Day 12
Splice

Produced by Guillermo del Toro, written and directed by Vincenzo Natali (Cube, Nothing, and the vastly underrated Cypher), Splice has been on my radar for a very long time.  What got me hooked even before I know the players was the fantastic creature design of Dren, the genetic hybrid of animal and human.  Visually, Splice does not disappoint.  It’s a cerebral creature feature that overcomes a few missteps and is now one of my favorite genre films of 2010.

When Splice was released in theaters, it was a prime example of a movie studio not knowing how to market a film.  The trailers made it look like another creature feature horror flick, when it is so much more than a straight horror film.  It’s a film about ambitious and ego-centric scientists who make all the wrong decisions and end up putting their lives, others and careers in jeopardy. 

Splice is the story of two young ambitious geneticists who are on the verge of a medical breakthrough by splicing different species of animals into new organisms.  When their research is threatened by the pharmaceutical company who funds them, Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) secretly breed a new organism using human DNA.  The result is Dren (yes, that’s “nerd” spelled backwards), a beautiful yet lethal humanoid animal who becomes like a strange adopted daughter to Elsa.  While keeping Dren secret, she is also maturing at an exponential rate, bringing into play heightened emotions and physical urges she can’t comprehend.  Clive and Elsa must make a decision to halt their research and terminate Dren, or continue with their illegal research to further science and their personal ambitions.

I absolutely loved this film.  There are some logical missteps with the script and some coincidences that had me rolling my eyes, but ultimately the film works.  It’s great to see a director’s original vision on-screen, and Splice further cements Vincenzo Natali as a unique and important story-teller.

What I loved:

• Creature Design.  Dren’s design especially  is wonderful.  Beautiful, elegant, yet threatening. 
  Well thought out story.  This isn’t a re-hash of other creature features.  It’s an interesting journey and ultimately a satisfying conclusion.
• Strong acting.  Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley are in great form here.  While both character’s are somewhat unlikable, they are still compelling enough that we care for the journey.  They both are flawed, but as an audience we still want to see them make the right choices.
• Perfect pacing, the movie feels the right length and does not overstep its welcome.
• Moody and well shot.  The cinematography is excellent.
• Cyrille Aufort‘s score.  I’m a huge movie score nut and this score enhances the movie in all the right ways.

What I didn’t like (May contain spoilers):

• “Oh, by the way, I have a FARM!” There are some plot points that are extremely coincidental and you just have to roll with it.  The fact that Elsa actually has a farm (it is deserted & was inherited, natch) is hugely convenient since they have to hide a humanoid creature from the world.  But, I rolled with it, no biggie.
• These “smart” scientists make some hugely dumb decisions.  But, it does move the story along, so it’s forgivable.
• **BEGIN SPOILER** Elsa gets over the fact that she catches Clive mid-coitus with Dren far too easily.  I’m sorry, but if my significant other decided to fuck our genetic creation, it would take more than an “Uh…I’m sorry…” to win me back.  There was an opportunity for some really interesting drama to take place, and it didn’t.  Brilliant set up and idea, poor follow through.**END SPOILER**
• The third act delves into classic monster-movie-mode.  It’s not a deal breaker, I was expecting a little more from the last confrontations.

Ultimately, there is A LOT to like about Splice.  I think it’s a brave and well made film, and while I had some gripes they ultimately did not spoil the movie for me.  Splice is an interesting entry into the Science Fiction/Horror realm and a film I’ll be re-visiting in the near future.

This week I chat with guest host Robert Fure (@RejectRobert) from www.filmschoolrejects.com to discuss new DVD/BD Releases for October 5, 2010 including Splice, Human Centipede, Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) and The Karate Kid (2010). Other topics include Faces of Death and 31 Days of Halloween.

Listen to the podcast HERE or Subscribe in iTunes.

The GeekCouch: Collector’s Edition is a weekly discussion of new Blu-Ray and DVD releases with your host Sean Duregger and a revolving door of guest hosts from all your favorite movie blogs.

Buying movies is almost a dangerous obession with me. I love it, and probably have spent more money on movies in my lifetime than any sane person. At least I’m not spending money on heroine. New Movie Tuesday is my favorite day of the week. Here are this week’s releases as well as my recommendations. Being the film snob I am, I will recommend the Blu Ray versions of these flicks if available.

BUY IT

Splice

If you’re a fan of creature flicks and original stories, Splice is a must-own.  Directed by Vincenzo Natali (Cube), movies like Splice don’t come around too often.  I still haven’t seen it, but this is a total blind buy for me based on the creature design, the actors, the director and what I’ve heard of the score.  The only special feature listed is A Director’s Playground: Vicenzo Natali on the Set of Splice and I’m hoping there’s some great stuff on there.  Either way, I’m excited to own this and am happy to support Vincenzo Natali as a filmmaker.

RENT IT

A Nightmare on Elm Street

I have never seen more “geek hate” directed at anyone more than Michael Bay and Platinum Dunes.  I guess that’s to be expected when you’re tasked with re-making horror classics such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, and now A Nightmare on Elm Street.  The weekend this newest remake was in theaters, my Twitter feed was full of venom from fans of the original.  However, there were a handful of un-biased people that did enjoy the film.  I’d recommend a rent if you haven’t seen it and are curious, and I look forward to at least seeing Jackie Earl Haley as Freddy Krueger.

Human Centipede

“100% Medically Accurate” is a stretch.  Clever marketing, though.  The set-up of Human Centipede is far more interesting to some people compared to the actual execution of the narrative.  However, enough people have recommended this to me soley on the performance of Dieter Laser (yes, that’s the actor’s actual name).  I’m expecting this to be a “one-timer” but am looking forward to seeing this.

The Karate Kid

They should have called this The Kung Fu Kid, since Karate is not featured or discussed in this film at all.  But, us Americans don’t know the difference, right? And how else would we know this is a remake of one of my favorite 80s films of all time? All that bias aside, I’m told that this is a solid film.  I’m going to watch this and pretend it’s called The Kung Fu Kid and leave all my love of the original film at the door. 

Holy Rollers

Jesse Eisenburg stars in a crime-drama about drug trafficking rabbi’s.  Enough said.

Oxford Murders

Reading the plot synopsis, Oxford Murders seems like a generic murder mystery:

A woman is murdered in Oxford. Her body is discovered by two men, Arthur Seldom (John Hurt), a prestigious professor of logic, and Martin (Elijah Wood), a young graduate student who has just arrived at the university hoping to study with Seldom. It quickly becomes clear that this is the fi rst in a series of murders, all of which are announced by the murderer with strange mathematical symbols. Professor and student join forces to try and crack the code, and thus begins an elaborate puzzle, in which nothing is as it seems and the truth is elusive.

But I’ll give Elijah Wood and John Hurt a chance on this one.

SKIP IT

30  Days of Night: Dark Days

This played at FantasticFest 2010 and I haven’t heard anyone talking about it.  So, I’m assuming that means it’s not horrible, but that also means it’s not too memorable.  Judging by the trailer, they’ve given this the Aliens plot treatment.  A handful of well-armed mercenaries must go into vampire territory and kill the “queen” or whatever.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the original, and I’m ignoring this direct-to-video sequel.

NEW TV ON DVD/BLU-RAY

Caprica Season 1.0
SGU: Stargate Universe Season 1

NEW TO BLU-RAY/DVD

Beauty and the Beast
Grindhouse
The Exorcist
Slumber Party Massacre Collection
The Evil/Twice Dead
Mad Max
Last of the Mohicans
Maltese Falcon
The Mission
High Tension
Hard Candy
Bad Lieutenant
Robocop Trilogy
Secretary
Troll 2
Delgo
The Blair Witch Project
Open Water/Open Water 2

Written and Directed by Vincenzo Natali (Cube) and produced by Guillermo del Toro, has been on my radar for quite some time.  Finally some original Science Fiction and hopefully compelling ideas will be in the theaters.  I need a break from sequels and remakes.

View the trailer after the jump:

View in HD at Apple.com

Synopsis

Two young scientists (Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley) achieve fame by splicing human DNA with the DNA of different animals to create a new creature. In the process they ignore their society’s ethical and legal boundaries. The scientists name their creature “Dren”, which is initially a deformed female infant, however it rapidly develops into a beautiful but deadly winged human—chimera.

Guillermo del Toro is the man.  Recently I found out he’s producing a really interesting sounding Science Fiction film called Splice .  Kind of an Alien meets Frankenstein type story, but these images turned my head in a huge way.

Directed by Vincenzo Natali (Cube) and starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley, Splice is the story of two rogue scientists who decide to take genetic splicing to the next level.  Basically, all hell then breaks loose.

Bloody Disgusting has a first look at the creature in some hi-res pics. Here’s a taste, but you’ll have to click on over to them to check out the rest:

This is looking to be pretty awesome.  I can’t wait to see a trailer for this.  I’ll be following this movie closely, so stay tuned!

source: Geeks of Doom, Film School Rejects, Shock Till  You Drop