Not so heavenly creatures

Peter Jackson’s film of The Hobbit is likely to be one of the most popular films of recent times. Previously in these pages, I wrote about his earlier work, Braindead, which was the subject of litigation thanks to a rather thin-skinned viewer (“An open & shut case?”). Jackson’s “breakthrough” film was Heavenly Creatures, which was based on one of his native New Zealand’s most infamous true crimes, the Parker-Hulme murder of 1954.

Gruesome twosome

Juliette Hulme and Pauline Parker were schoolgirls in Christchurch in the early 1950s. They formed an intensely close personal friendship, and spent much time together inventing their own fantasy world. Much speculation has since occurred as to whether their relationship was sexual; either way there is no doubt they became extremely close, to the increasing consternation of their respective parents. Eventually it was announced that Parker’s family would be moving overseas. The girls were horrified at the prospect of separation—to the point where they resorted