An independent New Zealand/British production, Perfect Creature was completed back in 2005. 20th century Fox promptly snapped up the worldwide distribution rights, and there was talk of the movie being released into cinemas. And then... nothing. Fox apparently didn't know how to market the film, and after sitting on the shelf for two years, it quietly crept out as a direct-to-DVD release.
Perfect Creature is set in an alternative reality where (compared to our world) branches of science and engineering have experienced different rates of progress. Horse-drawn carriages are still in use, the few cars we see are steam-powered, and airships cross the sky. However, attempts at genetic manipulation began three hundred years and resulted in the creation of vampires - although that word is never uttered in the film. Instead they're referred to as The Brotherhood. Accepted by most of the population as the next stage in Man's evolution, The Brotherhood have dedicated themselves to protecting society, are in charge of the Church, and drink blood donated by willing volunteers. However, a renegade Brother has started committing murder - the first to do so since their kind first appeared - and Brother Silas (played by Dougray Scott) is assigned the task of tracking him down. Despite Silas's protests, The Brotherhood is covering up the fact that one of their kind has become a killer, in the belief that this knowledge will damage the bond of trust between Man and Brother. Eventually however the information gets out, and Silas (who is being groomed to lead The Brotherhood one day) forms an alliance with a human detective (Saffron Burrows) to catch the murderer.
Perfect Creature is an intelligent and entertaining film, but Fox's wariness about how to promote it was probably due to the fact that it contains few surprises and not much actually happens per se. The alternative reality is well realised on what was (by Hollywood standards) a fairly low budget of $20 million. In addition to the different levels of technology, the fashions worn by the various characters reflect their social standing: the poor and working classes have clothing that's Dickensian/Victorian, the middle classes wear 1920s fashions, the plain-clothed and uniformed police have suits and uniforms that echo the Forties, while the riot police's armour and The Brotherhood's clothes are almost-modern. Burrows give a fine but unshowy performance as the world-weary detective, but Scott seems ill-at-ease and unsure how to portray the character of Silas, and settles for adopting a sorrowful expression throughout.
Perfect Creature is set in an alternative reality where (compared to our world) branches of science and engineering have experienced different rates of progress. Horse-drawn carriages are still in use, the few cars we see are steam-powered, and airships cross the sky. However, attempts at genetic manipulation began three hundred years and resulted in the creation of vampires - although that word is never uttered in the film. Instead they're referred to as The Brotherhood. Accepted by most of the population as the next stage in Man's evolution, The Brotherhood have dedicated themselves to protecting society, are in charge of the Church, and drink blood donated by willing volunteers. However, a renegade Brother has started committing murder - the first to do so since their kind first appeared - and Brother Silas (played by Dougray Scott) is assigned the task of tracking him down. Despite Silas's protests, The Brotherhood is covering up the fact that one of their kind has become a killer, in the belief that this knowledge will damage the bond of trust between Man and Brother. Eventually however the information gets out, and Silas (who is being groomed to lead The Brotherhood one day) forms an alliance with a human detective (Saffron Burrows) to catch the murderer.
Perfect Creature is an intelligent and entertaining film, but Fox's wariness about how to promote it was probably due to the fact that it contains few surprises and not much actually happens per se. The alternative reality is well realised on what was (by Hollywood standards) a fairly low budget of $20 million. In addition to the different levels of technology, the fashions worn by the various characters reflect their social standing: the poor and working classes have clothing that's Dickensian/Victorian, the middle classes wear 1920s fashions, the plain-clothed and uniformed police have suits and uniforms that echo the Forties, while the riot police's armour and The Brotherhood's clothes are almost-modern. Burrows give a fine but unshowy performance as the world-weary detective, but Scott seems ill-at-ease and unsure how to portray the character of Silas, and settles for adopting a sorrowful expression throughout.