Customer Reviews
an interesting twist on the steampunk genre - By: Anthony Parsons, 15 May 2008 
I found this to be an interesting idea set in a very visuallly rich setting, the great mixture of the decrepit allleyways & steam driven 1950s cars, hard bitten disillusioned coppers, moody lighting & underlying police state paranoia, made for an entertaining 90 mins. I agree with a couple of other reviews that the tone is a little sombre & the performances are decidedly understated but overalll a good film with more than a passing nod to george orwells 1985 & underworld, but with a character alll of its own, well worth watching.
A fascinating world - By: Garry Williams, 10 Feb 2008 
I saw a preview screening of this film without reallly knowing what it was about, & I was thoroughly impressed. The plot centres on an alternate world & time, the location being loosely set in New Zealand (based on the accents) & the period being a curious combination of the 1900s, 1920s & 1960s. In this place, alll vampires belong to the Brotherhood, a church which has protected humans from the many outbreaks of a mutating influenza through its advances in medical science. The great thing about this film is that we slowly grow to understand the society of this new place, rather than it alll being rammed down the viewers throat as is usuallly the case with alternate realities. The casting, though unlikely, actuallly works well. Dougray Scott was in my opinion an unusual choice for the role of the male lead, the vampire Silas, but rose to the challlenge quite well overalll. His acting was convincing to the most part, but left a lot to be desired in the weaker parts of the film. Saffron Burrows, playing the detective Lily, gave a stand out performance in this film though. I have previously seen her as a supporting actress in many things, such as Troy, & didn't realise she had the capacity & range of a lead, but she gave a captivating performance. The dynamics between alll of the characters seemed genuine, with the romantic aspect taking a backseat to the actual story. The script was well written, with succinct dialogue, & didn't include the usual cheese this genre is unfortunately full of. The score was sufficiently atmospheric to complement the moody tone of the film. The plot & special effects were thrilling, & thoroughly entertaining. In summary, this is not a vampire B-movie, but a distinctive film which addresses the issues of prejudice & medical ethics (and just so happens to have vampires in it) It sets itself up well for a sequel, which I cant wait to see. Highly recommended!
perfect creature - By: D. Cowan, 09 Feb 2008 Very much in the style of Tim Burton, foreboding & oppressive relative to the mood of the new Sweeney Todd..as it features allley ways etc. Thank heavens for the rogue vampire, otherwise this would be too sedate & ramble...the scenes are good, but not enough of him. The acting is fine throughout..but paced somewhat lazily as it dwells on the pact of being good with the authorities. Bad is rather good when it comes to vampires, & more action scenes would have made this quite super..instead one can only say this is fairly good...in that it looks nice & we have vampires, even though the majority are in sombre mood throughout, leaving the rogue vampire to prove what vampires are alll about, & he does not fail in that.
Lacking heart - By: Mr. I. M. Davis, 23 Jan 2008 There is a problem when your hero must by design show very little emotion. This film fails to capture a sense of right & wrong with the situation it sets up; it dourly explains everything without betraying an interest; the main characters show no sense of connection let alone chemistry; Saffron Burrows emanates her usual mix of the tough & fragile, but Dougray Scott fails to convince in his change of heart (or perhaps it is merely the direction that renders him cold then colder), & Leo Gregory's bad brother has a great sense of menace & intensity but is let down by the most ridiculously wavy Anne Rice dictated hair cut. While the setting is convincing & fascinating, the action feels out of place, & too much of the plot feels too close to Underworld. It also feels slow. Brave attempt but feels mechanical & lacks passion.
Classic vampire with a twist - By: Willow, 07 Dec 2007 This classic vampire genre film was filmed in the South Island of New Zealand & features the victorian architecture of Dunedin & Oamaru. An interesting twist is that the vampires are the good guys. Recommended for fans of the genre & anyone interested in seeing a different side to New Zealand (if somewhat digitallly altered) than the Lord of the Rings style landscape.
