Movie Review: SPLICE

If you have ever wondered what a creature would look like if you combined the DNA of an insect, bird, reptile, and human, you don’t have to wonder anymore. Splice, the Canadian movie directed by Vincenzo Natali (he directed the sci-fi nightmare, Cube) has done it for us. Natali, along with first time screenwriter Antoinette Terry Bryant, wrote an exceptionally ballsy, strange and very disturbing (although not entirely original) story about two biochemists, Clive and Elsa, played by Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley, so caught up in the “could we” they neglect to consider the “should we”. Lab partners and lovers; they have used gene-splicing to create interspecies hybrids. Their first successful endeavor produces Ginger and Fred, a pair of amorphous creatures that look like slugs that have been exposed to nuclear fall-out. They are used to produce medication that ensures the health of cattle.

Using CGI technology and the beautiful French actress, Delphine Chaneac; the special effects by Howard Berger that create Dren, the monster, are absolutely seamless. She is beautiful and very scary at the same time. Those legs! Strong performances by Chaneac and Polley (Dawn of the Dead) make this movie watchable. Ultimately, it is a cautionary tale as old as the science-fiction movie genre, but it goes places I’m fairly convinced, American audiences are not quite ready for. We’ll see what happens over the next couple of weeks.

Although some might say Splice is a cross between Species, Alien and Rosemary's Baby; it would be remiss not to put Parenthood in the mix. The movie does not need a big screen (although all science fiction/horror movies work better in a dark movie theater); you can wait for this one to come out On Demand. It clocks in at just under 2 hours but it doesn’t feel it. If you can tolerate the subject matter, it will hold your interest and I promise, you will not be bored. And for those of you who are considering bringing the kids, a heads up; there are 2 pretty explicit sex scenes (and they’re not between Elsa and Clive). Whoa!