Splice (Movie Review)
Don't expect any kind of drastic innovation to the genre, but Splice certainly has its moments.
Science fiction/horror films are notorious for reflecting the concerns or fears of the time. Within the past ten years, as we move forward scientifically, human cloning has been a controversial issue. Splice, at its depths, explores the consequences of scientific curiosity.
At its shallower moments, the movie is campy sci-fi/horror that is as bizarre as it is amusing.
Clive Nicoli (Adrien Brody) and Elsa Kast (Sarah Polley) are two biochemists that are incidentally a couple. They both have the ambition to one day cure some of the world's most devastating diseases. To accomplish this, they experiment by splicing the DNA of several different animals in order to obtain a certain protein. But they soon grow tired of the demands of the corporation employing them — their progress is slow and they hope to make a real difference in the world. This 'difference' comes on a grand scale when they splice animal and human DNA together, seemingly just to see what will happen. They have no intention of letting the experiment grow to full term, but the experiment has intentions of its own. Hence, Dren is born (yes, that's 'Nerd' spelled backwards) – a conglomeration of different animal species with human features.
The film after Dren's birth plays out like a twisted, but cautionary fairy tale. We watch Elsa and Clive grow attached to their creation, and as an audience, Dren wins us over as well. Her existence fills a void in their lives. They do their best to keep their secret monster hidden, but of course, secrets do have a way of emerging.
It is no secret that director and screenwriter Vincenzo Natali is paying homage to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; even Elsa is named after Dr. Frankenstein's daughter, Baroness Elsa Frankenstein. Dren has similar roots to Frankenstein's monster and you nearly expect one of the scientists to bellow "It's alive!" At first, Clive and Elsa can hardly believe she's real, then they hold much pride and protection over their creation, until finally, it is remembered that Dren is a wild, volatile creature. So why jump back to classic horror themes for a 2010 film? Because the themes still hold resonance – if we mess with nature, nature will mess with us. While life with their mutant seems cuddly and perfect for a while, everything goes horribly wrong. As the ones responsible for disrupting nature, they must put a stop to the mayhem that could unfold as a result of their experiment.
Unfortunately, this is a film where the advertising gave some plot points away. While watching, I pieced together the trailer in my head as each familiar line or sequence came on screen. On the other hand, there are several twists in the plot. Just when you think the plot wouldn't dare go a certain way, it does. The biggest shock of the film therefore arises not from unpredictability but rather sheer denial that such things would be portrayed in a feature-length, mainstream film. In actuality, due to the objectionable content, Hollywood backed out of funding it, and Canadian funding was used.
Don't expect any kind of drastic innovation to the genre, but Splice certainly has its moments. One of the more memorable scenes is one of the few gory moments involving a demonstration going awry. There are times when you may laugh out loud at the sheer absurdity of it all. At least, if you appreciate some campy sci-fi with notes of horror mixed in, experiment with Splice.
Release Date: June 4, 2010
Rating: R
Genre: Sci-fi/Horror
Cast: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chaneac, Brandon McGibbon
Directed by: Vincenzo Natali
Screenplay by: Vincenzo Natali
Official Website: splicethefilm.com
Delicious
Digg
Facebook
MySpace
Stumble
Reddit
Email to a friend
Print version
Plain text
Other than that, great review!
I wish the film makers would have continued from those hysterical moments in the vain of the Hitchcock like brilliance of M.Night, but sadly what followed was a bumpy ride to a screeching summer thud-buster.
There are potential soon to be shouted "Rocky Horror", audience lines. We can only hope it stays in the theaters that long. = )
Unfortunately, Act 1 is a different movie from act 2. Act 2 loses credibility for many reasons. Still better than most movies out there this summer!
Would not go see that mess again...
Obviously, many critics did not seem to catch on to Elsa's family history, where her mother was dubbed "crazy" by Elsa herself, which in turn explains why Dren carried out most of those unbelievably awkward and disturbing actions (for those who haven't seen the movie, Elsa injected her own ovum into the experiment, thus passing on her genetics).
The movie is a psychological thriller, Dren is a human-animal creation, she is bound to push the boundaries of sexuality, procreation is the sole purpose of all living things. So if you don't understand basic principles of the human mind and human actions and are unable to process such "absurdities," then you have no place to call this movie terrible.
On another note, this movie is not for the weak and most certainly not for the normies. By the end I was debating whether I was crazy for finding some scenes arousing, but of course my fellow fetish freaks agreed with the feeling. *Again, not for normies, you will feel as though you've wasted your money*
Oh, and dear me, Elsa never would have kept the pregnancy, did she forget how vicious the last embryo was? Unless she doesn't mind the same gouges she got on her arm on her lady bits :/
This is a moving piece, which certainly preys upon the emotional and psychological drama. There is indeed some sexual elements which put many people off, but it was appropriate to the story.
Consider.. a person with superior intellect, major animalistic drives, and all of several weeks of life experience to manage it. Compared to some of the actions of the main characters in the film, Dren hardly seems the villain.
Throughout the entire movie, Dren only once behaves in a monstrous way and in context her motive was perfectly understandable - she killed the cat as a statement to Elsa, like "I'm not under your power".
The film is not about Dren at all. It's about a woman (Elsa) who is revealed to be a sick and twisted mother who abuses her child. It's about a man who isn't strong enough to stand up to her, and the consequences that this impotence leads to. Dren is just a plot point in the more profound deconstruction of all the character flaws that are unique to being female. All Elsa's actions and motives are irrational and self-interested. The couple proceed to do literally everything wrong when bringing up Dren and after going through so much punishment in her short life the poor creature is considered the "bad guy".
The writers must have realised at the end that they had painted themselves into a corner, so they make up the plot twist at the end as a way to solve their problem and make Dren a big enough threat to justify ending. That last twist made for some interesting reflection upon how people react differently to male and female children as they grow up - it completely changed the dynamic of the three main characters in a believable way.
One thing I found very unrealistic was the way the couple reacted to Dren after she grew to teenage years and older. I know the writers deliberately prevented Dren from speaking properly (which is a big deal - if she could have talked back to the "parents" then they would never have been able to treat her in the way they did) but even without a real voice of her own there's no way two human beings would behave towards Dren in the way they did - she was far too similar to a human for any reasonable person to consider killing her, talking down to her like a pet or being so inhumane.
Dren developed like an android in other sci fi - she started as an animal-level creation but then quickly passed through the "uncanny valley" and became fully recognisable as a person in her own right. It takes a really cold and sick mind to be as cruel to her in the way the couple did - at the end I really wanted Dren to kill them both and escape into the wild.
Post your comment