Review: SPLICE

“What’s the worst that can happen?”

Sarah Polley’s character Elsa poses this question a couple times throughout the film at moments when the audience knows that the question will be answered.  Usually with consequences.

The film stars Canadian superstar Sarah Polley and Academy Award winner Adrian Brody play Clive and Elsa – get it? – as scientists who are creating a new species.  However, a lot rides on these two to make sure that their new creatures survive their birth.  Elsa wants to see if they can bring a new lifeform into full term with Clive disapproving of this due to the morality aspect but more so, it seems, to not lose their jobs.  Obviously the experiment goes awry and Elsa sort of get what she wants.  As the movie goes on their new creature, named DREN – let’s see if any of you get it before you see the film, matures at a rapid rate.  Once it hits that age, things get a little…um….freaky.

Mostly known for directing of the most important Canadian genre films of the past 20 years, CUBE, Vincenzo Natali’s newest entry in film goes back to those roots that made him famous.  This time, a major studio is backing him.  On a personal level, I have always dug his work.  CUBE was one of those great films that benefits from a low budget, interesting characters and good acting.  Fans of that film will recognize Natali’s acting cohort David Hewlitt – who has been in practically every feature film that Natali has directed.

SPLICE is effectively directed and features amazing creature design, even if it is a bit suggestive.  On the surface, the story sounds a lot like SPECIES – please, lets not compare it to that piece – and you no doubt will hear the term “Modern day FRANKENSTEIN tale” in a million reviews you read – but what brings SPLICE from the murky waters of typical B-movie mediocrity is the fact that you have a really great cast.

As the resident horror dude here at WAMG, I do want to warn/inform you that I do not see this as a horror film.   Yes, I know, it has horror elements, but this is really a dramatic morality tale peppered with horror.  The fact that Warner Bros. seems to be marketing this as action horror could be the biggest downfall of the film as an end result of any viewers.  The film addresses the moral issues you would expect out of a film like this while actually hitting your “awwww, that thing is kind of cute at first” strings at the beginning.  What precedes after the intial post birth/fabrication process is a crash course of early childhood to puberty.  Yes, it gets messed up and freaky at times folks.  However, this is what makes the film unique.  It will divide audiences due to the last 20 minutes of the film as it seems like SPLICE was its own beast.  It didn’t really fit any genre because it blended something from everything.  Then the last 20 minutes of the film seem like everyone working on it said “Oh crap.  We need to put a genre on this thing so we can get it sold.”  Unfortunately, this results in a clichéd monster-on-the-loose ending.  It does throw in one last shock towards the end which also results in a somewhat predictable ending that leaves us with that famous quote “What’s the worst that can happen?”

SPLICE is still a breath of fresh air amongst 3D gimmick filled films, adaptations of comic strips and endless sequelization.  It is a film that I think most genre fans should check out, even if I still struggle with calling it a horror film.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5