Movie Review: Splice

I'm a pretty big fan of Adrien Brody to begin with, but I wasn't sure what to think of the previews for this. I needn't have worried. Not only is Mr. Brody doing his usual excellent job here, but the whole movie in general is original and refreshing.

The concept of a sci-fi/horror flick built around two scientists who create a monster in their lab is hardly a new one, but this is a new treatment of the trope for the 21st century. Sarah Polley co-stars as Brody's partner, both romantically and scientifically. As usual, brilliant cutting edge scientists harbor ambitions far beyond the imagination of their petty-minded sponsors and are forced to labor in obscurity on nickel-and-dime projects intended to make genetic improvements for the livestock industry. They decide to take their experiments to the next level and mix the DNA of humans with multiple animal species. Of course, their experiment would immediately land them in all kinds of trouble, both financially and legally, and they are forced to move their creation to a secret location to allow it to continue growing.

Things go horribly, horribly wrong; that just goes without saying, right? The subtext of this movie is not only a commentary on the controversy over genetic engineering (although nicely wrapped up in an easily digested sci-fi chimichanga of fact mixed with speculation), but also the debate between the leading couple over their relationship and decision whether or not to have children, with a healthy (?) dose of questions about adolescent sexuality and (eek!) incest. This is heady stuff if you look at it closely, but it's also some good old-fashioned creepy monster fun. You can take it either way, depending on how you like your science fiction; it's actually one of the strengths of the genre, in my opinion. The original Twilight Zone and Star Trek both did this extremely well. It's one of the things that makes sci-fi such a great thing to watch with your kids: they get it on a literal level, and you get all the subtleties that they're not catching.

The real treasure of this movie is Delphine Chaneac as the freakishly (you could say disturbingly) sexy semi-human genetic monstrosity called Dren. A lot of her look is produced by digital effects and heavy makeup prosthetics, and she has minimal dialogue (um, she's a creature grown in a lab), but her ability to emote through all of that is remarkable. I've read some reviews that said this film lost its way towards the end. I have to disagree. I think if you look at the plot in the right way, you can see the continuous thread of the story quite clearly. The mistake some people have made in their analysis has been to look at the more serious elements alone, without regard for the more fantastical aspects and the need to keep a monster movie rolling along to its horrific conclusion.

This is a wonderful, original take on the Frankenstein, or man-made monster science-gone-wrong, subgenre of horror movies.