Splice (DVD)

I offer up this explanation to those who have not yet seen SPLICE and are confused by mixed reviews. There are no spoilers, so confidently read on: SPLICE has something that most horror/sci-fi movies lack: wit. In order to fully appreciate this movie you have to understand wit. It's not a stupid movie, it's a movie that is smarter than the average movie goer. Yes, the characters make nearly every wrong decision possible, and many of the scenes are humorous, but INTENTIONALLY so! The story is tongue-and-cheek and the actors, screenwriters, and director are in on it, but the audience, for whatever reason, has largely misinterpreted this movie as a serious drama that is played terribly wrong and is unintentionally funny. There are dramatic elements and serious parts, but the bizarre scenarios, in which the dramatic dialogue occurs, create surreal and humorous situations. Again, it's purposefully and intelligently humorous, i.e. witty. SPLICE is a bizarre movie. It takes a twisted sense of humor to truly appreciate it. Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley deliver deadpan performances, providing very analytical and matter-of-fact responses to outlandish and grotesque scenarios. They make every wrong decision possible, because -frankly- if they were to follow the ethical code of conduct for genetic engineers this movie would be 10 minutes long. It's not a realistic portrayal, but a cautionary fantasy. The only way this story can be told is humorously, and -despite what the majority says on internet chat rooms- it works! I apologize if I sound defensive or condescending, but SPLICE is one of my favorite movies and it's been greatly misinterpreted, degraded, and disregarded. I think its mainstream release is partially to blame and it would have done better in limited run with word of mouth (i.e. Human Centipede). It's just not for everyone, and I am confident that this movie will reach cult status among a weird demographic. I joined the official SPLICE Facebook page and most of the comments have been about how terrible it is! WHAT??? It's supposed to be a fan club! I don't understand...

SPLICE is a cunning, creepy and clever Sci-Fi thrill ride. Did I mention "sexy"? No matter. If you want a nice case of the Heebie Geebies, SPLICE will not disappoint. The underlining theme is nothing new. This is Frankenstein told over --but you can forget about gothic villages and peasants with torches. SPLICE's creature finds life in a state-of-the-art Mega Corporate genetics lab. This hopelessly doomed experiment-gone-wrong is the creation of 2 curious and brilliant gene splice jockeys who can't fight the urge to throw a little bit of their own human DNA into the old chromasonal cauldron. Every phase of the creatures development is stunning and even shockingly cool film making. What ya gonna do when your very own monster grows up to be the amphibious, winged, deadly and scrumptious babe of your dreams? Euthanize her? Not the choice of our red-blooded American male scientist--or his young wife intent on mothering a child of her own creation. Things get sticky, hot and incredibly creepy. In the end, nothing good can come of messing around with the laws of creation. Especially in the last 15 minutes of this horror thriller. This is slick and scary sci-fi story weaving. Its wonderfully first-rate musical score is an unexpected delight. But I would hate to give anything away. Go ahead and buy this one. SPLICE is one Blu-Ray that is worth multiple viewing and worthy of a place in your sci-fi horror library.

In light of all the explicit violence and gratuitous sex that we're besieged by in most movies, Splice really isn't particularly shocking - yes, a cat is killed and there's a sex scene with mildly incestuous overtones between human male Brody and adolescent alien hottie Chaneac, but I thought it was actually kind of beautiful... and very much the kind of mistake that we humans would make. Throughout the film scientific ethics get cast aside as our married protagonists wrestle with their yearnings for a child - even one spliced together from Polley's and various and sundry bird and amphibian DNA - and their attempts to realize their joint professional ambition to solve human disease through exotic genetic research. At least until the end, the movie doesn't succumb to the usual genre cliches of people being picked off by the monster, chase scenes, etc. Instead, the film invites us to fall in love with the creature which we follow from infancy to toddlerhood (skittererhood?), to confused and moody teenager. When Brody introduces Dren to dancing and shows her a few ballroom moves, she's as entranced as any adolescent girl basking in the light of her father's attentions. Of course sprinkled throughout the film are the foreboding little hints of future mayhem: Dren's sinuous tail with its mercurial hypodermic claw, her manic willful eyebrows, ready to challenge all authority... and of course her wild animal strength and lightening speed. But in the end we know that - like many a monster before her - she's not meant for this world, and her end will be both sad and banal. With, however a nice plot twist in the final scene. I recommend this surprisingly low-key, unpretentious but well-crafted film.

Vinceno Natali director of Cube & Cypher, and executive producer Guilermo Del Toro bring us an updated tale of Frankenstein. The even more "Modern Prometheus" so to speak. Starring Adrian Brody (The Jacket, King Kong, etc.) as Clive & Sarah Polly (Dawn of the Dead) as Elsa - 2 awful scientists & even worse parents. Anywho; don't expect much in the way of horror, unless of course you're a parent, in which case expect lots! It was certainly more sci-fi, which is fine by me. The creature effects (both adorable at times, sexual at others, but always a wonder to behold) were phenomenal!! The creme de la creme!! Dare I say; the best I've seen since Carpenter's "The Thing". But the gore was almost non-existent. I would have liked to have seen more about the way Dren (nerd spelled backwards) hunted, and more use of its abilities: like it's amphibious lungs, it's wings, it's scorpion-like tail, and its Kermit the frog eyes - though I must admit, I did love it's evolution into each stage. What started out as a worm, turned into a rabbit, turned into a child, turned into a rebellious blossoming teenage creature hell bent on sex & destruction - all at an accelerated rate. Every instance it was on the brink of death it evolved into something even more marvelous. Definitely akin to Frankenstein with the exception that Dr. Frankenstein never used a piece of himself in his creation, well that and and the good doctor never got busy with his monster. Can you imagine?? Adrian Brody what were you thinking? Here's the skinny: A couple (both unscientific scientists) with the worst parenting abilities ever, (thank god they decided against having children) in an effort to discover, I don't know what, a protein of some nature? It's hard to tell because everything is referred to as combinations of numbers & letters, Well they create two tumor-looking worm sacks, cute worm sacks - the type you want to hug, and then drop on the floor & stomp. But they get overly ambitious, and behind all their colleagues backs create a being with the genetic properties of multiple species, (including Elsa's) named Dren. But Dren keeps growing, & evolving eventually beyond their control, and like any teenager, she becomes as rebellious as her parents. So they have to move Dren into Elsa's childhood home... an abandoned farmhouse, a very uncontrolled environment, where they try to raise it as a child instead of an experiment. To say the least, I loved this movie!! It had its flaws (as does every flick), It lagged in the middle, like a computer laden with internet porn, but it was always a sight to behold even at the slow parts. It's an absolute must-see for sci-fi horror fans. It was like InAlienable except a zillion times better. For fans - have no fear... there will almost certainly be a sequel. Hooray for me!! Hooray for you!! **WARNING** If violence toward animals bothers you, there is one scene where an animal of a certain cuddly variety is killed, rather quickly & violently. And for those that hate rape... well there's some of that as well. MORAL OF THE STORY: A parent does more than create... a parent also sacrifices. ALSO RECOMMENDED: Cube, Cypher, Species, Sick Girl (MOH), InAlienable, The Fly, Mimic, Isolation, Grace, The Unborn, It's Alive

This film has potential. A lot of potential. The leads are good, the concept, good... My complaints all are on the scriptwriter and producers. WHY? JUST WHY incest? Throwing in bestiality doesn't help. The other reviewers are describing this film in three acts. I agree, it is a great way to describe the film. First off: the actors are decent and the character designs/costumes were good. Act One: Can science go too far? What if we splice human DNA? Can we cure humanity? These scientists are discreetly breaking ethical rules to achieve results. Some social commentary, but the story is building. Fascinating, good story, despite what others are complaining, I did like the special effects. Camera style....uh...reminded me a little of TV. Lighting and coloring made up for that. Act Two: Sets up for the final act. The good thing about the scriptwriter is that he prepares the audience for what's coming...it's just hard to believe it when it happens in act three. Creature also becomes more human here. Act Three: Bad choices are made by both humans and creature. Very bad choices. Scriptwriter went too far in my opinion. At least he sort of warns you...a little bit in act two...This is a little too raw and dark. At least the violence is there but not at Quintin Terrentino levels. I'll give them that. If that had been added on top of everything else, yeah, it would have been a splatter/shock film. I think I remember some nudity. I don't want to remember any of it. If it wasn't for Act 3 this film would have earned 4 or 5 stars from me. It really had potential.

My wife and I watched it tonight and I warned her about the mixed reviews this movie has gotten That being said and considering the other various reviews I read, here goes: I have zero desire to tell you what the movie is about. It did not drag, it got right to it. What we enjoyed the most about it was the fact we never really knew just what genes had been spliced together to create the creature. Watching it fresh like this, we really never knew exactly what to expect and at times, we caught ourselves holding our breath, so much in fact, that I actually paused it a few times. If you're married, have kids & love sci-fi horror genre, I bet you'll like this movie. We both found it to be a better movie than Species in part because throughout the movie, you couldn't help but wonder at just WHAT? genes were used to create the creature. and thanks to ALL those who wrote reviews previously. I told my wife before watching it, that the reviews were a complete mixed bag and that we might find it disturbing..... For us, it's a great flick.

FICTION? Well, we'll never quite know ~ until the species reveals itself .... Remember the old petri-dishes of the 1950ties ....? ANYHOW, this is an utterly charming movie, quite unusual and highly sophisticated .... appeal? Those with very open minds ..... "Oh, it could just never happen...". The brilliantly beautiful creation [female to male - somehow that does make utter sense] is quite awesome - and the superior intelligence it displays. Vocals? Doesn't really need them - too primitive. For those who really enjoy something somewhat traditional with very unusual and stimulating "changes" ~ THIS ONE'S FOR YOU. NOW ~ there must be a sequel or two or more ......very much a keeper and endearing in its charm. Performances? Quite superior ~ especially the quite adorable creation. [THE DESIGN? Dren's appearance is seemingly based on Adam's 1st wife - Lillith/Ishtar/Astarte ~ check the few remaining images for details ~ COOL!]

Two scientists in a long-term relationship create a human/animal clone. What starts out as a suspenseful sci-fi horror flick, quickly devolves into a high strung drama about two dysfunctional, unlikeable characters and their ridiculous mutant. The CGI is very poor and the characters never develop any redeeming qualities. The behavior is just unbelieveable, and I must admit it became so silly, I laughed at some scenes. This movie fails on so many levels, you have to wonder why anyone would sign on to this after reading the script. Academy Award Winner Adrien Brody needs to fire his agent and the female lead needs a better makeup artist. Splice is not easy on the eyes. This movie was rough. An alien sex scene and a brutal rape later, you're left wondering what else the writers will throw at you. This is not a movie for children, the faint of heart, or anyone who wants to preserve their sense of innocence. I would not recommend this movie to anyone. I can honestly say, I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into when I clicked "Rent"--and no matter what I tell you, I can bet with a great amount of certainty, neither will you.