Splice (Warner Brothers)
Whats the Worst That Can Happen
If you like science fiction, and you like it intense and scary then you are going to have a good time with Splice. This film takes a horrific premise and utilizes every single drop of creepiness in it. It isnt a case of visual horror, but rather this film plays with your mind. It is an unexpected treat made better by the acting skills of Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley.
Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Polley) are research scientists who are also romantic partners. They spend their days in the lab working on splicing disparate DNAs together. They have created two hybrid creatures they call Fred and Ginger and their genes have the potential to lead to breakthroughs in curing some deadly diseases.
Now the two scientists want to take their research to the next level and splice human DNA into the mix. This is vetoed by their sponsors/backers but the couple go on with it secretly. This results in a creature they call Dren. Dren (Delphine Chaneac) has some human features and some human qualities but she is definitely not totally human.
The scare factor in this film comes from the potential for horrible things happening. There is an aura of danger that emerges from the creation of Dren. You are constantly aware that the slightest attitude or misstep could set her off. And as things play out you find you are right about a lot of concepts concerning her but wrong about some others.
Brody is perfectly cast as the slightly weird scientist mainly because he looks and acts like a slightly weird scientist in just about every role he plays. Polley is the more normal acting of the two but she brilliantly lets some of her characters quirks seep through in her thoughts and actions.
The movie is rated R for profanity, violence, sexual situations and nudity.
This is a cautionary film for scientists who want to push the boundaries of scientific experimentation. Since genetic splicing, cloning and other scientific breakthroughs have occurred all that is shown onscreen is not outside the realm of possibility. In short this is a Frankenstein film for the 21st century.
If you like movies that challenge your mind as well as give you a few adrenaline rushes then Splice is a perfect way to spend two hours. It is not a graphically horrific film but it does deliver some chills. You may not expect to enjoy it, but you will.
I scored Splice a mutant 7 out of 10.
