(2009) ***1/2Splice combined my personal most hated tropes--scientists shouldn't go tampering with God's creations and Big Pharma is evil--with my very favorite trope: parenting is a bitch.
I mean, one day the kid you created in your lab is adorableness incarnate, showing off how she can spell with Scrabble letters, and the next thing you know, she's a bat winged amphibious kangaroo she-demon who tries to rape your spouse. Moms, dads, am I right?
So, the synopsis: Clive and Elsa are two scientists who chafe at the restrictions of their research. They're only allowed to manufacture lumpy big slugs out of mixed up animal DNA for a pharmaceutical company. But these two are after the big game: splicing human genes together with a few other species to create some proteins that will save the world. Unfortunately, in spite of having awesome taste in furniture, music, and clothing, Clive and Elsa are the worst and most unethical scientists ever. Instead of synthesizing proteins that will make life saving drugs out of their new creation, they play mom and dad to it--which for Elsa means imitating her own abusive mother and getting all power trippy and wacko. And for Clive it means getting just a little too excited when the monster gets frisky.
Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, and Delphine Chaneac are all great in this. Watching the family drama unfold made the film for me. These actors are amazing. The writing and the story? Meh. It'll do. The monster's feet, tail, and wings? Totally cool.
