Splice (2009)

Elsa and Clive, two young rebellious scientists, defy legal and ethical boundaries and forge ahead with a dangerous experiment: splicing together human and animal DNA to create a new organism. Named "Dren", the creature rapidly develops from a deformed female infant into a beautiful but dangerous winged human-chimera, who forges a bond with both of her creators - only to have that bond turn deadly.

• Adrien Brody as Clive Nicoli
• Sarah Polley as Elsa Kast
• Delphine Chanéac as Dren
• David Hewlett as Barlow
• Abigail Chu as Young Dren
• Brandon McGibbon as Gavin Nicoli
• Stephanie Baird as Elsa / PD

This is all good, creepy stuff. On one level, Splice  explores an age-old scientific fear: what if some new species was created and then found to be uncontrollable? The movie is smart about the ethical issues involved in genetics research, pondering whether the possible dangers of DNA splicing/cloning possibly outweigh any potential benefits. Director Vincenzo Natali (Cube ) very effectively mines suspense from Elsa and Clive making this being, then trying to assess its unexpectedly evolutionary qualities. As a science-run-amok thriller, Splice  is extremely effective.

Splice  is intelligent, it's daring, it's well made, and it's disturbing as hell. Sarah Polley and Adrian Brody give strong performances that ground everything otherworldly that happens. The horror genre has largely grown stale lately, especially in the wake of way too many "reboots" of classic titles. Here is a fright flick that is completely original, that takes you to uncomfortable places and abandons you there. If you care at all about horror, do not miss Splice  under any circumstances.

(trying to convince corporate bigwig, Barlow, to go along with his research) "By incorporating human DNA into the hybrid template we can begin to address any number of genetically influenced diseases." - Clive Nicoli 

(explaining why Fred and Ginger killed each other) "Well, it's difficult to examine the remains but it seems that Ginger has undergone certain hormonal changes. She turned into a male." - Clive Nicoli 

(trying to calm Dren down after she tries to escape) "Dren, we need you. Dren, we love you." - Clive Nicoli 

(attempting to talk Clive out of killing Dren ) "You really going to kill it? You think you can do that? Look, it's aging fast, days going by in minutes. The point is this thing is going to die soon anyway. We're going to get to observe its entire life cycle in compressed time. We'll never get an opportunity like this again. She's dying all by herself." - Elsa Kast 

(telling Dren that they share her DNA ) "You know I love you, don't you? You're a part of me and I'm a part of you. I'm inside you." - Elsa Kast 

(after Barlow calls her an embarassment to the company she tells him sarcastically ) "The protein's been synthesized. It's in the fridge. When some real scientists get here, tell them to take a look." - Elsa Kast 

The film opened on June 4, 2010 in wide release to a $7.4 million opening weekend in 2,450 theaters, averaging $3,014 per theater.