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3 Stars

Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley are geneticists and lovers overseeing the creation of a new life form in director Vincenzo Natali’s latest sci-fi/horror hybrid. Not content with the progress they’ve made in their research before corporate backers have decided to stop funding, Polley mixes in human DNA and creates a living creature. At a rapidly accelerated growth rate it goes from arm- less beast with tail stinger to something that resembles a bizarrely attractive female humanoid. The film is beautifully shot and the special effects by Robert Munroe are unsettling and astoundingly effective. Its a tribute to Munroe and Natali’s work that we are both terrified by the ‘Splice’-beast and yet still sympathetic to this pitiful creature. Unfortunately the film can’t sustain it’s energy to the finish, petering out 15 minutes before the credits actually roll. But up to that point ‘Splice’ is one of the years most effective thrillers.

Director: Vincenzo Natali
Stars: adrien brody, sarah polley,