Splice Movie Blurb by Shale June 4, 2010 This was one of my must-see movies, being the Sci-Fi nerd that I am. The theme is as old as the 19th Century Frankenstein, but upgraded to the more frightening aspect of splicing DNA of several species to make artificial hybrids - in effect new life forms. This of course is the cutting edge of gene research happening today, and the big question arises after the brilliant biochemists, Clive (Adrien Brody) and his partner and lover Elsa (Sarah Polley) successfully make a new creature, can they go to the next step and add human DNA to the mix. They work for a large pharmaceutical company who says no to that. Not that the pharmaceutical company has ethical standards, but they need a product to sell so our biochemists are relegated to finding some protein that will cure diseases instead of splicing human DNA into some new creature. But you know they do anyhow - seen it in the trailers. This is where the movie gets into a couple of directions it coulda gone and unfortunately I thought it was going in one that would make it a great cult favorite focusing on characters and ethical dilemmas but they went with the more typical monster movie. Before that ending happened, however, there were a lot of dramatic dynamics to this movie. We saw our scientists wrestle with the ethics of what they were doing, but Elsa actually pushed beyond the boundaries, forcing Clive to follow her. As they pass each point where the experiment should have been terminated Elsa keeps going and they ask, "What's the worst that can happen?" Come to Mommy, you Cute Little Whatever Well, the movie runs all that down too as the "experiment" rapidly grows into a child and eventually a young woman (sort of). At this point the experiment is given the name Dren (Delphine Cheneac) and more ethical questions arise as to whether "it" should have been aborted in the test tube. Dren and Elsa have a "Daughter/Mother" talk. So now that this "person" is here, what kind of life will she have hiding out in an abandoned barn where no one can ever find out that these scientists went over every boundary - ethical and legal? As the movie unfolds we also see that Dren has physical features that seem to arise when needed. Seems all the different species' DNA combined to make one survivable creature. The tension is always there - what can Dren do, what will Dren do? She is very smart and follows parental orders to a point (like a lot of teens) but you know that she can take care of herself and take out her parents if she wished. You can dress 'em up - But you can't take em out This is really a character driven sci-fi movie and there are many facets to the relationship between the three main characters Clive, Elsa and Dren. There are even sexual undertones to add to the tension as Dren starts behaving like a normal teen girl with urges and no outlets or cultural taboos. OH Yeah! That kinda tension too. Adding to this tension is the sweet but occasionally malevolent looking face of Delphine Cheneac. I really liked this movie. I woulda liked it a lot more if it had ended about 15 minutes earlier and been the movie I thought it was gonna be, but it was good nonetheless.
Glad to finally hear a good review of this Shale... This is something I've been wanting to see but of course the critics are hating on it left and right.
Actually the aggregate reviews on Rottentomatoes gave it a 73% ripe. I know that Rene Rodriguez with The Miami Herald gave it 2 stars out of 4 and had some probs with it, but Entertainment Weekly gave it an A- I was going to see it again yesterday at the Intracoastal after a little time at Haulover Beach but didn't want to ride my bike in the afternoon thunderstorms that were on the horizon. I definitely will get it on DVD and might see it in theater again.
I just saw it again today (had a complimentary pass and no other movies of interest) I didn't mention this before but most ppl may notice that Dren is Nerd spelled backward. The two scientists worked in a facility called Nucleic Exchange Research & Development which of course has an appropriate acronym. I liked seeing it again, even after knowing all the possible shocks that don't happen and the ones that do. The special effects of Dren are superb. I think most of the budget was invested in that since there were only half a dozen actors. Like her 3-finger hand looks absolutely real in close-up and her real body morphs so well into the CGI bod. Gonna get the DVD and hope they give us features.
Thanks for the review,Shale. In the third picture---(I'm not familiar with the actress) are her eyes really that far apart or special effects? Very beautiful,to me.
You know I was asking that same question, since the wide set eyes are getting to within the norm but still eerily wide. The eyes were set on the side of the head of the small creature and she was morphing into more human. I went all over the web looking for a pic of the actress Delphine Cheneac, but she is new and there aren't any pix outside of the character in this movie. I found this one and her real eyes are not as far set as those near normal ones in Dren. See the whole pic here: http://rue-morgue.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Delphine-on-carpet.jpg
Thanks--guess it was special effects then. I thought she looked incredibly beautiful with the wide -set eyes.
I saw this movie in a half-empty theater and was fascinated by the reactions of other spectators. There was plenty of uncomfortable laughter. I "got" the laughter, and I "got" the parts that were supposed to make me think. It's the sort of movie that should provoke some fascinating conversations.
