Splice

Vincenzo Matali has made a couple of excellent sci-fi thrillers. He returns with another but more of a horror twist.

Over the years we have seen the 'Frankenstein' story told in many different ways and variations. Some are more successful than others. With the way technology is heading the story is becoming more of a reality. Which is why there is more of a burden on writers and film makers to create something unique. Sadly for me Vincenzo has not been successful. I found the film to be borderline boring. There is nothing new or interesting about the story which is cliched and predictable. You know where it is going the whole time and while that is not always a problem it can be when the story is not thrilling enough. I did not like the characters either. They behave in all the ways you expect and don't do anything unexpected to make them interesting. Not even the science of what Clive and Elsa is doing is all that interesting. We saw a more interesting way of doing it in 'The Island Of Dr. Moreau'. I did not feel the tension either in their attempt to keep Dren a secret. I felt no threat from their bosses or fellow scientists considering the amount of time they spend away from the lab.

Adrien Brody is an excellent actor and does a fine job here but is not able to elevate the material he has to work with. It is the same from Sarah Polley who is normally able to make the material better because of her excellent acting ability. Delphine Chaneoc is excellent though as Dren. She is given a better character as she has both the physicality and emotion to work with.

Quite a boring movie that does not utilise the traditional story of 'Frankenstein' and make it anything special.