FAQ

Perfect Creature is based on a screenplay by New Zealand film maker Glenn Standring (who also directed the movie).

The movie opens with a note that says the story takes place in "a world not unlike our own," so it can be assumed that it takes place on another planet or in some alternate reality. It was filmed in New Zealand, but most viewers say that the setting reminds them of 1940s Europe with some 19th century Dickens thrown in á la Steampunk. In the movie, the setting is Jamestown, a slum district of some bigger, unnamed city.

Steampunk is a term used to describe fiction/fantasy movies in which the world runs on steam power as in the 19th century but may have elements of 20th century technology, e.g., televisions, dirigibles, cellphone-like communication devices, etc., or conversely be styled like the 18th century or time periods long before the steam engine was invented.

Like traditional vampires, they sport fangs, drink human blood, are long-lived, and have superhuman strength and speed. It is the structure of their society that makes them very different from traditional vampires. Some 300 years earlier, the vampires organized themselves into "the Brotherhood" (they are referred to as "Brothers", not as "vampires"), gained control of (or possibly merged with) the Church, live the ascetic life of monks, and provide spiritual leadership to humans. In return, parishioners tithe their blood, which the Brothers always drink out of glasses, never taking blood directly from a donor. The Brothers are also the scientists of society. Their previous research into genetic science has allowed them to discover a genetic mutation which, when combined with a certain virus, changes human babies into Brothers. In the years since the discovery, however, all genetic science has been banned. If a spontaneous birth of a vampire occurs, the new Brother is immediately taken from the mother and raised in the Church. Finally, and most tragically, there are no female vampires.

Silas instructs Detective Jones to inform the press about the water and about the Brotherhood's plan to burn Jamestown to the ground. He then goes after Lilly. When Edgar and Lilly sense Silas approaching, Edgar goes looking for him while Lilly tries to free herself from the handcuffs. In doing so, she attracts the attention of an infected woman who attacks her. In their tussle, the pipe breaks and Lilly is freed. She kills the woman then goes looking for Silas. Meanwhile, Silas has heard her screams, but before he can reach her, he is attacked from behind by Edgar. The force of the attack causes them both to plummet to the ground. With Silas knocked out, Edgar tries to force some of his blood into Silas' mouth, but Silas regains consciousness in time to prevent himself from drinking any of it. Silas and Edgar viciously fight each other until Edgar manages to impale Silas on a steam pipe. Silas quickly escapes, so Edgar picks up a steampump and threatens to burn off Silas' face. A hissing is heard, but it quickly becomes apparent that it is Edgar being injected. Lilly has managed to catch up with them, grab a steampump, and plunge it into Edgar's back. Edgar falls to the ground, dead. As Silas leads Lilly away. He stops in front of a building and tells her there is something precious inside that she must take and keep secret. He then kisses her and runs off. Lilly goes inside to find a dead woman and a Brother protecting a newborn baby girl. When the baby cries, Lilly can see the tiny fangs protruding from her gums. The Brother explains that the baby is a miracle, a "perfect creature," the first female vampire created accidentally from the virus that Edgar created. Lilly takes the baby into her arms and kisses her. In the final scene, Silas stands on the ledge of a building watching Lilly and the baby through a window. In a voiceover, he reveals that he's been branded a heretic by the Brotherhood and that they are now hunting him.