Splice

Though it wasn’t a spectacular burst onto the scene, Vincenzo Natali’s Cube was one of the smarter breakthrough hits of 1997 and the director looked to have a promising future. However, though he hasn’t rested on his laurels, Natali hasn’t had any real mainstream exposure since and so his latest film, Splice, is interesting in the fact that this is a higher profile release than his previous few films, including a fairly heavy hitter (Adrian Brody) as part of the cast. Unfortunately, Splice is an apt description of the film itself as we get a number of genres all trying to fit in together, whereas the old adage of less is more would have produced a more entertaining outcome. The story concerns Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley), two scientists who push the boundaries of their work, and their morals, by splicing together human and animal DNA. An eventual result of this is Dren (Delphine Chanéac), a hybrid creature who Clive and Elsa eventually decide to raise in the name of research. I can’t really say much else without giving too much away, but as this has been marketed partly as a horror film you won’t be surprised to hear that things with Dren do not turn out all that well. The issue of the marketing is a pertinent issue here as it really is difficult to describe what genre of film this is. Science Fiction, horror, thriller, comedy (including one spectacular scene of unintentional comedy) all rear their genetically modified heads at some point. It’s just too much of a mixture though and shifting the tone on a regular basis upsets the balance of the drama in the film. Going further into this point, taking the film as a drama is actually the best idea as Natali does a good job in portraying the relationship between all three characters and a decent twist towards the end does explain what had appeared to be some earlier cod philosophy. There are also some interesting questions raised here regarding such experimental use of DNA (especially in the film’s final shot) but they become lost during the films somewhat bizarre finale, which includes further unintentional guffaws and a very dickey rape scene.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
A promising start quickly dissolves into a film which, much like the character it is about, is unsure what its true indentity is. Rating: 5/10.