Splice

(i American poster)

So, we've got this Sci-Fi Horror Thriller hitting theaters today after making its rounds at festivals last year.

It follows two famous scientists, Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Polley), who spend their time splicing together genome sequences from various organisms. For whatever reason, the idea pops up to toss Homo sapiens into the mix. Their funding comes from a big pharmaceutical giant—think Pfizer or Merck—who shuts them down immediately because they're terrified of a media frenzy or political backlash.
They don't really care about the rules, though, and decide to forge ahead with creating a new species anyway.
The result is a chimera they call Dren which, through rapid development, cycles through several phenotypic stages (check out these shots 1, 2, 3, 4) before eventually evolving into a lethally dangerous winged creature. The duo has to make a split-second decision on how to handle it before things spiral, which, naturally, is exactly what happens.

Here are some screenshots.





Trailers:
1, 2

imdb, rottentomatoes

It looks decent enough for a theater trip, but I'm not exactly sold. Critics have been knocking it for being predictable and a bit too slow-paced for a general audience.
Just looking at the trailer, I can already spot a mountain of clichés that seem to plague every single movie set in a high-tech lab. Some of the dialogue is just painfully stupid. For instance, after Dren wreaks absolute havoc in a room, Clive responds to his partner's panicked question: "What was that?!" by simply saying: "...A mistake." 😵
Or when Elsa tries to coax the chimera out and says: "I'm not gonna hurt you."
That kind of stuff usually gets a laugh out of old Jack, but it didn't fly with Elsa.
Honestly, it’s pretty idiotic; with the budget they clearly had for this production, they could have easily patched those obvious holes.
On top of that, there's this scene where, after spending a fortune on research, a scientist enters a quarantine chamber containing a totally new organism (which might be breathing out toxins or neurotoxins) and then proceeds to unseal his hazmat suit to try and feed the beast. That is pure turbo-idiocy.

Was it really that hard to hire two or three molecular biology nerds as consultants just to ask, "Hey, does this make sense?"

Regardless, I'll probably give it a watch. It doesn't look like a total disaster, and it might actually be fun. At least for a little while.

Just dumping all the info, pics, and links from before right here...

Quote: Anthony Smith3 said:Splice (2009)

A Sci-Fi Horror Thriller co-produced by Canada, France, and the USA. Directed by and written by Director Vincenzo Natali, the guy behind hits like "Cube" back in '97, "Cypher" in 2002, and "Nothing" in 2003. Since those were pretty unique projects, you'd expect this one to follow suit—and the stills definitely hint at that. Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley lead the cast, joined by Delphine Chanéac, Abigail Chu, Brandon McGibbon, David Hewlett, Amanda Brugel, and Stephanie Baird. The budget sits at $26 million, and the film is set for a limited US release on September 18th this year.



IMDB

CLIP
TRAILER
TRAILER 2

PLOT

Elsa and Clive, two rebellious young scientists, push past legal and ethical lines to pull off a risky experiment: splicing human and animal DNA to engineer a new organism. Known as "Dren," the creature evolves quickly from a deformed infant into a stunning yet lethal winged chimera. She forms a deep connection with both her creators, but that bond eventually takes a deadly turn.

PICS

Two more posters just dropped along with the International trailer...



INTERNATIONAL TRAILER

Aaaaaaaaaaaaa 🤣
I’ve been just waiting for someone to finally kick off this thread!!! 🤷 This movie is total "One Sick Puppy" based on what I’ve been seeing over on the IMDb boards. Obviously, those threads are absolutely loaded with spoilers, so if you want to stay in the dark, just stop reading... but seriously, take my word for it: this flick is straight-up twisted. I honestly have no clue what A. Brody and S. Polley were even thinking with this one.

Anthony Smith3, why aren't you starting a new thread instead of doing this here? 🙄
This movie isn't some bottom-of-the-barrel trash or some niche cult flick.

Bryan Taylor9, can you give me a little more context without dropping any spoilers? Is it just because of that one specific scene, or is there more to it? Now I'm even more curious. 😁

Word on the street is there’s a massive twist waiting for you in the last 30 minutes! Seriously, everything builds up perfectly until you hit that total WTF moment... actually, it hits even harder because that WTF moment happens twice. If you've got a strong stomach, just go ahead and

placidjackal36 said:Anthony Smith3, why aren't you starting a new thread instead of doing this here? 🙄
This movie isn't some bottom-of-the-barrel trash or some niche cult flick.

Bryan Taylor9, can you give me a little more context without dropping any spoilers? Is it just because of that one specific scene, or is there more to it? Now I'm even more curious. 😁

And it's not even a blockbuster, and blockbusters are the only things that actually get any attention around here. When I first brought this up, there wasn't enough info out there to justify starting its own thing, and even then, it wasn't the kind of title that grabs a massive crowd or gets people talking for days... that "cult topic" exists specifically for interesting movies like this—stuff that wouldn't pull much notice if given its own thread, regardless of whether they're trash or not. That's not the point of that section. Obviously, some titles blow up over time, and I'll move them to their own threads myself...

Same thing happened with Moon, Bronson, Zombieland, etc. (not that I started all those individual threads)... all those movies started out right here in this topic...

Alright everyone, let's keep it civil here 😬
It’s important that we have a dedicated thread for this, as I suspect the film will catch our attention for several reasons:

1. We’re always on the lookout for a solid piece of Sci-Fi
2. This one looks promising thanks to an interesting director paired with an even more intriguing producer, plus the cast isn't half bad either
3. So far, the audience ratings are looking good (even if it's early days), as are the critic reviews
4. With movies in this genre, "atmosphere" is everything, and judging by the trailer, they might actually pull it off

I'm waiting for 🙂

placidjackal36 said:Anthony Smith3, why aren't you starting a new thread instead of doing this here? 🙄
This movie isn't some bottom-of-the-barrel trash or some niche cult flick.

Bryan Taylor9, can you give me a little more context without dropping any spoilers? Is it just because of that one specific scene, or is there more to it? Now I'm even more curious. 😁

I honestly don't get it, how can you be like this? 😕Is it actually possible that it bothers you when someone adds extra info to the main movie thread? 😵What's even the point of having these threads, especially for movies we haven't even had a chance to see yet? Usually, as a thread starter—and I see you're a moderator somewhere, too—you'd be the first one to appreciate that, rather than getting annoyed and throwing roleplay at everyone else. ☕

OT:

Splice sounds pretty interesting. It's got Roger's (deserved?) three stars.

🤦

Alright, back to the point. Does it bother anyone else that they made the chimera look attractive? Do you think making it hot ruins what could have been some genuinely good elements of the film?

edit: It’s such a shame they had to rely on that cheap Spiderman-CGI for little Dren. Living creatures just don't move like that.

placidjackal36 said:🤦

Alright, back to the point. Does it bother anyone else that they made the chimera look attractive? Do you think making it hot ruins what could have been some genuinely good elements of the film?

edit: It’s such a shame they had to rely on that cheap Spiderman-CGI for little Dren. Living creatures just don't move like that.

Attractive based on what, exactly—those few photos or the trailer? We don't really know if EL dren is attractive yet; I mean, we probably should actually watch the movie first.

If you're asking if she's attractive, a Gremlins creature is basically Miss Hawaiian Tropic to her.

I’m feeling way too much nostalgia for Species right now. Honestly, it's easily one of the most anticipated horror releases this year, sitting right up there with my Soul to taka and The Ward (Carpenter).

looks like even Mewtwo is acting in this one 🙏

it felt strangely familiar, almost like deja vu 🤣

anyway, I'm genuinely counting down the days until this hits theaters 🙂

Christian Taylor3 said:Attractive based on what, exactly—those few photos or the trailer? We don't really know if EL dren is attractive yet; I mean, we probably should actually watch the movie first.

If you're asking if she's attractive, a Gremlins creature is basically Miss Hawaiian Tropic to her.

I'm not really into the whole fetus thing. 😁
Look, if we just ignore those weird, half-clownish legs, then yeah, she has some attractive features once she reaches adulthood. I think I read somewhere that having eyes spaced a bit wider apart in Sci-Fi Horror Thrillers helps create that look.
Plus, this one actually has breasts. 🙏

That Russian poster, seriously? 😁
If you think that looks better than Dren, then you're truly lost.

Another poster for Splice... looks Korean if I'm not mistaken...

Right now on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s sitting at a 75% and it even has that Certified Fresh label... which honestly means it can't be a total disaster. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Anyone know if this movie is actually hitting theaters here in the States?

I can't stand watching those crappy CAM or TS versions, and waiting for the Blu-ray is gonna take forever...

Christian Taylor3 said:I honestly don't get it, how can you be like this? 😕Is it actually possible that it bothers you when someone adds extra info to the main movie thread? 😵What's even the point of having these threads, especially for movies we haven't even had a chance to see yet? Usually, as a thread starter—and I see you're a moderator somewhere, too—you'd be the first one to appreciate that, rather than getting annoyed and throwing roleplay at everyone else. ☕

OT:

Splice sounds pretty interesting. It's got Roger's (deserved?) three stars.

Exactly what Ebert would say.
I couldn't wait for the theatrical release, so I just watched it... and yeah—it's decent enough for a theater trip, but don't go in with massive expectations. They really could have fleshed out Dren more to make the plot less predictable.

Just dropped a new poster...

Anthony Smith3 said:Just dropped a new poster...

Man, I just hope they didn't mess with those double wings; honestly, that tail is looking pretty sexy. But the nipples, boobs without nipples? Seriously? 🤷