While not reaching the heights it could have, "PERFECT CREATURE" is certainly an intriguing little film that throws up a lot of fascinating twists on the well-worn vampire genre.
The alternate world created (which feels like a mix of OLIVER TWIST and DUNE) is wonderful, and a lot of care and attention has gone into making this environment seem believable and convincing.
A capable cast do their best (when was the last time Dougray Scott actually smiled in a film?), bringing an effective melancholy to their characters that the script unfortunately lacks. If the characters were as well-constructed as the setting, the movie would have had more dramatic impact.
At a scant 90 minutes (and I hear it is being chopped down for it's U.S release), writer/director Glenn Standring could have spent more time opening up this eye-popping world and its history. At least it doesn't make the same mistake as UNDERWORLD, another vampire film that gave us its backstory in 2 minutes, but then still managed to go for a yawn-inducing two hours.
PERFECT CREATURE may prove a hard sell, as there is very little in the way of action, gore, and over-the-top CGI set-pieces. But the very fact that director Standring has made a film that doesn't easily fit into a particular category or formula, shows that a genuine attempt has been made to give us something different. He comes so close to succeeding.
The alternate world created (which feels like a mix of OLIVER TWIST and DUNE) is wonderful, and a lot of care and attention has gone into making this environment seem believable and convincing.
A capable cast do their best (when was the last time Dougray Scott actually smiled in a film?), bringing an effective melancholy to their characters that the script unfortunately lacks. If the characters were as well-constructed as the setting, the movie would have had more dramatic impact.
At a scant 90 minutes (and I hear it is being chopped down for it's U.S release), writer/director Glenn Standring could have spent more time opening up this eye-popping world and its history. At least it doesn't make the same mistake as UNDERWORLD, another vampire film that gave us its backstory in 2 minutes, but then still managed to go for a yawn-inducing two hours.
PERFECT CREATURE may prove a hard sell, as there is very little in the way of action, gore, and over-the-top CGI set-pieces. But the very fact that director Standring has made a film that doesn't easily fit into a particular category or formula, shows that a genuine attempt has been made to give us something different. He comes so close to succeeding.