Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Movie Review: Splice

Guest Blogger Liz Parker scored tickets to an advance screening of the movie "Splice".

Keep reading to get her take on this sci-fi horror flick...

I had reservations about seeing "Splice" - I am by no means a horror movie junkie - but the movie ended up exceeding my expectations. However, the ending was rather shocking, and parts throughout the movies are guaranteed to make you either gag or stare at the screen in disbelief.

Clive (Adrien Brody, "The Brothers Bloom") and Elsa (Sarah Polley, "Dawn of the Dead") are two scientists interested in pushing the boundaries of their field. They decide to merge human and animal DNA to see what will result, with the agreement that they will not bring the creature to term. The creature, however, has other plans; it is born very early and pushes its way out of the machine in which it was being kept. At first, Clive wants to kill the creature (whom they later name "Dren"), but Elsa argues that they should study and learn from it, and that at the rate at which it's growing, it will be dead soon anyway. Both Clive and Elsa bond with Dren, and it is that bond that later ends up destroying both of them.

The acting in the movie was good, for the most part. Dren is actually a cute little creature at first, until we learn of its evilness, and Clive and Elsa treat her almost as if she is their child. There is some backstory that is never really talked about much, in that Elsa's mother had psychotic tendencies, and I feel like that could have been explored more.

I would say Maybe see this movie. I won't give away the ending, but I will warn you that it is shocking, and also a bit sick. In addition, there is also one scene that is very bloody; I had to turn my eyes away from the screen for a few seconds while it played out. I thought the plot itself was very interesting, and brings up pertinent moral questions (i.e., "How can you kill [Dren] when she is half-human?"), but let's just say that movie is rated R for a reason (and on that note - shame on the parents that brought their little kids with them to the screening! The movie definitely wasn't appropriate for them). My consensus: if you are a fan of sci-fi movies, definitely see "Splice", but if not, you might want to choose a less disturbing film to see.

"Splice" opens in theatres this Friday, June 4, 2010.



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Liz Parker is a 2009 graduate of the University of Michigan. She currently works as an Assistant Medical Editor for a pathology website. Visit her at her movie blog Yes/No Films.

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