In this sea of mediocre and familiar science fiction and horror movies, it’s difficult to find the ones that are different. Splice is a disturbingly creepy science fiction horror movie offering a refreshing take on the age-old concept of scientists going too far. It’s going to grab you by the throat from minute one as the opening scene poses so many questions. We see a bunch of scientists delivering a living organism that looks like nothing you’ve seen before. The cold laboratory environment is contrasting this strange creature slowly becoming aware of its existence. I dare not go any further but I urge you to.
Splice is a movie featuring stunning special effects that bring this whole thing to another level. Used in combination with practical effects, they’re so seamless and believable that after a while you’ll treat them as natural. As part of the world, we live in. And that realization is frightening but not as frightening as the notion that this might be happening in some hidden lab right now. The moral implications have always been something science and experiments had to grapple with. Even now we have tests we conduct on animals although the awareness about that particular aspect is now at an all-time high.
The movie intentionally remains ambiguous, offering few answers and a whole lot of questions. However, what it does best is portray human nature and how it interacts with its environment. And don’t let the IMDb score fool you, Splice is definitely a movie worth watching. It’s masterfully directed and visually arresting but the story is what’s going to get you. You might not like it, you might find it repulsive and disgusting but you cannot deny its power. Vincenzo Natali wrote the script after he finished shooting Cube and had twelve long years to work on it.
He was waiting for the special effects to become believable and the wait was fucking worth it. And I think that it won’t surprise you that Guillermo del Toro (Cronos, Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth) was one of the executive producers. I don’t want you to think that this is some boring scientific meditation on the morality of experimentation because it’s most certainly not. Splice offers a human story warped by tribal instincts. So, you can expect a strong sexual and erotic component to this science fiction movie. And that’s all I’m going to say as I want you to enjoy it fully, just like I did.
Clive and Elsa are two genetic scientists working on the next big thing. They want to create a new lifeform by splicing the DNA elements of different animals together. This new creature could provide answers and cures for many diseases. However, their experiments are not working out. Desperate, they decide to try something different. Something different and dangerous. And the results will indeed be different…
If you’re interested in genetic research or science in general you might remember an article that came out a couple of years ago about a group of scientists intending to revive the woolly mammoth. Well, Splice is basing its premise on their work. Although you’re now probably thinking of that 1993 hit I’m not going to mention it because it would devalue the fuckedupness of the movie we’re talking about today. This is not your usual Hollywood movie and that’s going to become apparent pretty quickly. It’s willing to push the boundaries and go that extra mile looking for answers.
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Writers: Vincenzo Natali, Antoinette Terry Bryant, Doug Taylor
Cast: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac, Brandon McGibbon, Simona Maicanescu
Fun Facts: The director and writer of the movie Splice, Vincenzo Natali got the idea for the movie after seeing a mouse with a human ear growing on its back. What he actually saw was the infamous Vacanti mouse that became popular in the late nineties.
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IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1017460/
