Trailer Tueday: Splice

I love a good, dark, sci-fi film that leaves the audience feeling unnerved and morally conflicted. And Splice looks to be one such movie... although I'm basing my opinion here more on what I've read about the film - as well as its disturbing concept art - as opposed to the fairly conventional trailer above.


Although only made for $26 million, Splice comes with a solid pedigree. It stars the young and talented Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley, and is produced by Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy and future The Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro. For the record, Splice is written and directed by Canadian filmmaker Vincenzo Natali, who was responsible for psychological thriller Cube, which I admit I know little about but which is apparently a cult favourite.

Anyway, Slice centres on a pair of superstar scientists, Clive and Elsa (Brody and Polley), who have a reputation for bending genetic engineering rules to create startling new creatures. They cross the line though when they illegally introduce human DNA into their next hybrid creation. This top secret experiment produces Dren (played as an "adult" by unknown Delphine Chanéac): an amazing, fast-aging creature who exhibits an array of unexpected physical developments, while growing increasingly more beautiful... and dangerous. In fact, in a lot of press about the film, Dren is called a chimera - even if that description makes little sense. Clive and Elsa are left to choose between their ethics and their love for their monstrous creation.

Out of interest, "Dren" is "Nerd" spelled backwards.


I'm getting a strong Species vibe from Splice, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I thoroughly enjoyed the first Species. There may be some The Fly elements to the film too, which is also a good thing.

Anyway, clearly Warner Brothers has immense confidence in Splice, positioning its release slap bang in the middle of the US Summer blockbuster season. This may have to do with the fact that since its release at various film festivals in 2009, and screening at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, Splice has managed to accumulate a 80% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Apparently the film is way more than derivative straight-to-DVD drek!

Splice opens in the United States on 4 June. Surprise, surprise, the film's South African release date is unknown at this time.