Splice
Written and Directed by: Vicenzo Natali
Starring: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac

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Splice is director Vincenzo Natali’s (Cube) crack at the Frankenstein myth, but no one ever took the tale as far as this one. The movie stars scientists Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Polley), who set out to create a human-animal hybrid just to find out if they can. The story prides itself on being “ripped from today’s headlines” while simultaneously being inspired by a 200-year-old novel.

The movie’s initially interesting, and daring, but its premise is difficult to sustain for the full 1:44 minutes. The star of the movie is the creature, Dren, who admittedly is rendered quite well. It’s as if Natali read about the theory of the uncanny valley and decided to find out just how uncanny he could make it.

Thematically, it’s a bit of a grab bag: Clive and Elsa form parental bonds with Dren while simultaneously wanting to kill her, and the filmmakers never seem sure whether they want you to sympathize with Dren or jump at all the cheap scares that seem crammed obligatorily into the movie. Meanwhile they hammer their viewers with the characters repeating over and over how awful and wrong this is, and how they’ve broken all the rules, but they don’t really seem to back that up with anything other than that playing Scientist makes scary monsters. The movie takes itself too seriously to be scary, and is too over-the-top ridiculous to be taken seriously.

But none of that matters; none of that is what you’ll be talking with people after you see it. This movie, and the characters in it, cross a line. That line is one you really haven’t seen crossed before in a movie, and it is pretty shocking, and you will have a hard time believing they went there. But that’s the problem. What happens seems to have happened solely to shock. You can’t buy that the characters would do this, that it could even come close to really happening. And so when the movie devolves into its generic monster chase scene at the ending, you don’t care.

And while there’s a lot to admire and appreciate about this movie, what matters is that increasing and finally total disconnection from the characters that makes the entire film somewhat tedious.

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Splice is more interesting than it is entertaining, and I for one am fine with that. If you go into the movie thinking it’s a creature feature for post-modern audiences, then you’re going to be disappointed. If you’re willing to open yourself up to a different kind of movie, though, you might just be pleasantly surprised.

The movie presents itself as a series of lines being crossed. Rock-star genetic engineers Elsa (Polley) and Clive (Brody) create Dren, the human-animal hybrid that is strangely fascinating while still being deep within uncanny valley, through repeatedly bending the rules just a little bit. By the time the situation snaps back in their faces, they (and we) are stunned by it, and wonder just how they ended up there.

Elsa’s final actions, and her motivations for doing so are hinted at throughout the movie but never quite clearly explained. That’s part of what makes the film so arresting; everyone involved is both mysterious and understandable, and that includes the alien, androgynous monster that becomes a foster child for the couple and ultimately ends up being their downfall. No one involved is a good person, but the internal logic holds up well in its own messed up way.

The movie is more of a warning than a condemnation of messing with DNA. Elsa and Clive are two of the worst scientists in movie history, and most of the problems could have been solved if they had kept their professional wits about them. But perhaps that’s the trouble with the situation in itself; if you end up creating a being capable of bonding with you on an emotional level, is it even possible to relate to it in a purely scientific manner? What’s an acceptable manner in which that line can be flirted with?

One thing’s for sure; both Clive and Elsa breeze right over it, and it makes for an engrossing ride. With a strong emphasis on the character’s emotional worlds, Splice won’t make you scream or whimper, but it’s a nice little surprise in its own right.