Splice
2010 · Directed by Vincenzo Natali
Original language: English
- horror
- science fiction
The story
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.
What it’s like
Cold, clinical light and a palette of sterile whites, steel greys and sickly fluorescent greens define the look of this science-fiction horror, with Vincenzo Natali's camera favouring tight, precise framing and slow dollies through laboratory corridors and dim barns. Textures lean on glossy digital surfaces, wet membranes and close-up flesh rendered with unflinching detail, while the sound design pairs a low, droning electronic score with the wet, animal noises of the creature's developing body. The mood is unsettling and clammy, a slow-building dread of scientific hubris that tips into sudden, shocking violence and sexual threat, including a scene of sexual assault and a brutal death of a pet, rather than extended gore. Pacing is deliberate in its first half and accelerates into frantic, claustrophobic chase sequences. Its emotional core is a fraught, possessive triangle between two damaged scientists and the being they have made, shifting from maternal tenderness to cruelty. Best suited to viewers who want a cerebral, unnerving body-horror film with a bleak edge, not comfort viewing.
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