Beginning in December 2005 with my history of apes in film essay “Gorilla of Your Dreams” (the substantially update and revised version appears in The Apes of Wrath), I regularly contributed to Moving Pictures Magazine. First in the print incarnation and then for primarily the website. I contributed reviews and essays for the last three years of the publications existence. Following the June 2011 demise of both the print and website editions, all of the digital work for MPM disappeared into the ether. In the coming months (years?), I plan on reposting many of my reviews and articles.
Splice received some excellent reviews from people I respect. As you will see, I held a different opinion.
Splice
Review by Rick Klaw
June 4, 2010
Poor Adrian Brody. From the moment the Oscar winner appears on screen in Splice, his facial expressions and body posture reveal his feelings toward toward the film. Brody wonders, along with the viewer, why he agreed to star in filmmaker Vincenzo (The Cube) Natali’s Ed Woodian re imagining of Frankenstein.
After successfully splicing together the DNA of different animals to form new creatures, famous genetic engineers Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) attempt to use human DNA in a hybrid. Even though this new life could revolutionize science and medicine, their pharmaceutical funders forbid the research. Ignoring society’s ethical and legal boundaries, Clive and Elsa secretly conduct their own experiments. Their creation “Dren,” exhibits uncommon intelligence. Initially, Dren exceeds all expectations. She grows, learns, and ages at an accelerated rate. Not surprisingly, Dren evolves into their worst nightmare.
The screenplay, composed by Natali & Antoinette Terry Bryant and Doug Taylor, apes the worst of 1950s B movie zaniness. Clive and Elsa behave with little regard to science, law, ethics, or even common sense. Clearly conceived by a middle school boy, the plot offers no surprises to anyone with even a passing knowledge of evil scientist movies. Borrowing from the worst of slasher horror, Natali’s amateurish attempts at suspense fall flat.
Dren, designed by Alex Kavanagh, effectively portrayed the unique hybrid as she quickly evolved through her permutations. This one piece of intelligent design in a film loaded with awful decisions gets lost under Natali’s often inept and muddy direction.
The two sex scenes—the latter possibly classified as inscentual bestiality—display a typical response to the most of Splice. Rather than excite or even create interest, the events spawned an audience chuckle. Not a nervous chittering as one might expect but rather full on jolly belly laughs.
And on that one level, Splice succeeds. Nothing works as it should with this film. The atrocious acting, dialogue and direction is laughable. Unintentionally, Natali crafted one of the funniest movies of the summer.