Splice Review

When I first saw a trailer for Splice my initial impression was this could be either really good, or really bad. It showed the potential to be a sci-fi thriller in the same league as the original Alien, but trailers can be deceiving. All the pieces of something great are there, but it all starts to fall apart as with each passing minute. I had hoped this would turn out well, but sadly it wasn't the case.

Where to begin ... Alright lets start with the science of it all. A lot of techno babble is thrown around at the beginning as they try and explain just what they are doing, but none of it comes off as real or plausible. Once you see what it is they are creating through gene splicing your first question is, what the hell is that supposed to be? Followed by, why? Their original creations appear to be tongue slugs, or at least that is the best way I could describe them. Poorly rendered squirmy slug things that resemble a tongue. Why did they create these things? Hell if I know, something to do with using them for medicine ... somehow.

Next up we have the characters who can not seem to pick one personality and stick with it. These people constantly flip flop their views over the course of the movie, and while you could say that is a human trait I'd at least like a little consistency please. The acting is meh, with no one really going beyond mediocre at best.

Then we have the main creature itself, a mixture of human DNA and a variety of animals. She is quickly developing for seemingly no reason other than the plot says so, and matures within days rather than years. The creature shows signs of being highly intelligent, but also continues to act out its primal instincts. It might have helped if they had given a clear indication to just what animal DNA was involve with the creature, but instead are left guessing why she might be acting the way she does.

Toward the final act things become a bit creepy, and enter seriously messed up territory again for no reason other than the plot said so. Nothing feels organic here, just forced scenes that appear to only be for shock value.

To end it all I'll just say I was very disappointed in the film overall. It took an interesting concept, and went nowhere with it.

Final Score: C-