Splice

Vincenzo Natali's Splice is that rare horror film that's interested in its own ideas, rather than in repetitive jump scares. Pity the film's ad campaign is trying to sell it as a cheap modern day Frankenstein story, when it's really so much more. Yes, there is a creature in the film that is created by scientific methods, but its intentions are mostly ambiguous. It doesn't lurk in the shadows, waiting for unwilling victims. It wants to live life in its own way.

The creature in question is Dren, and she is the result of two scientists named Clive (Adrian Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley). They work for a genetic science corporation, and are hard at work at creating a hybrid animal gene that could lead to further research about cures for diseases. They are making great strides in their research, but the corporation wants them to move out of the research phase, and start trying to find ways they could market cures. Elsa wants to keep on experimenting, so she slips some human DNA in with the animal genetic code. The end result is a bizarre creature that, when born, kind of looks like a naked rat with the legs of a kangaroo. But, it has a rapid growth rate, and soon begins to resemble a form that is almost human, yet definitely animal. Dren, as she is eventually named by her creators, grows at an alarming rate both physically and mentally. Over time, Clive and Elsa create an almost parental bond with their creation, although they're forced to keep it locked out of sight from the rest of the lab.

Dren herself is truly a wonder of make up design, CG special effects, and a haunting human performance. She starts out entirely computer generated in its infant stage, but is soon portrayed by young Abigail Chu when it is a child, and finally by Delphine Chaneac for the rest of the film. Both of the actresses give a strange otherworldly quality to their performances, which fits the nature of the creature, which is neither human nor animal. It has wings, it can hang from the rafters by its tail like a monkey, and it can produce a scorpion-like stinger from its tail when it feels threatened. The remarkable thing about Splice is that it treats its creature with as much wonder as the audience. It's not simply a generic monster, but a living creature making discoveries on its own. There is a strong dramatic element to the film, as the complex relationship between the scientists and their creation grows. Clive, in particular, seems repulsed by the creature at first, and even attempts to kill it during its early stages. But, his feelings become much more complicated when he begins to notice something in the creature he didn't before, which I will leave you to discover.

This is a complex film that manages to avoid cutting any corners for most of its running time. It lets both the scientists and their creation develop into fully realized three dimensional characters. It also respects them enough to let them actually grow through dialogue and full conversations, instead of contrived plot twists. As Dren matures and becomes more aware of herself and the world around her, Clive and Elsa find themselves reacting to this in different ways. Elsa goes through a change, in that initially when the topic of children is brought up, she is not interested. But with Dren, she develops a bizarre mother-daughter relationship, sharing her objects of her own childhood, and even confiding in the creature with unpleasant memories of her own past. Both Brody and Polley give honest performances here. They tackle the roles as well-rounded humans, not victims, or characters in a genre movie. They're fully developed, passionate, and flawed.

It's only during the film's third act that things start to go a little astray. While it doesn't hurt the film too much, the special effects-heavy climax seems somewhat out of place, considering how quiet and reflective it has been until the last seven minutes or so. I got the sense that the ending is what the entire movie would have been like if it had been made within the studio system. Maybe Natali and his co-writer Antoinette Terry Bryant thought this ending would help their movie get picked up by a major studio. Still, the scenes after the climax send the movie right back into it's comfortably quiet and disturbing tone, and the final shot will definitely have audiences talking. That's something you certainly didn't get in the recent Nightmare on Elm Street remake.

Splice is an unsettling little movie, but in the best way possible. It makes you think, and respects your intelligence almost all the way through. As a horror film, it's more successful at being unsettling than out-and-out scary. It actually works better as a psychological drama. As long as you're not drawn in by the deceptive ad campaign (which makes it out to be a generic monster flick), and are willing to ask some tough questions, you'll get a lot out of this one.

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