In the odd and oddly engrossing new sci-fi shocker “Splice,” rock star scientists Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley create a new mutant from the genes of a handful of animals, supposedly to harvest proteins that could cure genetic diseases. Watching “Splice,” you get the impression that the movie itself is a hybrid too — a dash of “Frankenstein,” a bit of Roger Donaldson’s underrated “Species,” some “Robocop” and “Starship Troopers,” and a healthy dose of early David Cronenberg (and pretty much anything that falls under the “body horror” umbrella) with some Chris Cunningham videos thrown in for good measure.
The fact that “Splice” triumphs in spite of (or maybe because of) such clear artistic debt is one of the film’s many sicko pleasures.
As the film starts, Brody and Polley are working at a genetics lab creating a couple of hybrids (Fred and Ginger) that can be used for medicinal purposes. The creatures themselves are amorphous blobs that have an overall phallic design. If you’re with the movie after you see a couple of living-penis monsters “imprint” on each other, then you should be good for the remainder of the film. Our heroic, if morally ambiguous, scientists make a presentation to a vaguely powerful board member who speaks with a French accent and has a severe haircut, saying how the pair of monsters really are going to change the face of science. Then they propose the next step: add human genetic material to the evolutionary bouillabaisse. “No way,” the board member says, except not in those exact words and in a French accent.