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Movies / On DVD / Heavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures

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Heavenly Creatures (1994)

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Reviews Counted:41

Fresh:39

Rotten:2

Average Rating:8.2/10

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: HEAVENLY CREATURES represented a departure of sorts for horror director Peter Jackson and was the first film to earn him widespread critical acclaim. Jackson both co-wrote and co-produced the... HEAVENLY CREATURES represented a departure of sorts for horror director Peter Jackson and was the first film to earn him widespread critical acclaim. Jackson both co-wrote and co-produced the picture, which is based on an actual 1954 murder case. The two protagonists, New Zealand schoolgirls Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, first meet when Juliet (Kate Winslet in her silver-screen debut) is introduced to Pauline's class as a new student. Pauline (Melanie Lynskey), an introvert who feels misunderstood by her family and peers, is instantly smitten with the sophisticated and self-confident newcomer, and the girls become best friends. Eventually, Pauline and Juliet begin spending more and more time together, withdrawing into a magical land of their own invention--Borovnia, a fairy-tale kingdom populated by lifesize clay figures. The girls' distraught families fear that the friendship is becoming unhealthy, and Juliet's parents decide to end things by sending their daughter away. Faced with their impending separation, the girls decide nothing will tear them apart, leading to an unexpectedly grisly denouement made even more unnerving by the ignorance of their own delusion. A harrowing story of misdirected adolescent creativity, Jackson's HEAVENLY CREATURES is chillingly unforgettable. [More]

Starring: Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, Sarah Peirse, Diana Kent

Starring: Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, Sarah Peirse, Diana Kent, Clive Merrison, Simon O'Connor

Director: Peter Jackson

Director: Peter Jackson

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Heavenly Creatures

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Acted with conviction, and directed and written with febrile vibrancy.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
06/06/01
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

17-year-old Kate Winslet made her film debut in this compelling blend of true crime and dark fantasy...

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/01
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Edinburgh U Film Society | comment Comment
01/01/00
Keith H. Brown
Keith H. Brown
Edinburgh U Film Society

The inner tension of the film emerges from Jackson's enjoyment of the girls' bustling insanity and then his gradual withdrawal from it.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
03/11/08
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Combines original vision, a drop-dead command of the medium and a successful marriage between a dazzling, kinetic techno-show and a complex, credible portrait of the out-of-control relationship between the crime's two schoolgirl perpetrators.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
02/11/08
David Rooney
David Rooney
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Unlike the campy excess of Jackson's earlier Dead Alive, deliberate overkill ltimately points toward a dearth of ideas rather than a surfeit.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
02/11/08
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

No review available.

comment Comment
01/10/08
John A. Nesbit
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews

This incredible film may be director Peter Jackson's masterpiece.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment 1 Comment
02/07/07
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

A dark, astounding film from Peter Jackson, showing his mastery of blending fact and fantasy. A deserved winner of Venice Festival's Silver Lion and Toronto Fest's Critics Award. Along with Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, this is 1994's most audacious film.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
12/04/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Fantasy and reality blur in a chilling film that shows Jackson's limitless potential

comment Comment
09/06/06
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

The movie that first got Jackson & Winslet noticed

comment Comment
03/29/06
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
07/07/05
Joe Williams
Joe Williams
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

No review available.

comment Comment
06/29/05
Jon Niccum
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World

No review available.

comment Comment
04/22/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
02/20/04
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Peter Jackson creates a rich, haunting atmosphere, deftly juggling the eerily giddy fantasy world of the girls and their harsh, violent reality.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
01/11/04
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

No review available.

comment Comment
08/01/03
Tony Toscano
Tony Toscano
Talking Pictures (U.S.)

A disturbing, boldly conceived story.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/30/03
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An odd, but mostly effective mix of melodrama, fantasy and voice-over.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Monica Hayde
Monica Hayde
Palo Alto Weekly
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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Latest News for Heavenly Creatures

December 13, 2005: Critical Consensus: Crown This "Kong"
The original "King Kong" is a movie so loved, and so emulated, that it would seem a foolhardy task to try to remake it. But Peter Jackson is a director who dreams big,... More...

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