Splice

Splice opens with a first person view of Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley delivering what seems to be a baby. They look at it with pride at what they have created. Then you discover that what you thought was a baby was actually a genetically created dog sized worm. This misplaced feeling of parenthood is what Splice is all about.

I'm going to begin by saying that Splice is a very strange movie. But despite how bizare it might get at points it's incredibly interesting and genre bending. It takes the plot of what would be a cliched horror movie and they turned it into a character driver drama about family. So even though it has several flaws its premise is intriguing enough to make up for them.

The movie follows two scientists, who are also in a relationship, named Clive and Elsa (played by Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley) who work at a bio-engenering lab. Effectivly what they do is splice the DNA of different creatures together and then use the chemicals in those creature's bodies to make medications. Their ultimate goal however is to create something using human DNA because they believe that it would lead to a great medical breakthrough (cures to cancer, parkinsons, ect...). However due to economic and social reasons the pharmaceutical company they're working for forbids it. So in stardard horror movie fashion they do it anyway and create a creature that they name Dren (nerd backwards). As it begins to grow older it matures rapidly, eventually looking very similar to a human female (besides the strangly jointed legs and the tail with a stinger). And inevitably it dosn't end well.

Now just by hearing the summary above you would assume that its basically a bad rip off of Species, but it's so much more than that. As Dren begins to mature Elsa begin to treat it almost like a child by giving it toys, dressing it in peoples clothing, even putting makeup on it. And in their handling of the creature you realize that each character isn't who you think they were. Elsa turns out to be incredibly emotionally damaged, and you begin to realize that her motives for creating it in the first place were less than scientific. Clive initially reacts with disgust which gradually morphs into something very different. The movie turns into a character study and isn't really a horror movie at all as the advertising would lead you to believe. If anything the creature is more sympatetic than frightening. In fact the movies weakest moments are when it's attempting to be scary, because it seems that they were just tacked on so the movie could be more commercial. Also Vincenzo Natali can't direct horror very well so some of the sequences near the begining and the end fall flat.

Splice is also acted extremely well. I think it says a lot about how clever Natali is when you look at the casting of Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley. First they're fantastic actors, particularily Polley who brings out Elsa's quirks and tendencies in a really interesting and believable way. Also though they are both very interesting looking and aren't generically attractive like the characters are in most horror movies (AKA Nightmare on Elm Street remake) and this in a way makes them more believable and interesting characters. the performance that is really scene stealing though is Dren, partially played by Delphine Chaneac. The creature effects in this movie are just fantastic, probably some of the best I've ever seen, especially in the early parts. The way it interacts with the environment and how the actors react to it is simply breathtaking.

I will warn you though, there's a certain point in the movie where you're either on board or you're off because things get a little crazy and more than a little wierd. I won't spoil it for the people reading who havn't seen it but it's messed up. It makes sense in the genral ark of the story, and is VERY Freudian, but in the theatre where I was watching the movie it was divided between people laughing hysterically and people really wierded/grossed out. I personally liked it and it's something very memorable, but you might not be able to get past it.

In a way the film reminded me of some of David Cronenberg's early stuff (wow, second Cronberg reference in row) like The Fly. It deals with metamorphosis, identiy, and what really makes you human. But it also confronts way the strange aspects of parenting in a very upfront way. Splice is crazy, facinating, sometimes disgusting, and thought provoking. It's different than anything in theatres, or mabye even out of theatres, and I highly recommend it.