''Perfect Creature'' is a 2007 New Zealand horror/

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

from 2007, written and directed by Glenn Standring and starring

Saffron Burrows Saffron Domini Burrows (born 22 October 1972) is an English actress and model who has appeared in films such as '' Circle of Friends,'' ''Wing Commander,'' '' Deep Blue Sea,'' ''Gangster No. 1,'' ''Enigma,'' ''Troy,'' ''Reign Over Me'' and '' Th ...

and

Dougray Scott Stephen Dougray Scott (born 25 November 1965) is a Scottish actor. He has appeared in the films ''Ever After'' (1998), '' Mission: Impossible 2'' (2000), ''Enigma'' (2001), ''Hitman'' (2007), and ''My Week with Marilyn'' (2011). Early life Sc ...

, set in an alternate universe New Zealand. The New Zealand release date was 18 October 2007.

Plot

In a world where males born as vampires join the Brotherhood and drink donated blood from human churchgoers, rather than being killed at birth as in the past, a pregnant woman ( Danielle Cormack) gives birth to a vampire. A teenaged Brother, Silus, is told that he and this child, Edgar, are from the same mother. The mother, who is in visible distress, reaches for Silus across the room. A hundred years later, the Jamestown slum sees a series of attacks on women, all found with their throats bitten. Lilly Squires (

) leads the human police in investigations. She comes from a workhouse in Jamestown and is one of the few cops who care about the slum residents. A boy who witnessed an attack tells her a Brother was responsible. To avoid public panic, the police claims the deaths result from an outbreak of influenza, which is seen as one of the evils that came from genetic research. Church cardinals ask Silus (

) to work with the human police. The Brothers know the attacks were carried out by a Brother: Silus's brother, Edgar (

Leo Gregory Leo Gregory (born 22 November 1978) is a London born English film, television, voice-over artist and pantomime actor. Best known for starring as Bovver in '' Green Street'' (2005). Acting career Gregory has appeared in films such as the BAFTA w ...

). Edgar sends Silus a recording of his last murder, challenging Silus to stop him before he kills again. Edgar includes the location of his next planned murder. With Silus's help, Lilly puts together a task force to stake out the area. Edgar attacks Lilly and bites her before fleeing. To save Lilly, Silus tells her to drink his blood. When he visits her in hospital, it is revealed that she lost her family to influenza. Lilly has visions from drinking Silus's blood. The newspapers publish a false story of the death of the killer. Edgar is restrained in a spiked brace in the church basement. Silus, who is soon to join the "inner circle", is told what happened to Edgar. The cardinals, worried that no Brothers have been born in 70 years and no female vampire has been born ever, conducts genetic research, which they publicly ban. Edgar has been developing a virus to make pregnant women give birth to vampires. The virus mutated and turned the women into violent psychopaths. Ten of his research subjects are dead, and the last one is dying. Edgar is also infected and insane, although the virus is taking effect more slowly due to his immune system. He vows to kill Lilly and accuses Silus of being in love with her, although Brothers are forbidden to love. While Silus is at the church for his investiture as a cardinal, Edgar escapes to Jamestown. He installs a tap and tube system into his forearm to control the flow of his blood. At Lilly's apartment, Silus and her colleague Jones guard her. Silus imagines kissing her as she sleeps. Edgar bursts through a window and knocks out Silus long enough to take Lilly. Meanwhile, the government institutes a quarantine after the virus spreads throughout Jamestown, and humans riot outside the churches. Silus finds Edgar tainting Jamestown's water source with his blood. However, each suburb has its own water supply. Another cardinal tells Silus that Jamestown will be burned to the ground to destroy the virus and Edgar. He warns Silus his career will be doomed if he ignores the "greater good" and breaches quarantine to save Lilly. Silus breaks into Jamestown anyway. Lilly, handcuffed in the basement of the aquifer, tries to persuade Edgar to stop. He challenges her about her dead child and says her race is good at abandoning children. He finds Silus, and they fight. After injuring Silus, Edgar threatens to disfigure him. Lilly sneaks up behind Edgar and kills him. Silus kisses Lilly and tells her to look after what she finds in a building and to keep it away from the Brotherhood. Inside the building, Lilly finds another Brother, a dead woman, and a baby. The Brother says that the infant is the first female vampire ever born, created by the virus: the first Perfect Creature. Although Silus is branded a heretic and remains in hiding, he watches over Lilly as she takes care of the baby.

Cast

as Brother Silus *

as Capt. Lilly Squires *

as Senior Brother Edgar * Stuart Wilson as Senior Brother Augustus *

Scott Wills Scott Wills (born 1971) is a New Zealand actor who has starred in several films and has also appeared on television and theatre. He won twice the prize of the best actor in New Zealand film and television awards. Life and career Wills studied at M ...

as Det. Jones *Lauren A. Jackson as Det. Stephanie Kelly * Craig Hall as Det. Dominic *

Robbie Magasiva Robbie Joseph Magasiva (born 21 May 1972) is a Samoan-New Zealander actor who has starred in several films and as a member of the Naked Samoans comedy troupe. He has also appeared on television and in theatre, and was the co-presenter of New Z ...

as Det. Frank *Stephen Ure as Fredrick "Freddy" Sykes *

Peter McCauley Peter McCauley (born 8 March 1950) is an actor from New Zealand who has appeared in many television series and movies, mainly in his home country. Career McCauley graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 1973 with a Certific ...

as Prof. Liepsky *Owen Black as Brother

Production notes

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish actor, model and musician. He is known for his roles in the films ''Michael Collins'' (1996), ''Velvet Goldmine'' (1998), ''Titus'' (1999), ''Bend It Like B ...

was originally cast as the villain Edgar, but was forced to leave the production due to other film commitments. At Cannes in 2005 it was announced that

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

had purchased the North American theatrical rights, plus other key territories in what was the largest deal between a major American studio and a New Zealand film. The Steampunk film was shot primarily around

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

and

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the rai ...

in New Zealand's South Island.

External links

* * * {{Amg movie, 292008, Perfect Creature *
Perfect Creature at comingsoon.net
'
DVD Review at Monsters and CriticsOfficial Site
2007 films 2000s English-language films 2007 horror films Vampires in film New Zealand horror films Films scored by Anne Dudley Films produced by Tim Sanders (filmmaker)

Plot

Cast

Production notes

See also

External links