SPLICE

Dir. Vincenzo Natali US 2010

I don't expect that anyone had realistically high hopes for Splice. Not only did it come out in early June (when was the last time anyone released a horror movie between May and July?), but it came out on a weekend with three other major studio releases. Most surprisingly though, Splice is a hell of an interesting little film, combining horror, sci-fi, family drama and some challenging/fucked-up gender issues. Definitely not what the masses want out of their summer movie fare.

I'll keep the plot recap short, since I don't want to give too much away. Clive (Adrian Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) star as a couple who work for a small genetics company that is about to get a major contract from a pharmaceutical company for their work in gene splicing. Not satisfied with the results they're getting from working with animal DNA, they decide to throw some human DNA into the mix and see what happens. The resulting hybrid, which they name Dren, matures rapidly into an increasingly human, increasingly dangerous creature which they cannot control.

So. There's quite a bit to be said about this movie, both for and against. I would personally put it in the win column, but my girlfriend, who did not like it, gave me some well-articulated points for the other side. And while I don't deny the flaws the film has, I believe that any genre flick with something interesting to say merits some thought, no matter how inarticulately it may say it.

There are several scenes toward the end of the film (don't worry, no spoilers) that will stick out in your mind after you see this film. They are terrifying, grotesque, haunting, and in some ways, laughably absurd. You'll probably be able to figure out what happens in the first one of them early on, but the film hits you hard and fast with the follow-up, and the ending, while not quite a twist, is probably not what you saw coming when you sat down at the beginning of the film. The movie can be read through the lens of sexuality, focusing on several very specific types, but it also works as a metaphor for stem cell research, abortion and the difficulties of raising a child. It's a lot to address in 90 or so minutes, and everything doesn't quite balance, but you'll definitely have a lot of interesting thoughts swirling around in your head after you leave.

I realize how vague that all sounded. Way to take a whole paragraph to say, "This movie will make you think about interesting stuff." But I really don't want to give anything away. So lets discuss something a bit more tangible. One unreservedly positive thing I can say about this film is that the special effects are well worth the price of admission. Using a combination of CGI, prosthetics and a live actor, the filmmakers have created an admirable addition to the pantheon of great movie monsters in Dren. Starting out as a mostly computerized creature (a weird chimera of a rabbit, a kangaroo and a dinosaur), Dren is later played by two actresses, the 8 year old Abigail Chu and the 31 year old Delphine Chaneac in various stages of computer and make-up enhancement. Together, they succeed in making Dren something truly bizarre, but believably human; alternately repulsive and alluring. The performances, especially Cheneac's, are compelling enough to make you forget that you're watching something deadly, while the love Clive and Elsa come to feel for her is both believable and understandable.

On the flipside, Clive and Elsa's relationship beyond Dren is a bit spotty. Brody and Polley are both compelling actors (Brody a bit more so, but I do have a soft spot for Sarah Polley; she's like the blonde Winona Ryder next door), but their relationship seems to operate based upon the needs of the plot. This movie suffers from what my girlfriend would call Winchester Brothers Syndrome (after the two main characters on Supernatural), which features two characters alternating between being pig-headed and reasonable in order to create conflict in the story. One minute Elsa is the one making rash decisions while Clive tries to talk sense into her, and in the next scene, the parts reverse. I understand why writers do it, but it makes for some spotty characterization. Brody comes out looking better in the end, as Clive has a fairly direct character progression, but I found myself torn between sympathizing with Elsa and wanting to smack the shit out of her for being so silly.

Otherwise, the film is shot very well, almost never relying on jump scares or other horror movie nonsense to keep you on the edge of your seat. The entire movie takes place in the confines of only three or four locations, keeping it grounded and claustrophobic without feeling cheap or poorly made. And I can guarantee that no matter how much you like or dislike it, you'll definitely be thinking about it when you go to bed after watching it. Highly recommended.