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    Splice

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    "Splice" is a genuinely disturbing horror story, maybe even too disturbing for some casual movie fans. This is the type of horror movie where the scares don't come from things jumping out at you or from seeing people get butchered left and right by a creature run amuck, but by slowly seeing people's morals evaporate and witnessing the ugly side of humanity emerge.

    Genetic engineers Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) have decided that since someone is going to create a human-animal hybrid, it might as well be them. When they do, they get sucked into this increasingly disturbing situation where neither of them is sure which is the most disturbing: their creation Dren (Delphine Chaneac), or each other.

    The cast of the film is kept small so you really get to know the main players. It makes their slow transformations that much more unnerving. You learn about the scientists' dreams and ambitions so you understand why the couple is willing to risk it all by synthesizing a new creature, one that's not entirely human but is easily underestimated. Delphine Chaneac does a terrific job playing the creature Dren. She manages to create a character you alternate between caring for and are disturbed by without ever using anything but body language and facial expressions. Everyone is well written (credit to Vincenzo Natali, Antoinette Terry Bryant and Doug Taylor who go where other movies wouldn’t) Even though you never get a straightforward (and overly expository) story about Elsa, it becomes obvious to the audience from some of her comments and her behaviour that she has some serious parental issues. I don’t want to diminish the efforts of Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley, who are both quite good, but the writing is where I think this film really shows it’s intelligence. In a typical film, you would be cheering for the scientists the whole way through. “Splice” does something very clever to keep you on your edge of your seat: it alternates between who the "villain" is.

    Depending on which third of the running time you’re at, you'll notice that slowly, the characters change. At one point, Clive is the villain. It’s understandable that he doesn’t want to go too far with this experiment, but the way he goes about trying to stop the progress, it’s unsettling. You can see the ideas buzzing through the people’s heads as they size each other up and wonder what they should do next. Neither of them know exactly what to make of the other’s actions, or of their own. You think you know who to cheer for, but wait until you see Elsa’s dark side, or Dren’s. Once you understand what’s actually going on here, you won’t know what to make of anyone’s actions, past or future. You realize that in retrospect these two scientists are in way over their heads and to make things worse, one or even both of them might be just a little mentally unhinged.

    My only issue with “Splice” is in the conclusion. It’s not bad, and I can’t say that it’s predictable either, but if you know how storytelling works, you’ll see some of the developments coming. Even within there are some actions that will take you completely by surprise, but I almost wish that the conclusion was much more ambiguous. This "Frankenstein" story is good enough that it could have let go of the traditional plot structure and pushed that “squirm” button harder by ending abruptly. Or maybe it just needed to be longer so that you’d forget some of the stuff established with the characters beforehand. It's true that there are some problems with “Splice” (some of Dren's abilities are a little far fetched) but it's a movie that gets better the more times you see it. Multiple viewings allow you to catch those subtle hints throughout, and the shocking moments don't get any less shocking.

    Having worked at a movie rental store for many years, I’ve heard many horror film fanatics complain that they didn’t like the film’s conclusion, but not for the same reason that I do. What they want is to have their cake and eat it too. This film goes to a dark place, one that’s profoundly disturbing and frightening, but not in the jump scare, or even blood-and-guts fashion. A lot of people won't know how to react to “Splice” and will dismiss it outright because they won't want to admit that they liked what the movie was doing and then were so disturbed when it took a dark turn that genuinely frightened them that no longer really know how to feel about it. It’s not an accident. Everyone involved knew that you’d associate with these people and then recoil in horror at where they ultimately go. If you don’t like it, the movie’s successful because you know what? You SHOULD be disturbed. Horror films shouldn’t be enjoyable in the same way that a roller coaster ride is. It should really be fun in hindsight. In the moment where you’re strapped to that chair and falling at blinding speed, you’re not thinking about how safe you actually are, you’re genuinely terrified.

    This is the kind of movie that you like because it tries something different. “Splice” knows it will leave some people behind but decides to go all the way rather than pander to audience members that will dismiss anything that doesn’t turn out they want they want it to. If you're looking for a different type of horror movie, or a cautionary tale about genetics running amuck "Splice" is a good entry in the genre. You might not care for it, but if you want to be scared, disturbed, emotionally affected or haunted by imagery long after the credits are done, check this one out. (On Blu-ray, May 31, 2013)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  5.5.2016 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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