[7]

Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley throw moral caution to the wind by creating the first animal-human hybrid, a creature they call Dren. Of course, once they open their genetic can of worms, things begin to go very badly. Dren, who has a poison stinger in her tail, forms an intimate but dangerous relationship with her foster parents. Things get especially complicated after Polley’s character begins to exert control over Dren, and even more complicated when Brody allows himself to be seduced by their creation.

Splice is daring enough to take the story into some unsettling areas involving sex and gender, but only scrapes the surface of what could have been a far more provocative film. Brody and Polley are okay in their roles, though the film sometimes asks us to take some unexpected leaps in their character development. Dren herself is a more interesting character, even though she says barely a word, and remains an enigma after the film is over.