Perfect Creature
(Fox Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(2006)
review by Head Cheeze

Just when I think I’ve seen just about every possible interpretation of the vampire mythos, along comes “Perfect Creature”. This Kiwi/British production offers not only one of the most refreshingly original takes on bloodsuckers, but also creates a wonderfully imaginative alternate reality for them to inhabit. The vamps here are a benevolent society known as The Brotherhood; thought to be the next step in human evolution, The Brotherhood serve as a sort of moral compass for their genetically inferior descendents, watching over the humans from their zeppelin fortresses. The purpose of The Brotherhood is to serve the humans, and guide them toward their brighter future as their genetic equals; however, the future of The Brotherhood is now in doubt. It seems as though this superior race is dying out, as it’s been a half-a-century since the birth of the last true blood.
When a Brotherhood scientist’s efforts to find a solution to their breeding problem yields a virus that imbues its victims with a bloodthirst on par with traditional vampirism, the Brotherhood dispatches Silus (Scott) to aid Lilly, a human police officer (Burrows) who garners the attention of both Silus and the rogue vampire, Edgar (Gregory), who also happens to be Silus’ brother. As Edgar continues to spread the disease, Silus finds his allegiance to The Brotherhood challenged as the organization is determined to save face by destroying Edgar and his plague, even if it means sacrificing thousands of innocent humans in the process.

Perfect Creature is a bit of a mish-mash of vampire horror, steampunk sci-fi, and dark fantasy, with a world that melds the noir stylings of Alex Proya’s “Dark City” with the deco vibe of those old Fleischer Superman cartoons. Scientists work in Victorian era laboratories with strangely organic looking computers; soldiers wear World War II era uniforms and wield even older Russian weaponry as they take cover behind 1960’s automobiles. It’s a world of contrasts and contradictions, inhabited by a familiar nemesis shown in an entirely different light. It’s an idea with so much potential, with a world so thoroughly well realized that it pains me to say that, in the end, Perfect Creature is only as good as its rather staid screenplay, and, sadly, said screenplay doesn’t take nearly enough advantage of the characters, world, or concept presented here. We get the well-worn brother versus brother plot, a superfluous love story, and a conclusion that seems cribbed from “Underworld”, all of which could have still worked if the film weren’t so quiet and poorly paced. Even the action scenes seemed somewhat slow and joyless, and I was saddened to see that writer/director Glenn Standring opted to stick with the “all vampires know Karate” combat motif.

Fox releases Perfect Creature with a pair of short featurettes; “Making of the Perfect Creature” and “Designing the Perfect Creature”. These features make things all the more disheartening as it shows that Standring really did have a grand vision that, for some reason or another, just didn't translate to the script or plot.

I really wanted to love Perfect Creature, but, despite the great look and novel approach to the genre, the formulaic screenplay dampened my enthusiasm, making what could have been a truly groundbreaking vampire film not much more than a visually impressive, moderately entertaining diversion.