Heavenly Creatures (1994)
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Before The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson made a film about two teenage girls and a real murder. One of those girls grew up to become a world-famous crime novelist.
In HEAVENLY CREATURES (1994), Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme develop an obsessive friendship and create an elaborate shared fantasy world. Fearing their parents will separate them, they plot to kill Pauline's mother.
A psychological drama based on the 1954 Parker-Hulme murder case in New Zealand, the film lures the viewer into a secret world of wonder and heightened emotion. You understand the killing not as evil but as a logical endpoint, the last brick in the wall around a sealed, private kingdom.
Up to this point, Peter Jackson was not known for subtlety. His brand consisted of zombies, puppet sex, and a splatter comedy whose climactic massacre is carried out with a lawnmower. Here, the New Zealand gore merchant revealed a register nobody knew he had.
Its two leads were unknowns. Melanie Lynskey was a New Zealand schoolgirl pulled in from nowhere. The other, cast as Juliet Hulme, was an English teenager named Kate Winslet.
The actual Juliet Hulme served her sentence, then vanished and reinvented herself. The world would later know her as bestselling crime novelist Anne Perry.
About the Film
Not all angels are innocent.
- Directed By
- Peter Jackson
- Runtime
- 109 minutes
- Released
- September 12, 1994
- US Theatrical
- October 15, 1994
- Certification
- R
- Country
- New Zealand, United States of America, Germany
- Starring
- Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, Sarah Peirse, Diana Kent, Clive Merrison
More Credits
- Genres
- Drama, Fantasy
- Language
- English
- Origin
- NZ, US
- Studios
- WingNut Films, New Zealand Film Commission, Fontana Film Production
- Written By
- Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh
- Produced By
- Jim Booth, Hanno Huth
- Cinematography
- Alun Bollinger
- Music
- Peter Dasent
- Also Starring
- Simon O'Connor, Jed Brophy, Peter Elliott, Gilbert Goldie, Geoffrey Heath
- Budget
- $5,000,000
- Box Office
- $3,049,135
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Great movie!!
Loved this movie
watch it back to back (but Where can you watch it !?!) with ‘Fellowship…’ – they’re basically the Same Film ! (in a Good way)
James Corbett What a bizarre… but strangely accurate… thing to say….
Why are there Cybermen though
Saw it..
He also put Melanie Lynskey in The Frighteners in a small role.
Reesie Hernandez
Erica Edwards we gotta watch this one morbid did an episode & I know we both listened
Rebecca Biggerstaff oh yeah I remember this one
Love this movie! Very underrated movie 🎥
This was his first film after Braindead, I think they’re his two most interesting films
One of my favorites is Forgotten Silver (which he did right after Heavenly Creatures). I’ll do a writeup on that sometime.
Ok, Bad Taste too… of course
Ross E Tesoriero Brine Did
Donald L Denis they’re from New Zealand not South Africa lol.
No mention of the little boy they killed.
Christine Didur I didnt know this. I remember watching this movie when I was really young and I had a real darkness that stayed with me. I didnt know they killed anybody else.
Anna Hughes same. I was about 9
Christine Didur there’s no mention in Wikipedia or google that they killed anyone else. Where did you get the info about a little boy?
Christine Didur they didn’t kill a little boy
Their obsession with each was creepy, but apparently this is a thing.
Irene VU you know it’s a true story?
Carly Jane Yes, that’s why I called it a creepy obsession and that they are not the only set of girls to do that weird sort of thing.
This movie is for the strong minded, I’d say 🤔
Mate I accidentally watched this as a kid. The ending effed me up for YEARS
It was the film that convinced me PJ could handle LOTR
The ending is just devastating
Courtney
Becky I knew it! Amazing
I just recently watched Meet The Feebles, his second full length movie after Bad Taste, and man it’s like watching something that feels like a Jim Henson movie written while he was taking a ton of LSD and speed. Wild fever dream/nightmare vibes and a trip to watch.
Rosemary Guild the best thing is the Muppet actually mentioned them once as that bad trip to New Zealand lol made my day.
Rosemary Guildim still not over their rhyming “sodomy” with “odd of me”
Bad taste was pretty great 🤣
Saw it in the theatre when it was released. Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey are amazing in it. I will pretty much watch anything these ladies are in.
I watched this movie so many times, it is beautiful even with the murderous theme.
Brian Swinford
Sebastian Watson it’s that weird movie we watched!
Amanda Smith I was just talking to you about this one!
Such a good movie. I always thought it should be made into a straight play for the stage.
Yikes, definitely makes him seem like a creepy pervert.
You can watch it on YouTube.
What about “forgotten silver”
His “documentary” about filmaker Colin McKenzie 🤣😂
Asiya Graham yes! My favorite Peter Jackson movie actually!
Anywhere But Hollywood 🫡
Asiya Graham I saw that in New Zealand when it was first broadcast. Very cleverly done and seemed so true.
So Brilliantly Clever: Parker, Hulme and the Murder That Shocked the World (also published as Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century) by Peter Graham is a great non-fiction look at the true story
Sonya Reed thank you, I’ll look for this.
This movie really held me back from coming out.
LOVETHiSFiLMSoooMuCH🙌🏻⚡️
Casey Newnham
John Garland
The Simpsons did a parody of the film in the episode Lisa the Drama Queen. Emily Blunt voices the other girl. 👍😀
Jessica Wade i was just going to ask if that was what the episode was!
Thank you for this info haha
Jessica Wade The kingdom of Equalia. Hilarious episode
Black Sheep was pretty great too. 🤣
One of the best movies ever
I remember I was a big fan of Anne Perry and had been reading her Thomas Pitt series. I was a bit creeped out when I realized this film was her story. I read a bio of her. There was a lot to the situation but it was murder.
Jill Scott Emery same, discovered a Thomas Pitt book and got hooked, then moved on to Monk which was also excellent. Only found out well after about her background and it was quite surreal. She was a brilliant writer though
Sabine Kooyman perhaps channelling her urges into writing instead…
Anna Kyle What “urges”?
Tammy Smith Karn murderous
Anna Kyle You haven’t seen the movie
The murder wasn’t impulsive, based on an urge; it’s more complex than that
It’s not like Anne Perry has been in the verge of murdering people since she was a teen
Tammy Smith Karn to be fair, no I haven’t. That image just looks very psycho. However, I would think that planning out a real murder would enable a certain way of looking at things that would make imagining them have more depth. Most murders are pretty impulse related (as in not thought out, split second decisions).
Jill Scott Emery no there wasn’t!!!! As if your making excuses . The way that mother was killed was sadistic and hateful , they literally bashed her brains in over and over till nothing.
It was a great movie! 
The ones I like by him are Brain dead and frighteners
This movie made me sick but just because it was so realistic. I was working at a video store when it came out and had no idea of the content, I was just curious. I was so surprised and shocked by it all. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I found out it was true. That spent my mind reeling more.
Love this movie. Kate and Melanie were exceptional❤️
Sky Juby have you seen this?
Kelsey Kennedy i’ve not!
A beautiful film about a tragic event
I love this film
Amazing movie. Really weird to watch with my mom, two weeks after coming out.
I saw this when it came out. Loved it. Also loved Braindead and The Frighteners.
I did a presentation on this film for my queer cinema class in college haha it’s so good and so weird
I’m curious to know how your presentation turned out!
Such a good movie.
We had to study this movie for Media Studies at high school – we did a whole semester on Peter Jackson and his comparisons to other horror directors.
I didn’t know Melanie Lynskey was a NZer!
I just watched it on You Tube. The girls are phenomenal.
Judy 👍❤️
I was obsessed with this movie (and the real crime) there used to be an extensive FAQ on the web about this movie. If you can find it, it’s fascinating.
This movie is absolutely gorgeous. I think it’s his best.
I’m proud to say I knew who Peter Jackson was before “LOTR”, Kate Winslet before “Titanic”, and Melanie Lynskey before “Ever After” because of this film.
It was a very solid movie.
Such a good movie.
Great film
Puppet sex??
Amanda right ?! I need to know more
Love this movie! This was when I was first introduced to Melanie Lynskey. Been following her career ever since. She’s a talented actress. Interesting true crime story too.
Love this movie so much.
Wow thank you for sharing this. I didn’t know.
I remember finding this story about one of my favourite authors. Wild.
Anne Perry’s books, and the characters in them are great. When I found out that she was Hulme it was easy to understand why her “villains” were so well developed.
Watched this as a teen in the 90s, genuinely worried that I’d go crazy and kill my mother. Great movie 😂
Caleb Barrus have you ever seen this
Never heard of it, I’m also not a lord of the rings fan 😬🤷♂️
Sarah Holstrom this was the movie I told you about! My first introduction to Kate Winslet!
This was a strange movie but so good
I love love love this movie. I still have it on VHS! 📼
Psycho v 2.0 🫡🫡
Great flick! Both Lynskey and Winslet were wonderful, but you could really see the star quality in Kate.
Sarah Kate – reminds me of stale Kools & garage floor muscat
I freaking love this movie I didn’t know he did this one too
Both are wonderful actresses. Melanie Lynskey’s role in Ever After has always been one of my favorites.
What about Meet the feebles!!??!!
Natalie Smith remember watching this when you were babysitting Brad & Lew?
I thought it was a great movie
Great movie!!
Anne Perry books are incredible.
Absolutely adore this movie!
Omg I had no idea!! I have a huge collection of Anne Perry books. Excellent books.
Its on YouTube, the actual full movie
It’s a flawed movie, but it was enough to convince people he could do Lord of the Rings.
I love this film!
I cried so much after watching the movie and had to hug my mom.
Juliet Hulme became Anne Perry and lived in the uk, died in 2023 and Pauline lives in Scotland working with horses she is around 87
I watched this as a little girl (probably shouldn’t have) and I wanted to be their friend so bad that I imagined i was, and then they did the murder and I felt like I’d gotten in too deep and felt really anxious for AGES that I was going to prison. Super weird experience 😂
I wonder whatever happened to those two actresses?
Hahahahahh jk
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-mWtpnDi60Q
Fascinating movie
Really cool film!!
My favorite ♡
I love this film!
Amber Shauna was always going to be THAT girl
I was obsessed, I love this movie so much! Foundational to my love of dark romance and black comedy(Heathers is another favorite, quelle surprise)🖤
Such a weird film but I remember it very clearly when I was younger.
My favourite film x
Loved this twist true story
Such a great movie!!
Sick psychopath, murders a mother in the most brutal way allowed to grow up and writing murder novels sick bitch