Splice

Indian Express Rating: ****

YOU splice the genes of a human with that of an animal and,chances are,things won’t go as planned. The beauty of Splice is how very,very different those plans turn out. Clive and Elsa (names inspired from the main actors in the film Bride of Frankenstein) have achieved success in creating a new life form splicing together genes of different animals. They dub the two organisms,a male and a female,Fred and Ginger (inspired again,from Fred Astaire and Ginger Roberts).

Encouraged by their success and how well the two organisms “imprint” (or get along with each other),Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Polley) want to go to the next level: experiment with human genes,for projects which basically intend to use the organisms thus created as hosts for proteins,to be used to treat serious diseases. The bosses shoot it down.

However,prodded by Elsa,she and Clive (Brody) “create” a species carrying human and animal genes in the secrecy of their lab. From the birth,it is clear that predictability isn’t something the two can bank on.

The splicing is more a case of hit and miss,the foetus once formed grows very fast,the aminotic sac proves too small and,once it literally bursts out,the newborn is feisty ill-formed piece of mass with a tail,and hard to catch. Clive thinks it is a mistake that should be ended soon,maybe with gas,but Elsa thinks they should wait and watch.

That watch never ends,as the thing quickly grows into a discernible child,dressed in a frock. As the creature displays its ability to learn spellings,Elsa gives it a name,Dren (nerd spelled backwards). She is shown to get increasingly attached to Dren,carrying her,hugging and kissing her,and fretting when it catches a cold and develops fever.

Clive is not so sure,and as Dren grows older (she ages at a very fast rate) and more unpredictable,his fears come true in ways nobody could have foreseen – least of all the audience. She is observant and receptive to love,but can also be angry and cruel. At times she is strangely submissive,at others,completely defiant.

If Chaneac’s portrayal of Dren touches on the otherworldly,particularly as she doesn’t speak except for making noises,Polley is really good too. She has a streak of madness in her family and,as she swings between unquestioning love for Dren and clinical efficiency when she encounters problems attached with it,you can’t help wondering what thin lines she is treading. Yes Splice is a science horror film,the genre it defines for itself. However,in the human attachments it forms,it is able to be much,much more than that.