SPLICE

Splice stars Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, and Delphine Chaneac as the creature Dren. Directed by Vincenzo Natali. Rated R with a running time of 1 hr. and 44 mins.

Clive and Elsa are superstars of the genetic engineering world. They specialize in splicing together DNA from different animals to create fantastical new hybrids. The couple wants to use human DNA in a new hybrid, something that could yield astronomical medical benefits. The pharmaceutical company that funds their research, however, is more interested in exploiting their earlier triumphs for easier, short-term profit. Clive and Elsa secretly conduct their own experiment. The result is Dren: an amazing creature who exhibits an array of unexpected developments, both physical and intellectual. Dren exceeds their wildest dreams and, ultimately, their most terrifying nightmare.

Wow. Thats the first thing that I said when the credits rolled after Splice. But Im not sure that it was a good wow. First off let me start with the things I did like. The two leads Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley are fine actors. I would not have changed the cast at all. Brody and Polley were pretty convincing as scientists. The special effects were done very well for a movie with a somewhat low budget. The creature Dren looked very real and the frightening climax looked pretty badass.

Now the things I didn't like. To me there was an unecessary sex scene which was just weird and well yeah just simply weird. If the director was going for seriousness in that scene then I believe he failed because everyone in the theatre was laughing or really disturbed. I mean technically it was beastiality. Could you be really so confused that you would have sex with a half human half anphibious creature with wings?!? To me that was pretty far fetched.

Overall Splice was a good idea but I do not think that it pushed the boundaries on issues with splicing/cloning. It just wasn't executed right for me. Kind of a disappointment.

C-