Why So Blu?

Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley ‘Splice’ Things Up!

And I thought I had seen it all… Ah, Splice, words can’t even describe the disturbing visions I still have floating around in my head.  Is that a good thing or a bad thing?  I’m not sure yet.  I guess I need to let Tuesday night’s viewing experience sink in some more, cultivate and see what I think about in a few weeks as my mind continually digests what I witnessed on the silver screen.  It’s actually hard to talk about here too. If a comment from my wife after the film like “I don’t even want to see you laying next to the dog” doesn’t conjure up perverse thoughts in your head, then I’m not sure what I can get away with saying.  I want to divulge so many things, but I cannot, in fear of spoiling it all for you.  Such is the hardship of being a reviewer at times.  So I’ll put my best foot forward and just hope for the best.  That’s all I can really do in this case.

Splice is a science fiction film written and directed by Vincenzo Natali, produced by Steve Hoban and Guillermo Del Toro and stars Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley.  So right from the start, it has that much going for it already.  And then there’s the premise.  And I must admit.  The premise is damn cool.  And that’s exactly what made me eagerly anticipate this film for so long now.  Just in case you have been living under a rock the past few months, Splice tells the tragic tale of two young scientists/lovers who secretly explore the realm of possibilities achievable via the splicing of animal genes and human DNA, all in the name of science and medicine, but of course.

Interestingly enough, Splice was originally meant to follow up Natali’s Cube in 1997, but the budget and restricted technology at the time derailed the project.  Hmm… sounds familiar.  Wasn’t James Cameron’s Avatar in a similar situation back in the 1990’s?  Anyway, the film originally made its debut at the Sitges Film Festival on October 6, 2009 and was also part of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.  After a studio bidding war, Dark Castle emerged victorious with the help of Warner Brothers as a distributor.

So now that you know the origin of the film and a little bit of the premise what else do you want to know?  And are you sure you want to know?  Splice is like opening up Pandora’s Box.  Once you look inside, you can never look back.  I just hope my wife heals fast.  I texted her today and asked her  (Weds.) if the visions have left her head as of yet and all I got was a one-word reply, “No.”

As I mentioned before, Splice tells the tale of two young genetic engineers (Brody and Polley) who dabble in something that many might deem quite immoral.  They are in the business of, you guessed it, gene splicing.  After their latest round of hybrids were successful, they seek permission to carry on their research using human DNA.  They promise the pharmaceutical company, who funds their research, that they can be on the forefront of this new revolutionary breakthrough in science and medicine and that they confidently believe they can deliver.  Hmm… did we ever hear this plotline before?  Me thinks so, but wait… it does get better!  Despite being told no, the two scientists secretly create and birth a new form of life, a human hybrid.  Unable to terminate the life of this creature, they go on to name her Dren.  Dren learns and grows at an accelerated rate.  Pressured with the stress of constantly trying to hide her from others, the scientists not only observe and learn from Dren’s amazing abilities, but they also form an emotional bond with the creature.  That’s always a no, no.  Right?  Well, let’s just say that Dren becomes more than a handful for the couple.  Alright, I’m exaggerating.  She becomes a living nightmare and that’s all I’m going to say.

But what I will say is this.  If you decide to venture out to the theater this weekend and you have kids please do society a favor and leave them home for this one.  I beg of you.  It’s rated R for a reason folks.  There are a small handful of scenes that will disgust some and totally turnoff others.  Due to my reviewer pledge to never divulge spoilers, I’m going to keep my non-disclosure oath alive here and leave it at that.  However, I can honestly say, never was an Act 2 Plot Point ever more shocking than what I witnessed Tuesday night.  Act 3 started with a bang!  I guess I should have seen it coming, but part of me never wanted to go there.  Well Splice did.  Is that a bad thing?  I don’t think so.  But these scenes I am referring to did alienate the audience.  That much was evident.  But don’t we want to see movies break the boundaries of norm every once in awhile?  Do we always want the same old thing?  Not me.  I was shocked and a little bit disturbed at the time, but looking back, I’m glad they had the courage to say let’s do that and let’s do this.  As Rocky Balboa would say “That’s how winning is done.”  I’m not going to tell you to drop everything you have planned this weekend and run out to see Splice, but if curiosity has the best of you, and of course you have an open mind for disturbing subject matter, then definitely, by all means, check this one out!  That’s an order!