Perfect Creature DVD Review
Take a bite out of this DVD.
Vampires as they are commonly imagined nowadays are getting seriously old, which is ironic given their reputation for being ageless. Far from the deliberate, suspenseful thrillers of old, modern representations of vampires have devolved into oversexed speed freaks in patent leather unitards who zip around on wires at the speed of light, spraying bullets at anything that moves. Somewhere Bela Lugosi is turning over in his grave, and not in the good way.
But that's in this universe, on our boring old Earth where modern cynicism has made gothic cartoons out of these once terrifying beasts of legend. What we need is an alternative existencea place not entirely unlike our own, yet skewed just enough to shake off the special ops vampire paradigm. Such a place exists in writer-director Glenn Standring's mind and, with the release of Perfect Creature, we mere mortals are invited to drop by for a visit.
Some hundreds of years ago in this other world, at the height of mankind's greedy obsession with alchemy, a man chanced upon a discovery that would herald the foundations of modern genetic science, creating in the process something akin to a vampire. From that point on, any similarity between their world and the one we the viewers inhabit became merely superficial.
Conceptually, Perfect Creature is almost an entirely new take on the vampire myth. In fact, never once is the v-word uttered in the entire movie. All the basic attributes are therefangs, superhuman longevity and senses and, of course, a thirst for blood. But instead of scavengers prowling the fringe of society, these creatures have come to be the respected organizers of a universal religion, champions of learning and enlightenment, and benevolent protectors of humanity.
From the ranks of this austere membership, called The Brotherhood for they are all male, one stray drop has spilled from the vein. Edgar (Leo Gregory), once a promising scientist and theologian, has turned renegade, brutally murdering members of the human population. Now, with the help of a dedicated policewoman (Saffron Burrows), Edgar's brother Silus (Dougray Scott, doing his very best Clive Owen impression) must hunt down his wayward kin before he is able to unleash the full bent of his rage upon the helpless city.
From the first scenes it's clear the design of the film is of utmost importance. Blanketed in sepia tones from start to finish, the set design, costumes and props of Perfect Creature are a conscious amalgam of time periods ranging from the Victorian era through post-World War II England, with hinted technological aspects almost science fiction in nature. In one early sequence, a futuristic zeppelin passes overhead as a horse-drawn carriage nearly collides with a steam-powered 1930s automobile. In a laboratory nearby, potions bubble through curling glass tubes with tarnished brass fittings, while computer screens and advanced video monitors flicker to life. It's a similar technique to those used in Dark City and Gattaca and it works well here. The faded newspaper color palate, however, is probably too much. It matches the nostalgic, delipidated feel of the rest of the film's design elements, but such a pervasively presented framework doesn't need further reinforcement.
Politically speaking, Perfect Creature presents some intriguing notions. The Brothers are at once the bringers of knowledge, yet they vehemently oppose certain branches of genetic research. Ostensibly this is because under mankind's stewardship, genetic engineering has created a devastatingly lethal strain of plague-like influenza that must be constantly vaccinated against. But beneath the veneer of protectionism is a self-serving monopoly through which the Brotherhood seeks to create more of its own kind, having seen seven decades pass without a single new Brother's birth.
There are plenty of statements to be read here regarding the anti-science positions of many sects of modern Christianity, but none of them are examined fully and such is the nature of the streamlined script Standring has produced. These and other themes are merely food for thought, casually acknowledged as the unavoidable byproduct of dealing with hotbutton issues like embryonic research.
Given all the thought-provoking capacity of the concept and the bountiful artistry of its execution, perhaps the only unfortunate bits are the hackneyed action sequences. Alas, even a proposition as cunning and refreshing as Perfect Creature seems unable to completely avoid the need to augment its characters' movements with stuntmen, wire work and accelerated playback speeds. Even the relatively few moments when such contrivances are utilized are too numerous, and Perfect Creature loses its footing when it relies on the stale action-vampire idiom. Even so, this movie creates such an inviting world and does so many things right, its few missteps are perfectly forgivable.
Score: 7 out of 10
The Bottom Line
A novel take on a myth that's gotten comically exaggerated, Perfect Creature lives in a delicious realm of vampiric possibilities. Its chic style, lovely presentation and lean story are stark, unassuming and utterly effective, creating a world deserving of further investigation. Well mastered video and audio complete the picture, though it's a shame there aren't a few more added features.
And it has been one of my most anticipated wishlist movies for three years now, damn you Fox. 
