New Zealand schoolgirls Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, first meet when Juliet is introduced to Pauline's class as a new student. Pauline, 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 invention¾Borovnia, 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.

Director: Peter Jackson
Writers: Frances Walsh, Peter Jackson

Cast:
Kate Winslet ... Juliet Hulme
Melanie Lynskey ... Pauline Yvonne (Parker) Rieper
Sarah Peirse ... Honorah Parker Rieper
Diana Kent ... Hilda Hulme
Clive Merrison ... Dr. Henry Hulme
Simon O'Connor ... Herbert Rieper
Jed Brophy ... John ('Nicholas')
Peter Elliott ... Bill Perry
Gilbert Goldie ... Dr. Bennett
Geoffrey Heath ... Rev. Norris
Kirsti Ferry ... Wendy
Ben Skjellerup ... Jonathon Hulme

Released on: October 14, 1994 (New Zealand)

Posters, Promotional Stills, On the Set and Screen Captures

Almost all locations used for filming were the genuine locations where the events occurred. The tea shop where Honora Parker ate her last meal was knocked down a few days after the shoot ended. According to director Peter Jackson, when they got to the location of the murder on the dirt path, it was eerily quiet; the birds stopped singing, and it didn't seem right. So they moved along a couple of hundred yards.

At the time of the film's release, it came out that Juliet Hulme had become a well-known author of murder mysteries, writing under the name Anne Perry. She had been living quietly in Scotland, and neither her neighbors nor her publisher had any idea of her true identity. Apparently, the writer disapproved of the way her character was portrayed in the movie, especially the romantic implications surrounding her relationship with Parker.

It was discovered at the time of the trial that Pauline's parents, Honora and Herbert Rieper, had never married, so Pauline was tried and convicted under her mother's maiden name of Parker. Both girls were found guilty of murder in August 1954. Neither received long sentences: Juliet was released in November 1959 and left New Zealand; Pauline was released two weeks later and stayed in New Zealand, on parole, until 1965. The court's leniency was dependent on the condition that they never see each other again.

Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey hit it off so well during filming that they became the two girls. This caused a lot of stress for both of the brand new film stars, and upon arriving home, Ms. Winslet left again to go to Paris to regain herself.

Seventeen of the girls' former classmates were interviewed to ensure the film's accuracy.

Director Peter Jackson has a cameo appearance as a bum outside a movie theater.

The film features music sung by Mario Lanza: "Be My Love", "Donkey Serenade", "The Loveliest Night Of The Year" and "You'll Never Walk Alone".

The New Zealand version of the film, where it actually takes place, has several scenes that were not included in any other release of the film.

Orson Welles' photograph in the stream is a reference to a similar shot in The Third Man.

In 1997, Pauline Parker was finally traced to a rundown cottage on a farm near Strood, Kent, England, where she currently runs a children's riding school. Since assuming the name of Hilary Nathan, the spinster has become a devout Catholic and devoted her life to handicapped children.

All of the journal voice-overs are direct from real diary entries made by Pauline Parker. The characters in the stories (if not the stories themselves) and make-believe world are also authentic.

Kate Winslet was one of 175 girls who auditioned for the role of Juliet Hulme.

Melanie Lynskey was cast as Pauline Parker two weeks before filming began. Co-writer Fran Walsh discovered her at the last minute while scouring local high schools for Parker lookalikes.

A picture on the wall in Pauline's bedroom is a photograph of the real Juliet Hulme.

All the evidence was thouroughly researched by Jackson and Walsh from Pauline's diary, court transcripts, and several eye-witness accounts.

"Once, it was two a.m. and I just couldn't get my head around the scene, the movie was so frightening. Peter took me into a little room, hugged me, and spoke to me as if I were my character, and said, 'You've got to think about this thing you must do tomorrow' and he made me talk it through, plan the killing. By the end of it, I was just a wreck. Then he took me onto the set and said quietly, 'Roll camera'. Because I was just so ready to do it. We had to loop the whole thing later, because the crew people were only slowly coming back onto the set."

"I was reading the script in the back of the car and I turned to my dad and yelled, 'I've GOT to get this!' And he replied, 'Then you will'. And I thought, 'Yep, that's it. I'm bloody well going to'. And that was it. I was so determined. It was something crucial to my life. I just so communicated with her, the story and their relationship. And when I found out, I just couldn't believe it. I was so happy, I cried. I remember I was working part-time at a deli at the time because I didn't have any money and was in the middle of making a sandwich when they phoned and said I'd got the job. I burst into tears and had to leave work because I couldn't control myself. It was absolutely brilliant."

"I had to get that acress. I had to let them know that they would be doing themselves a lot of favors if they cast me. I mean, She Who Had No Experience at the Time. Nothing much, anyway. So they cast me, and off I go to New Zealand for four months, on my own at 17."

"The movie was an incredible experience. I just loved it. But it was also really traumatizing¾true story, lots of harrowing scenes."

"...A startling and haunting film... Blazing performances..." ¾ Rolling Stone - Peter Travers

"...A feverish intensity to recommend it... [Lynskey and Winslet are] disturbingly effective..." ¾ New York Times - Janet Maslin

"...Exhilaratingly weird... Cruel logic and pitch-black humor..." ¾ Premiere - Josh Rottenberg

"...Intense and disturbing... Breathtakingly vital..." ¾ Entertainment Weekly - Meredith Berkman

"...Major passion, seamless narrative... and a berserk admonitory vibrancy... The film is inspired..." ¾ Film Comment - Harlan Kennedy

"...CREATURES has a witty, overwrought visual style that the girls themselves would probably favor, and it makes good dramatic use of state-of-the-art special effects..." ¾ Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan

"...Enthralling and frightening..." ¾ Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert

"...Unknowns Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet are exceptional finds..." ¾ USA Today - Mike Clark

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