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Released by: Olive Films
Released on: May 19, 2015
Director: Stuart Gillard
Cast: Craig T. Nelson, Kim Cattrall, Colm Feore, Cress Williams, Michael Reilly Burke, Blu Mankuma, Michael Michele, Matthew Carey
Year: 1998
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The Movie:
Marine biologist Simon Chase and his assistant, Tall Man, are studying sharks in search of a cure for cancer. Unbeknownst to either of them, a shark/dolphin hybrid (a sharphin, or a dolark?), created 25 years earlier as a weapon for use in Vietnam, has escaped his containment cell at the bottom of the ocean. The creature is soon killing locals, and Dr. Chase, his ex-wife, their son, and their son's girlfriend are caught in the middle of a political firestorm. Chase wants to find the creature and study it, believing it may hold the cure for cancer, while a military admiral who witnessed its creation wants it destroyed, and he'll stop at nothing to achieve his goal, including putting innocent people at risk.
Based on the novel White Shark by Peter Benchley, Creature follows the template set by Benchley's hugely successful novel Jaws. The son of an author (Nathaniel Benchley), Benchley began his career in the 1960s as a journalist. While taking various freelance jobs, he convinced his agent to help him pitch novel ideas to major publishers. One of these was the tale of an extremely large shark terrorizing the (fictional) resort town of Amity on Long Island. In 1971 Doubleday bit, and the publisher used its connections to sell Benchley's story, which saw print in 1974. Even before publication, however, Hollywood producers were given a crack at the book, and Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown picked up the rights. A young Steven Spielberg was selected to direct the film adaptation, and the rest is, as they say, history. The book proved a major international bestseller, and the film, which was released in the typically tepid summertime, became the first to cross the $100 million mark at the domestic box office. The summer blockbuster was born, and with it, Benchley's career was assured.
Benchley followed his surprise hit with The Deep and The Island before a string of lackluster releases nearly proved the end of his writing career. In 1991 he returned to the subgenre he loved so much, aquatic horror, with the publication of Beast, about a giant squid feeding on the denizens of Bermuda. White Shark followed in 1994; the tale of a Nazi-spawned human/shark hybrid, it didn't sell particularly well but was optioned by Hollywood nonetheless. The result was a 1998 television miniseries adaptation spread over two nights—though in other parts of the world it was cut down and released to theaters. Among the cast were such small-screen stalwarts as Craig T. Nelson (Coach) and Kim Cattrall (Sex in the City). And with the television debut imminent, the book was retitled Creature to capitalize on its success.
Creature is certainly an interesting film. To judge by the introductory scene, it should have been an unmitigated disaster, a slice of inane hokum with performances slightly less appalling than those found in your standard porn flick. Yet, once the first fifteen minutes are over, it settles nicely into its plot, and with the introduction of its stars, the performances fall into more reliable terrain. Nelson and Cattral, as well as most of the supporting cast, play it naturally, and the film on the whole works as a result, despite a premise belonging more to a 1940s Universal horror entry than to something from the 1990s. (One can easily picture a young John Carradine playing the mad scientist.)
Despite some mishaps early on, Stuart Gillard's direction is actually pretty good, with a couple of effective scares and some nifty shots, particularly those centered on Stan Winston's kickass monster, which is right out of a 1950s science fiction film. It starts out as a shark/dolphin hybrid that is relegated to the water, but at the end of the first episode, it evolves into a walking, stalking man-shark. The creature was clearly animated in two ways: via a man in a costume and via an animatronic model. Both are surprisingly realistic.
Usually with programs of this nature, one night is better than the other, yet here, both episodes hold up well. There's some great cinematography (and a couple of nature shots that clearly came from another source, while others appear to have been shot with a different camera), and Rockne S. O'Bannon's script is taught and well-paced. For what is basically a three-hour film, Peter Benchley's Creature is fast-moving and entertaining fluff, a pleasant way to spend a couple of nights.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Olive has opted to utilize Creature's original 1.78:1 European theatrical release as the source material for this strong Blu-ray presentation. The film is presented in 1080p on an MPEG-4, AVC-encoded disc. Though there are no extras, Olive has wisely placed the film on a 50GB disc to better handle the extremely lengthy running time. (Creature equates to two feature-length, closely connected films.) There's still a minor bit of compression noise, particularly in the opening credits and during a couple of the darker segments, but overall the film is clean and sharp, with excessive detail that accentuates the gorgeous location photography. There's a lot of nature to be seen, and this presentation is a great way to see it. Grain is largely absent, though some viewers might confuse compression noise with film grain. There are also only a few minor instances of softness, but these are generally caused by use of soft focus and are not a result of the transfer. The Blu-ray does well by the film's colors, particularly during daylight exterior shots or in well-lit rooms. Darker scenes tend to be slightly murkier, with minor loss of color. This is not a fault of the transfer; it can be credited solely to the original cinematography, which was shot primarily with an eye to television, not projection on the big screen. Naturally, stock footage doesn't always fare as well as the footage shot specifically for the film; the images of the sea lion are the most obvious. Regardless, Creature contains a satisfying image that will please most techies.
Each episode is divided into 8 chapter breaks and receives its own menu screen.
The BD contains only one track, which is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. It is an error- and anomaly-free track, which delivers the original score quite effectively. Sounds such as dialogue, effects, and score come across as separate but connected entities; they never overpower each other inappropriately, and each one accentuates the other nicely. Even better, the directional placement of the sound effects, particularly the lapping water (most of the film takes place in or near water), is nicely done. Unfortunately, there are no subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired.
The Final Word:
Peter Benchley's Creature is a surprisingly effective thriller that operates as a throwback to the classic B horror films of yesteryear. Despite its lengthy running time, it's never boring, and there are enough surprises and solid direction to hold the viewer's interest. The climax is particularly effective for television, and there's more grue than one would expect for a made-for-television movie. Just as nice as the film is Olive's presentation of it. By rights, it shouldn't look as good as it does, but the transfer is sharp and colorful with only minor compression issues popping up occasionally. There are no extras, but the video and sound quality is good, and the BD is a lovely showcase of an undeservedly forgotten maritime thriller.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
