Playing with cloning is no joke as demonstrated in the new Warner Bros feature science fiction, horror film, Splice, starring Adrien Brody (Predators,King Kong), Sarah Polley (Go, Dawn of The Dead), and Delphine Chanéac (The Pink Panther), The film is directed by Canadian-French film director, Vincenzo Natali (Cube).
Vincenzo Natali originally proposed as a follow-up to Cube back in the 90's; it was shelved due to not having the funding or the current technology to create the vision that he wanted for the screen. Then in 2007, he received the funding he needed by a deal stuck with investors that included 75% Canadian and 25% French co-production -- resulting in receipt of a budget of $26 million. The film actually debuted in 2009 at the Sitges Film Festival. The film was later purchased by Dark Castle Entertainment in February 2010, and was released in the United States during the summer box office season by Warner Bros. in 2010.
The story of Splice is a bit of an interesting one -- genetic engineers Clive Nicoli (Adrien Brody) and Elsa Kast (Sarah Polley) are determined to take DNA splicing to the next level in their research and create a human/animal hybrid despite the moral implications and the strict orders from their Company Nerd not to complete this experiment. The result of the experiment is a creature called, Dren (Nerd spelled backwards). Dren is a unique looking freak of nature with a bald head, amphibious lungs, a toxic stinger on a tail, and a pair of wings.
The story is told in such a way that the main characters act as an extremely dysfunctional family that eventually leads to what everyone would come to expect with an experiment like this, a lot of horrific violence and doom.
While not on top of his game as he was with Cube, Natali directs the film holding nothing back. Subject matters such as incest, narcism, and rape are tackling throughout the film.
The Blu-ray is present in 1080p with a very soft VC-1 transfer that while it is easy on the eyes, it is not going to win any awards of being a poster child for the Blu-ray phenomenon. The audio is also a bit soft presented in DTS-HD Master that provides a great mix, but does not have the audio shaking the entire house.
Splice also comes with a 35 min "making of featurette" that is presented in 480p, a digital copy of the film, and a DVD version.
While Splice tackles some very current event subject matters, this film is definitely not recommended for the faint of heart. However, if you have the stomach for this kind of sci-fi/horror and have a Saturday night to kill, this might be right up your alley.
