Pbenjay's Blog

We saw SPLICE tonight and unfortunately I arrived at theater without a clue about the subject matter.   First clue: There was no line when we arrived.  We were actually first in line and that was a first! Second Clue: SPLICE? What kind of title is that? My father was always splicing some wire into another wire. Third Clue: There was no line because there were hardly any SAG members in the theater.  I must have missed the memo! Fourth Clue: The beginning credits were growing out of various forms of ectoplasm like the infamous Exorcist phrase “Help Me”.

And Adrien Brody – oh my!! From Academy Award Best Actor Winner to Biochemist Nerd Clive, subjugated spouse to a 21st Century Eve seductively leading Adam into the Garden of Good and Evil  all in the name of research! Poor Clive is so p w that he not only finds himself doing the bidding of his ego-maniacal wife as they travel down the road of research way too far! Immoral, unethical, egotistical, self-aggrandizing and incestuous too!

Here’s a near spoiler-free synopsis (courtesy of Travis Saunders/The Lincoln Journal): A couple who have been romantically involved for some time are working on splicing DNA together to create other life forms.  They create some kind of synthetic monster baby who resembles a human, and they name her Dren.  The female scientist becomes attached to the creature in a motherly way, then chaos and horror ensues.

The scares are fulfilling most of the time, and sometimes the doomed mood is subtle.  Dren’s sex appeal is quite disturbing, because she isn’t all human, which creates a few uncomfortable, yet terrifying, moments, especially in the creepy, yet ridiculous third act.

What really shines in Splice is the art direction and special effects.  As far as horror goes, the settings are really creepy, even when they aren’t dark.  Guillermo del Toro is the executive producer, and a lot of his films are known for their awe-inspiring creatures, and Splice is no different here.

Splice has its moments of greatness, but is held back by its lack of going far enough in the right direction, and going too far in the wrong direction.  If you can stand to be seriously disturbed, and enjoy the horror / sci-fi genre, Splice may be something you could get into.  Those who don’t like sexually disturbing themes may want to stay away.

I have to admit that the movie is hard to describe, difficult to analyze and as I sit here trying to formulate an intelligent review, I remind myself how many times I said to myself during the movie; “Stupid” . However, it did have a couple of themes to which it remained true: parenting while making questionable decisions as the core of the film being the loss of rationality and objectivity when dealing with one’s offspring and throwing in a fair amount of disturbing sexuality.

I’m no fan of Horror Movies, monsters especially those with elongated heads and one eye are not my idea of characters I want to care about.  So I’m not sure I would recommend the movie, look I didn’t pay to see it…. it falls in middle ground, not a balls out monster flick and not exactly Raising Arizona either.

Sorry gang, I guess you’re on your own with this one, okay well not quite because I just tried to imagine encouraging someone to go see it and saying it out loud and all I could muster, was a hoarse whisper.