Splice

Okay, this was a movie that took me by surprise. I hadn't even heard of it, and just came across it by sheer random luck.

The story and plot is simply genius, and this is something that should have been put to the screen a long, long time ago. For this movie, sort of think in the terms of mixing "The Fly" and "Species" together, and throw in some extra spices. It was a super nice storyline, but I would have liked to see more about the morals and ethical dilemmas raised by gene manipulation, splicing and genetic research. The movie just brushed easily over this and paid it little heed. That was a shame.

As for the acting and cast, well I would say that the little cast that the movie was centered about really carried their roles and characters well and made the movie believable and interesting to watch. And the creature, Dren, was really portrayed so well, that you started to feel for her and become attached to her.

The creature design was phenomenal and very nicely detailed, as always when Nicotero is involved with something. From the very first moment you saw the creature and up until the very end, it was all cool and nice to look at. However, the wings were a tad too much for my liking. But it worked well enough to show the different aspects of mixing genetics from various species.

The last 15 minutes of the movie, however, were painful to get through. The story totally collapsed here and it would have served the movie so much better had they decided to do something else. It was a bit too sassy and too far out there. And the ending, well you saw that coming a mile away. I would have rated the movie higher, had it not been for the last 15 minutes and the typical Hollywood ending.

But overall, this movie is definitely one you should sit down and watch. It is a unique story and filled with nice effects and details. There is a constant flow to the story, so you are never left bored. And there are a bunch of thrills throughout the movie as well. So watch this movie, you won't be disappointed.

Clive Nicoli (Adrien Brody) and Elsa Kast (Sarah Polley) are scientists of the Newstead Pharmaceutics researching the splice of DNA from different animals to form new genetic beings and find medical benefits to mankind. They have just created the hybrid Ginger and Fred and now they intend to join together human DNA to alter the genetic structure of their experiment. When the senior management calls off their experiment, they decide to secretly proceed and they generate a life form with human characteristics. They call it Dren (Delphine Chaneac) and Elsa is very fond of their creation that grows up fast and showing intelligence. When the company shutdown their experiment, they bring Dren to Elsa's abandoned farm and the scientists raise Dren like a daughter. But when it reaches adulthood, the sex drive of Dren is activated and Clive and Elsa learn that they have a serious problem to resolve.

"Splice" is a dramatic sci-fi horror film with the story of two young unethical scientists that decide to play God. The plot is unoriginal but is attractive and engaging, specially because the trio formed by Sarah Polley, Adrian Brody and Delphine Chanéac. The childhood trauma of Elsa is absolutely out of the context and a diversion to the mainstream. The special effects and make-up are awesome, transforming the gorgeous French actress Delphine Chanéac in a creature with an exotic beauty. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Splice – A Nova Espécie" ("Splice – The New Specie")

Splice centres on two renowned young scientists (Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley) that are quasi-famous for successfully creating a new species of animal, a species with enormous pharmaceutical industry potential in the form of an ability to secrete profitable proteins. Despite a refusal by their company bosses to approve the next stage of the project, or anything that tampers with human DNA, their ambitions lead them to create a human-animal hybrid by combining human genes with those of the created species. This in turn leads to the creation of a new entity they name Dren, which they raise and attempt to study as a personal project concealed from their employers and colleagues.

The story becomes highly engrossing as we follow the creature's development alongside that of the two scientists, who are in a relationship that becomes increasingly strained by a series of ethical and logistical dilemmas. The two central performances are well-judged, but the real star is Dren; or the CGI responsible for her creation, which is always convincing and solid at all stages of the creature's evolution. Vincenzo Natali's visually intense direction is also worth mentioning, and he clearly enjoys playing with a generous budget as compared with his previous features like Cube.

This is, however, no modern masterpiece – the plot becomes predictable and contrived in the final third, the minor characters are little more than stereotypes (lax young brother, venal bosses) and the comedic elements of the film don't always sit comfortably with the horror aspects (there is, however, a notable exception in a hilarious scene towards the end). But these drawbacks are outweighed by the plus points, which makes Splice an enjoyable experience overall.

James Whale's 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" was one of the earliest films to chronicle man's quest (via science and nature, and in notably strict defiance of God) to literally create life by transgressing human reproduction; granted, the result was the hideous, hulking visage of Boris Karloff, but one couldn't help but be in awe of the sheer gumption of Victor Frankenstein and his accomplices. Roman Polanski evolved this idea (via adaptation of Ira Levin's novel) in "Rosemary's Baby," which took the notion of creating something truly awful (the son of Satan) and using it as a metaphor for a woman's self-destruction and paranoia during pregnancy. Larry Cohen's "It's Alive" took contemporary paranoias of a carcinogen-engulfed atmosphere and nuclear proliferation and applied it to his own murderous, bloodthirsty infant. And rounding out this prolific bunch is David Lynch's "Eraserhead," a hauntingly surreal horror film that not only presents parenthood with fearful uncertainty, but treats acts of sexuality and procreation with a metaphorically clinical (but never explicit) disgust.

Vincenzo Natali's "Splice" falls somewhere within this noteworthy pantheon of mad science, moral/ethical conundrums, and icky special effects. Many have already drawn comparisons (both positive and negative) to the early, mutation-informed works of Canadian auteur David Cronenberg, but Natali is just as interested in exploring the questions under the surface as he is showing an astutely creative visual eye. For a while, the film plays like something closer to an art-house feature (especially given the presence of character actors like Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley) with intriguing ideas and a solid FX budget. There are missteps along the way, but for the most part, this is a solid little sleeper.

Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Polley) are young scientists who have made a breakthrough in artificial life: two blob-like creatures (one male, one female) with the ability to manufacture an artificial protein for the purpose of nourishing livestock. In typical, business-first fashion, their corporate overlords marvel at the notion of mass-manufacturing it, and promptly reject Elsa's proposition of human experimentation (to cure genetic disorders). Driven by curiosity, the duo wind up creating Dren (Delphine Chaneac), a creature whose accelerated life cycle prompts the creepily maternal Elsa to keep her as part of a more personal "experiment." "Splice" contains subtle, well-played allusions to bad childhoods, long-term psychoses, and the shifting roles of parents in the eyes of children (Clive starts off as vehemently oppositional; later, he becomes a reluctant accomplice who ultimately develops a bizarre affection for the creation), not to mention the tension between parents amid the child-rearing process; watching this trio interact supplies most of the film's compelling, hypnotic moments. This deliberate pace and focus on character may prove off-putting to horror fans sold on the ADHD weirdness of the trailer, but those with open minds will find much to gorge themselves on.

Despite all the admirably creative spins on familiar concepts, Natali (or perhaps the producers, action aficionado Joel Silver being one) run out of fresh material by the climax, which takes chase clichés and overdone monster effects down a road that exists solely to patch up some character arcs and drum up excitement in a blandly conventional way. That being said, the first 3/4 of "Splice" is such a surprisingly effective slow burn of suspense and dread (culled from universal hopes and fears), played out by actors who know the fine line between camp and creep, that its later machinations are pretty easy to forgive.

6.5 out of 10

Splice is a tricky picture to evaluate, for its ideas are superb. One could argue that it brings a new petri dish full of meddling scientists facing the consequences of their actions, while conversely it justifiably feels like a Cronenberg knock-off.

Psychological discord is in abundance, with its slants on skew-whiff parenting giving the pic a dark fascination, and as unpleasant as the male fantasy angle is, it does hold a morbid interest factor.

Yet come the final third the makers let things run away from them, the bonkers dangers of tampering with science giving way to daft schlock, even managing to be distasteful in the process - while the finale is a weak attempt at a "TBC" cliff hanger.

Lead cast members are turning in good perfs. Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as the meddling science couple hold court well, and Delphine Chaneac as the Chimera splicer of the piece really nails all the various emotional strands required for a tricky role.

Director Vincenzo Natali has shown with Cube and Cypher he has something to offer the horror/sci-fi splinters of film, but this is a mixed bag. A film of great ideas let down by overheating the plot for shock values, while the levity inserted into the play is misguided and damaging for dramatic worth. 6/10