9) Splice (2009)
The Story: Two ambitious genetic engineers, Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley), attempt to achieve fame and fortune by unethically splicing human DNA into their animal experimentations, hoping to create a new species. When their efforts result in the creation of a human-animal hybrid, which they call Dren, the pair realize that they must keep the creature’s existence hidden from their bosses. However, Dren’s rapid evolution and growing restlessness soon leads the scientists to question whether proceeding with their experiment might have been a grave misjudgment.
The Twist: Splice is a sci-fi movie that actually wants to be a horror flick. After an adolescent Dren (Delphine Chanéac) seduces and then sleeps with Clive (ick), the scientists decide to terminate their experiment, only to find Dren dying. They bury her in the woods and are immediately confronted by their boss (David Hewlett), who has discovered the truth. Soon after, Dren reappears, alive, but now a male (some of Dren’s DNA came from animals capable of switching genders, and what Clive and Elsa presumed to be death was actually metamorphosis). Inexplicably now evil, Dren goes on a rampage before chasing and raping his/her biological mother (double ick). Clive is fatally wounded but distracts Dren for long enough for Elsa to finish the job with a well-placed rock. Cut to months later, where Elsa is making a deal with her former employers. Agreeing to continue her experiments, she stands, revealing a visibly pregnant belly.
Why It Sucks: The abrupt shift in genre in the last twenty minutes of Splice sent me reeling, and not in a good way. The entire film up until Dren’s gender switch was about how two scientists were able to create a being capable of emotions like love, joy, fear and excitement. It was fun and cool to see Dren’s evolution throughout the film and think about the ethical implications of her existence. Strangely, as soon as the scientists’ experiment was discovered, all of that went out the window and Splice became little more than an exploitative creature feature, complete with bloody violence, a wood-set chase sequence and that most deplorable of plot developments, the brutal rape scene. Dren’s personality adjustment was also completely bizarre, which is odd for a movie conceived, written and directed by one individual (Vincenzo Natali).
Splice is four-fifths of a great, thought-provoking sci-fi thriller, and one-fifth stomach-churningly exploitative trash. The thing that hurts the most about this one is how Splice draws you in with its intelligent premise then utterly squanders any chance it might have once had to say something interesting. What a pity.