SPLICE- review

Director: Vincenzo Natali
Producer: Steve  Hoban
Cast: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chaneac

Clive and Elsa are a young couple, ambitious scientists that work for a company where they splice DNA from different animals and try to create new species.  They are now both aiming to use human DNA in their experiments but the company they work for  forbids them which leads them to  experiment secretly. The film lacks originality but I think it makes up for this with its amazing visualisations.

'Splice is a big neon sign for scientists of what not to do.  Is it far fetched? Sure it is.  What sci-fi movie isn’t on some level.  But with the advances in science and the whole cloning issue, it wouldn’t surprise me if some crazy scientist somewhere has been tossing around the idea of combining human DNA with something else.  Hello…..scientists are you listening?  Not ok!'

The experiment was a success and the creature that came out looked like some sort of mammal. It was growing pretty quickly and as time passed its features started to resemble more of those of a human. Even its intelligence was  improving constantly. They named their creature Dren (nerd backwards) and they soon get very attached to it and regarded it as their adopted daughter. Elsa insisten on continuing the experiment. What I really found strange was that Elsa treated Dren as her own offspring, prefaring an extraordinary child rather than an ordinary one. Another theme this movie is exploring is the anxieties and challenges of becoming a parent.


'Splice is a hard movie to describe as far as for a recommendation – it’s a cross between horror and Sci-Fi, and while it’s not terribly gory, it IS unsettling and definitely deserves its R-rating. It tells a story that you’d think has been done to death, but approaches it from a new and surprising angle that is… well… I’m not sure refreshing is the right word, but you get my drift.'

Soon the lab became too small for Dren so they moved her to Elsa's mum farm. At this point Dren began to feel changes in her body and was confronted with new and strange emotions. She was basically going through puberty and like any other normal teenager her behaviour towards her 'parents' started to change. It was  very interesting to observe how the creature was gradually transformed from a kangaroo-like animal int an actual human but retained some    animal skills. At the same time, back at  the company, one of the hybrid animals Elsa and Clive created, which was originally female, suddenly changed sex resulting into a disastrous presentation and shocking the onlookers. After the two male hybrids killed themselves in front of the potential investors which raised a lot of questions and put the company in danger of closing down.

Meanwhile, Dren is going through drastic changes as she becomes a carnivore, a venomous sting grew out of her tail and retractable wings were coming out of her arms and back. She becomes very aggressive and assaults Elsa so she decides to cut off the sting.

'Natali manages to elegantly weave nearly every aspect of sci-fi, horror, and psychological drama into his latest masterpiece. It’s not just a monster movie, but also one of the best-acted films of this genre I have seen in years and with no cheeky one-liners or grand-standing. Splice boldly explores the God-complex, psychosexual taboos, cruelty, and tenderness in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways. It goes from monster movie to family film when they begin to raise Dren to a horror movie with a twist you never see coming. I didn’t expect it, but there was some very adult material in the film too.'

The film was showing how sex can sometimes bring out an animalistic behaviour.  Clive shockingly had sex with Dren- a very disturbing scene because Dren was no human but an experiment . Disgusted by the horrendous scene Elsa confesses to Clive she used her own DNA for Dren which makes her a part of her, her own child. Deciding they want to deal with the beast they both go back to the farmhouse only to find Dren drowned . While burying her the owner of the company arrives and demands to see the human hybrid. But suddenly Dren attacks them, having come to life, and now male  like the previous spliced experiments. Dren kills both Elsa's boss,and Clives brother and rapes Elsa. Clive then strikes her with a sharp branch but Dren gives him a sting and they both die.

in the next scene Elsa is talking with the owner of the company she was working for. She was given a big amount of money for her silence. She stands up and appears to be pregnant. I found the film verysickening and revaulting. Although it looks far fetched it's not beyond the realms of imagination and scaringly to could become true in a hundred years time Overall, I believe the meaning of the film is no other but that whoever plays God will soon be confronted with nature's bad side.

Sources:
http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2010/06/07/splice-review/
http://screenrant.com/splice-reviews-vic-63162/
http://www.filmofilia.com/2010/06/04/splice-review/