires or anyone who is just looking for an interesting sci-fi or horror movie to watch on a rainy afternoon.
