All Time Classic. It's like someone took Tim Burton & Sam Raimi and merged them together, you'd get this. It's a dark drama, comedy, and fantasy mixed together in one of the most surreal things I've seen. The bizarre frantic camerawork, amazing fantasy scenes, and just very quirky original scenes in general are almost unforgettable overall. If I can find one fault the acting is really good but Kate Winslet is incredible in this and no one comes up to her level of energy and obsession. whenever it just involves Pauline it's not as riveting but fortunately the two are together the majority of the time. It's amazing how surreal, charming, and twisted this can be and never feels out of place. Everyone should give this a try once.

Well directed. Feels silly at first but builds creepily to a weird ending. Masterfully reflects the rambling idiocy of a young teenage girl’s mind as written in her diary. Watched on DVD.

Peter jackson's most timeless masterpiece, after the lord of the rings trilogy of course. one word to describe this movie is haunting

Like a fine wine, the experience of this movie continues to improve with age, and I become more and more spellbound after each viewing. The fact that this is a true story makes it even more remarkable. I have never seen a film that balances so well the transition between reality and fantasy. Jackson brings the daydreams of these teenage girls to splendid life. Lynskey and Winslet are beyond wonderful, but I want to give a special notice to Sarah Peirse as Pauline's mom. It is a heartbreaking performance, and my heart absolutely bleeds for her.

Both in style and substance this movie succeeds. It's an excellent depiction of child psychopathy.

I can see why things turned out pretty well for Peter Jackson.

Jackson shows his talents as a director in this dreamlike telling of one of NZ's most infamous crimes. Both Winslet & Lynskey are captivating in the lead roles.

Before he got wrapped up in his big budget Tolkien adaptations, director Peter Jackson made an odd little movie called Heavenly Creatures. When high school students Juliet (Kate Winslet), a confident and cultured young woman, and the withdrawn Pauline (Melanie Lynskey) meet, an unusual bond is formed, ultimately leading them to blur the line between fantasy and reality. A crime film meshed with an in-depth character study, it effectively captures a realistic ‘50s vibe while simultaneously indulging in surrealistic elements. Winslet and Lynskey, both in their big screen debuts, are excellent throughout, as are the secondary characters. While the movie probably won't appeal to all audiences, it's interesting to see a Jackson movie that isn't filled with hobbits, dwarves and elves.

1001 movies to see before you die. This one came across as over the top, but then it took a turn for the odd. Focusing on developing an unusual relationship of odd young ladies and how they found happiness with each other. It delved into their fantasy world in a way I haven't seen before, so that was something unique about the film. It also was interesting to learn about NZ conventions that they had to face. However, I don't plan to see this again. I saw it on STG DVD.

I think the character that I relate to the most in this film is the oblivious, absentminded father who exclaims with glee at Christmas, "I've got meeself a pair of socks!" Having been totally unfamiliar with Heavenly Creatures prior to actually watching it, it seems rather unfair that the only projects that came to mind when thinking of Peter Jackson were Lord of the Rings and They Shall Not Grow Old; the film is one solid psychological horror, initially passing itself off as a preening, undistinguished coming-of-age story trading on a homosexual relationship and some surrealism before revealing the first half or so more as establishing scenes for later character development. The film's strengths are revealed piecemeal, including the introduction of exceptionally crafted fantastical elements (the clay people in a detailed medieval fantasy world) that appropriately deliver both an empathetic angle (the need for escapism and friendship as a young adult), before twisting the nature of this whimsical world to much more macabre ends. The mental rationalizations that lead Winslet's Juliet and Lynskey's Pauline to murder are incremental and well-paced, the only complaint being that several scenes come and go with apparently major emotional outbursts and narrative developments, that are in the next scene quickly ushered away and painted over, allowing the protagonists to continue their scheming. But apart from that, solid and unexpected film, particularly from a director who is so closely associated in popular culture with a different project of a totally different tone. And if you're going to kill someone, it doesn't seem advisable to keep copious diaries detailing your explicit intent to kill them. (3.5/5)

An absolutely impossible movie. Nothing about Heavenly Creatures should work, but because it's Peter Jackson, it absolutely does, helped by a dynamite performance from Kate Winslet that reminds us she's more than just Kate from Titanic. The wonderful weirdness of this movie isn't just for the sake of being weird - it brilliantly pulls us into the psychotic mental state of these girls, in a way that Hollywood could never do. The sheer happiness of their flights of fancy makes us understand just how unbearable our world was to them, and sickeningly makes us root for them, right up until they go too far in the end.

Jackson matures. After splatter horror comes a unique, genuinely sensitive and nuanced fairy tale with a black-as-coal edge. This film is 9/10 utterly beautiful, the remaining tenth being utterly pulse-quickening and genuinely harrowing.

Occasionally fantastical, but ultimately a fairly straightforward biopic of a pair of teenagers whose intense friendship leads them to murder. Winslet seems to be more widely framed for performance, but for me it's Melanie Lynskey's more subtle expressiveness which steals the show. At times reminded me of Picnic at Hanging Rock. Certainly more of an entertaining watch than any of Peter Jackson's other films IMO.

Romeo and Juliet but it's between two girls and it's disturbing. Based on a true story in New Zealand, the story told the growing romance between two girls and the family circumstances that interfered with their love. The movie started off interesting as the two girls became friends quickly and played with each other a lot. Since the two girls loved writing and fantasy, the story incorporated their fantasy to create stylistic elements that conveyed the impulsive and imaginative thoughts from the girls. Despite this, for a large part of the movie I was a bit bored and not sure where the movie was going. However, the ending was surprisingly disturbing. It definitely made the movie better and actually made sense, considering what happens before the two girls' decision. Overall, not a bad movie that showed how teenage youth and impulsiveness could take turn for the worse. 6.5/10

Based on an engaging true story, Heavenly Creatures chooses the wrong focus and is often too weird for its own good. It's never saved by - at times - outlandish performances by Kate Winslet and the rest of the cast, either. Too bad, there was something there.

BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME PLEASE WATCH

I love Heavenly Creatures, such a beautifully done film. The acting and the visual effects were well done and dreamy. Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey did a fantastic job and portrayed the real life girls in the most respectable manner. I like how there is a lot of emphasis on having an imagination mixed with a love affair. Throughout the entire film, the intensity and the obsession between the two are amazing. It's crazy to watch and think how this was based upon a true story and that they committed such a hateful crime. I don't even remember how I stumbled onto this film, but I highly recommend it.

A triumph of a film.

Pre-adventure Jackson film and a true vivid stoy of the bonding of two teenage girls. When Juliet is joining Pauline's class they seem like perfect match. They are both pretty special and they surely make each others lives complete. They are becoming a couple and that's not OK back in the 1950's, especially not when you are sixteen. Everyone tries to ruin what they have and tries to separate them. At least that what's it feels like for the girls - it's the world against them. I dig the story and the production. With it's jump cuts and moving cameras it makes me think of pre 2000 Jackson movies. Melanie Lynskey debuts here, now most known as "Rose" from "Two and a Half Men", and she is brilliant. Kate Winslet is even more amazing and they're chemstry is something that reminds me of "Bonnie and Clyde" or something. It's based on a true story and this is a really interesting take on two crazy young ladies - disturbing and weird. I dig the weirder scenes here, when they're fantasies go wild. Sadly it's a bit dragged. It's build up are too long and it's like they are standing on the same place for way too long. I feel a bit bored and I wanted more out of this film. 6.5 out of 10 clay people.

As a fan of Peter Jackson and his Middle-Earth movies in particular, I was intrigued to see what other genres he can tackle besides fantasy and I was beyond surprised when I came across this interesting movie. Heavenly Creatures is a compelling drama based on a disturbing real-life story. As I had no previous knowledge of what it was about, I found the movie insightful and interesting but not enjoyable. I prefer Jackson's creative mind in fantasies not in reality.