Splice

Vincenzo Natali’s first feature since 2003’s quirky yet underwhelming Nothing, Splice follows genetic researchers Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) as they surreptitiously create a new organism that contains both animal and human DNA – with the resulting creature, named Dren by Elsa, inevitably transforming from Clive and Elsa’s surrogate child to a far more malevolent force. It’s a relatively familiar premise that’s utilized to engaging and consistently surprising effect by Natali, as the filmmaker – along with fellow screenwriters Antoinette Terry Bryant and Doug Taylor – perpetuates the off-kilter atmosphere with a number of startling shifts in tone that effectively stymie the viewer’s expectations on an impressively consistent basis (ie the movie is far from the balls-out horror effort promised by its promotional materials). It’s only as Splice moves into its progressively conventional third act that one’s interest begins to wane, with the movie’s downward spiral triggered by a misguided and thoroughly difficult-to-swallow turnabout for one of the central characters (ie this person does something that’s hardly in keeping with their otherwise pacifistic nature). Likewise, Natali’s heavy-handed emphasis on the narrative’s domestic elements ultimately bogs down the movie’s already-cluttered final 20 minutes. Still, as a sci-fi thriller filtered through an art-house lens, Splice certainly succeeds in bringing a fresh perspective to a well-worn genre and it’s finally relatively easy to overlook the film’s smattering of underwhelming attributes.

*** out of ****