Dirtyfrog
07-06-2007, 01:53 AM
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/Images/MoviePics/p/perfectcreature.jpghttp://www.black-magic.co.nz/home/wp-content/uploads/2006/04/perfect-creature-poster.jpg
CAST
====
Dougray Scott - Silus
Saffron Burrows - Lilly
Leo Gregory - Edgar
Stuart Wilson - Augustus
TRAILER
======
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ8AmnYC9RE
PLOT
====
Set in an alternate world with an end of the 19th century theme , humans & vampires co-existed in harmony for 300 years. That peace is threatened by a renegade vampire bent upon creating a new world order for the vastly superior vampire. A high-ranking vampire (Silus) and a human female cop (Lilly) who was bitten by the main villain ( Edgar ) team up to catch the elusive rebel so that balance is maintained.
COMMENTS
========
Just came back from the screening at Fant-Asia. Director / Writer Glenn Stranding introduced his movie with another dude from the directing team .... executive producer Gary Hamilton maybe ? I am not sure. New Zealand's thick english accent is hard for a little frenchy like me. :D The big fatty didn't helped either. Still, I appreciated the "keep creativity alive" bit VS Hollywood's remake/sequel/adaptation.
I enjoyed the movie but I felt it was underachieving on its purpose. It's more of a serial-killer thriller with some gore than a full-on horror movie.
The best parts about the movie are( guess what ) the creativity and the back story. Vampires aren't the devil's creature we are used to. Instead they are genetically mutated humans . They have fangs , a thirst for blood and they laugh at the laws of gravity but no sunlight/garlic/cross gimmick here. Actually they are the religious people in here. Organized as "The Brotherhood" , they live like monks and humans comes to them to donate blood in hope of a vision. Also the "alternate" world is really well-created and believable. I was always thinking about Jack The Ripper's Whitechapel district but with WWII guns , b&w TV and 50's cars. Don't forget the non-stop rain !!! Visually it's impressive. Also there is a lot of hinting toward the love story angle between Silus and Lilly but gladly they didn't go that way.
The so-so part is the pacing and the ending. There is a couple of really good action sequences in there but they are few and far apart. The story drags on and on. The chase to catch the "bad-vampire-spreading-the-disease"is really what it's about here. It would have been ok if the movie ended with a bang but it didn't. Instead , the final fight is a sucker punch. Sad , really.
Acting: Leo Gregory as Edgar is the standout here. A couple of funny one-liners while being the messed-up crazy bad guy he is supposed to be especially in the escape from the ward scene.
Camera : some cool angles and the vent shaft part is really good but otherwise , it's standard
Gore : Slashed throated , fingers in the eye , slit wrist ... nothing too over the top
Final Thought : This movie is for horror what Dark City was for sci-fi.... except the ending
Final Note : 6/10 ..... nah! 7/10 for the effort of trying to create something unique. In this age of lazy movie-making "a la Hollywood' , it's nice to see some peoples are still trying to craft something different even if imperfect.
CAST
====
Dougray Scott - Silus
Saffron Burrows - Lilly
Leo Gregory - Edgar
Stuart Wilson - Augustus
TRAILER
======
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ8AmnYC9RE
PLOT
====
Set in an alternate world with an end of the 19th century theme , humans & vampires co-existed in harmony for 300 years. That peace is threatened by a renegade vampire bent upon creating a new world order for the vastly superior vampire. A high-ranking vampire (Silus) and a human female cop (Lilly) who was bitten by the main villain ( Edgar ) team up to catch the elusive rebel so that balance is maintained.
COMMENTS
========
Just came back from the screening at Fant-Asia. Director / Writer Glenn Stranding introduced his movie with another dude from the directing team .... executive producer Gary Hamilton maybe ? I am not sure. New Zealand's thick english accent is hard for a little frenchy like me. :D The big fatty didn't helped either. Still, I appreciated the "keep creativity alive" bit VS Hollywood's remake/sequel/adaptation.
I enjoyed the movie but I felt it was underachieving on its purpose. It's more of a serial-killer thriller with some gore than a full-on horror movie.
The best parts about the movie are( guess what ) the creativity and the back story. Vampires aren't the devil's creature we are used to. Instead they are genetically mutated humans . They have fangs , a thirst for blood and they laugh at the laws of gravity but no sunlight/garlic/cross gimmick here. Actually they are the religious people in here. Organized as "The Brotherhood" , they live like monks and humans comes to them to donate blood in hope of a vision. Also the "alternate" world is really well-created and believable. I was always thinking about Jack The Ripper's Whitechapel district but with WWII guns , b&w TV and 50's cars. Don't forget the non-stop rain !!! Visually it's impressive. Also there is a lot of hinting toward the love story angle between Silus and Lilly but gladly they didn't go that way.
The so-so part is the pacing and the ending. There is a couple of really good action sequences in there but they are few and far apart. The story drags on and on. The chase to catch the "bad-vampire-spreading-the-disease"is really what it's about here. It would have been ok if the movie ended with a bang but it didn't. Instead , the final fight is a sucker punch. Sad , really.
Acting: Leo Gregory as Edgar is the standout here. A couple of funny one-liners while being the messed-up crazy bad guy he is supposed to be especially in the escape from the ward scene.
Camera : some cool angles and the vent shaft part is really good but otherwise , it's standard
Gore : Slashed throated , fingers in the eye , slit wrist ... nothing too over the top
Final Thought : This movie is for horror what Dark City was for sci-fi.... except the ending
Final Note : 6/10 ..... nah! 7/10 for the effort of trying to create something unique. In this age of lazy movie-making "a la Hollywood' , it's nice to see some peoples are still trying to craft something different even if imperfect.