First, don't go to Splice expecting torture porn, slasher gore, or random violence. Splice is a family film, believe it or not. It's far beyond twisted, and prods firmly at moral and ethical boundaries, but at it's heart, it's all about the parental instinct, the grey area between good and evil, and about the ways the love, fear, and hate can turn on a dime if the right conditions are met.
Before I get into it, let's talk about the Seattle Mignight Adrenaline Audience:
We really like shocking oddities of film. My first was Evil Aliens, by Jake West.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91umuPYc6Nc
We are a raucous crowd. We shout at the screen. We rave over dismemberments. We're out for the thrill. This year, we have a few standouts:
Robogeisha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo-gGes6qig
Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx0GaB2EHUs
etc......
Splice was something a little different. In the First act, it's all about the gifted Mad Scientists at work. Adrian Brody had a few weak moments, but Sarah Polley anchors the whole film, as does Dren, later on.
The second act follows the (deliberately) predictable trials every new parent faces. It's Two Labcoats and a Baby (not an insult in the case), as Clive and Elsa bond with Dren, raising her like a child, albeit with heavy locks on the doors. I had a few friends that were put off by this. All of the familiar paces that new Parents go through are featured here, made all the more believable by the excellent performance of Dren's Actors, along with near flawless CGI. We've always got one eye on Dren. She's sure to become a problem, right? Plus, who hasn't seen Species? Only Dren isn't portrayed by Natasha Henstridge and H.R.Giger; She's far more a sympathetic character. She also doesn't have the convienence being a stunning one moment, and a monster the next. She is at all times both, and neither of those things. There is never any time where you can forget what she is, and above all, she's an innocent, and potentially deadly.
The Third act was amazing. It's full of moral and ethical reversals, The Audience I screened it with laughed repeatedly, and uncomfortably. Your allegiance to any character will be tested. I know that there are a lot of cynical people on this board. We eat, drink ,and breathe it here. But with Splice, we've been lured by the tropes, and in the end, I wasn't decided on who to root for, until one character goes off the deep end, and when the credits rolled, I wondered if I wasn't looking at calculated victim.
I hope you all get to see it. I don't think that you'll all react to it the way I did. Some of you will hate it. Such is life on DM.Net. Thanks, Don, and please tell Susan thanks as well. I hope this does well in wide release. Mainstream audiences need an enema.