(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last three paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Genetic engineers Clive Nicoli and Elsa Kast hope to achieve fame by successfully splicing together the DNA of different animals to create new hybrid animals for medical use.”
If screenwriters are going to use stories that came before as inspiration, then – when it comes to Science Fiction – there’s perhaps no greater foundation than Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
First published in January of 1818, the tale explored the scientific shenanigans surrounding Swiss genius Victor Frankenstein discovering the secret to reanimated dead matter. As most know, the good doctor constructs a being all of his own – one cobbled together with body parts stolen from the recently deceased – and brings it to life largely to prove that we, too, can set about the business of playing God. Eventually as it finds nothing but rejection and loss along the way, the monster rather violently takes Fate in his own hands, wreaking havoc of those closest and dearest to the Frankenstein name. To date, the book has been adapted hundreds of times; and there looks to be no end to the possibilities of its or its storied characters being finally laid to rest any time soon.
Essentially, 2009’s Splice is an all-new iteration of the classic Frankenstein story. It may employ an entirely contemporary setting – one that uses cutting-edge gene splicing as the framework by which its creature is made – but the script from director Vincenzo Natali and contributors Antoinette Terry Bryant and Doug Taylor even uses a pair of celebrated brainiacs – geneticists Elsa Kast (played by Sarah Polley) and Clive Nicoli (Adrien Brody) – to engineer their abomination through a variety of corporate trials. While seeking a means with which to engineer unimaginable pharmacological breakthroughs, the two pilfer the use of the sponsors’ technology in order to prove that conceiving an all-new lifeform is possible, bringing to life a biological chimera of sorts they name Dren (Delphine Chanéac).
Just as happens in the Shelley tome, the monster initially responds favorably to its creator’s machinations. Elsa and Dren rather quickly settle into a mother/daughter relationship – a development that’ll make vastly more sense once Elsa’s big secret is revealed – with Clive serving as an obstacle to their bond being fully achieved. As Dren continues to grow and (rather miraculously) reach untold levels of intellectual and even biological awareness, she slowly finds herself curiously drawn to the man in a room as a potential suitor, a twist of circumstances that likely would’ve had Shelley blushing. Of course this being the movies (and R-rated at that), the father figure succumbs to the usual male weakness, giving Splice an undercurrent of sexual chemistry some in the audience might find a bit … well … laughable.
Sadly, that’s about all there is to the somewhat steamy and melodramatic take on the Frankenstein.
Hints of Elsa’s background – an estranged and volatile relationship with an apparently mentally unstable mother – surface with the same elegance as they would were this a V.C. Andrews’ potboiler. (Hasn’t mommy hit her child enough?) Clive gets somewhat sidetracked into being nothing more than the man trying to keep their work and relationship alive while Elsa hides out playing parent with the constantly evolving Dren. (Is his descent into the affair a manifestation of his disappointment with his partner?) While Splice starts out reasonably smart, it doesn’t take all that long for the action to devolve in the second half into a somewhat campy incarnation of the cautionary tale. (Oh, no, now they’ve gone and killed the cat!) Lazily, Natali never sacrifices throwing shade on the scientists and the thinly-drawn capitalistic opportunists who would seize the chance to make a profit off the technology gone awry. While Clive is all-too-happy to share coitus with Dren, the critter rises from the dead (literally) having fully transmogrified into a male seemingly with little more than the now delirious thirst to rape his/her surrogate mother.
Yes, it’s that kind of romp.
Splice (2009) was produced by Canal+, TPS Star, Copperheart Entertainment, Gaumont, Telefilm Canada, and a few other participants. (For a full accounting, check out the film’s listing on IMDB.com.) DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Warner Archive. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I can assure readers that the provided sights and sounds are exceptional throughout the picture with some impressive special effects helping to bring ‘the science’ to visual life. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? The disc does boast a 30+ minute behind-the-scenes documentary which offers modest insights into the production, but it would’ve been nice to have something more.
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
Somewhere in an alternate reality, there just might be a version of Splice (2009) that doesn’t take the easy way out and instead sticks to the intelligent set-up and superior first half of this 104-minute monster. Either that, or the project needs a total overhaul wherein a good cast and crew can give it the kind of slow-burning, multi-episode life that leaves room for something more than skin, sex, and jump scares that suffices for modern entertainment. Sadly, there just isn’t enough spine to give this one the beating heart it deserved; and what survives feels more akin to good ideas wasted on cheap thrills. Even Dren – as a villain – deserved better.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive (via Allied Vaughn) provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of Splice (2009) by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Genetic engineers Clive Nicoli and Elsa Kast hope to achieve fame by successfully splicing together the DNA of different animals to create new hybrid animals for medical use.”
If screenwriters are going to use stories that came before as inspiration, then – when it comes to Science Fiction – there’s perhaps no greater foundation than Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
First published in January of 1818, the tale explored the scientific shenanigans surrounding Swiss genius Victor Frankenstein discovering the secret to reanimated dead matter. As most know, the good doctor constructs a being all of his own – one cobbled together with body parts stolen from the recently deceased – and brings it to life largely to prove that we, too, can set about the business of playing God. Eventually as it finds nothing but rejection and loss along the way, the monster rather violently takes Fate in his own hands, wreaking havoc of those closest and dearest to the Frankenstein name. To date, the book has been adapted hundreds of times; and there looks to be no end to the possibilities of its or its storied characters being finally laid to rest any time soon.
Essentially, 2009’s Splice is an all-new iteration of the classic Frankenstein story. It may employ an entirely contemporary setting – one that uses cutting-edge gene splicing as the framework by which its creature is made – but the script from director Vincenzo Natali and contributors Antoinette Terry Bryant and Doug Taylor even uses a pair of celebrated brainiacs – geneticists Elsa Kast (played by Sarah Polley) and Clive Nicoli (Adrien Brody) – to engineer their abomination through a variety of corporate trials. While seeking a means with which to engineer unimaginable pharmacological breakthroughs, the two pilfer the use of the sponsors’ technology in order to prove that conceiving an all-new lifeform is possible, bringing to life a biological chimera of sorts they name Dren (Delphine Chanéac).
Just as happens in the Shelley tome, the monster initially responds favorably to its creator’s machinations. Elsa and Dren rather quickly settle into a mother/daughter relationship – a development that’ll make vastly more sense once Elsa’s big secret is revealed – with Clive serving as an obstacle to their bond being fully achieved. As Dren continues to grow and (rather miraculously) reach untold levels of intellectual and even biological awareness, she slowly finds herself curiously drawn to the man in a room as a potential suitor, a twist of circumstances that likely would’ve had Shelley blushing. Of course this being the movies (and R-rated at that), the father figure succumbs to the usual male weakness, giving Splice an undercurrent of sexual chemistry some in the audience might find a bit … well … laughable.
Sadly, that’s about all there is to the somewhat steamy and melodramatic take on the Frankenstein.
Hints of Elsa’s background – an estranged and volatile relationship with an apparently mentally unstable mother – surface with the same elegance as they would were this a V.C. Andrews’ potboiler. (Hasn’t mommy hit her child enough?) Clive gets somewhat sidetracked into being nothing more than the man trying to keep their work and relationship alive while Elsa hides out playing parent with the constantly evolving Dren. (Is his descent into the affair a manifestation of his disappointment with his partner?) While Splice starts out reasonably smart, it doesn’t take all that long for the action to devolve in the second half into a somewhat campy incarnation of the cautionary tale. (Oh, no, now they’ve gone and killed the cat!) Lazily, Natali never sacrifices throwing shade on the scientists and the thinly-drawn capitalistic opportunists who would seize the chance to make a profit off the technology gone awry. While Clive is all-too-happy to share coitus with Dren, the critter rises from the dead (literally) having fully transmogrified into a male seemingly with little more than the now delirious thirst to rape his/her surrogate mother.
Yes, it’s that kind of romp.
Splice (2009) was produced by Canal+, TPS Star, Copperheart Entertainment, Gaumont, Telefilm Canada, and a few other participants. (For a full accounting, check out the film’s listing on IMDB.com.) DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Warner Archive. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I can assure readers that the provided sights and sounds are exceptional throughout the picture with some impressive special effects helping to bring ‘the science’ to visual life. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? The disc does boast a 30+ minute behind-the-scenes documentary which offers modest insights into the production, but it would’ve been nice to have something more.
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
Somewhere in an alternate reality, there just might be a version of Splice (2009) that doesn’t take the easy way out and instead sticks to the intelligent set-up and superior first half of this 104-minute monster. Either that, or the project needs a total overhaul wherein a good cast and crew can give it the kind of slow-burning, multi-episode life that leaves room for something more than skin, sex, and jump scares that suffices for modern entertainment. Sadly, there just isn’t enough spine to give this one the beating heart it deserved; and what survives feels more akin to good ideas wasted on cheap thrills. Even Dren – as a villain – deserved better.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive (via Allied Vaughn) provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of Splice (2009) by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
RSS Feed