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 In cinemas now (MA15+)
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Runtime: 104mins.
Science fiction horror has been relegated to video shelves of late, and probably with good reason too. There has been an endless number of cheap looking, badly written cash-in’s and remakes that don’t go anywhere near the heights of what David Cronenberg or John Carpenter accomplished in the genre back in the ‘80s. Splice is a breath of fresh air, considering it’s an original idea and has the balls to be a slow burn creep fest that gets seriously out of control by the end of the movie.
Vincenzo Natali who is best known for his directorial debut The Cube takes us into the world of genetic engineering. Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley play Clive and Elsa, rock star husband and wife geneticists (think Mates Of State, but as elite scientists) who have successfully spliced animal genes together to make new animal hybrids. They both wish to move on to human and animal splicing in a bid to revolutionise science and medicine, but are barred from following that path by their parent company N.E.R.D.
Clive and Elsa decide to take the next step in secret, and are able to successfully create the first human animal hybrid that they name Dren. The creature grows at an accelerated pace and Clive and Elsa are forced to take care of it as if it were their child. Which wouldn’t be such a bad thing if the child didn’t have an animal’s killer instinct, a stinger, and bits of other animals. Also they would be arrested immediately for committing crimes against humanity if she was seen.
The trailer paints the film as a Species rip off. Although sex is a large part of the movie, Splice is thematically more in tune with the likes of Eraserhead or every other story where parents are forced to take care of an unwanted child.
Splice doesn’t always succeed, characters make questionable choices, and the acting is uneven between the two leads (I still think they’re cool though). On the other hand, the script cheats and shocks its way through plot contrivances that result in a lot of fun and moral outrage at what was happening on screen.
The production value is also comparatively higher than most low budget Sci-fi horror. Dren herself is a visual effects achievement. Blending practical performance with CGI that makes the realism of the work stand out, and creeping out audiences with something that is familiar but not quite right.
Splice is not a movie for everybody, but if you want to see an awesome creature film that for the most part, doesn’t back down to formula, I’d suggest you give this one a try.
****
ELWOOD LEE
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