SPLICE (2010)

DIRECTOR: Vincenzo Natali

STARRING: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac

Anyone who’s seen the film Cube would probably understand why the prospect of seeing this film was exciting. Also directed by Vincenzo Natali, Cube struck me as a disturbing examination of how people react under extreme circumstances. I haven’t heard of the director since Splice came around, and since then I’ve been looking forward to seeing what he had up his sleeve. I am pleased to say that my expectations were met.

Splice follows two young scientists, Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Polley). The couple has recently found success and notoriety from their work with splicing the DNA of different species to create new species, hoping to find medical breakthroughs by studying their genetic makeup. Having already created Fred and Ginger, a pair of weird pig hybrids, they want to take the next scientific step by splicing human DNA — the reason, of course, being to find cures to cancer, Alzheimer’s, and so on. Their superiors, however, aren’t interested in taking the ethical risk, and instead want to focus on making a profit via Fred and Ginger. Being the insatiable scientists that they are, Elsa and Clive won’t take no for an answer, and they secretly begin their own experiment. The result is Dren (Chanéac), a beautiful and strange creature who ends up pushing her creators to more than one limit.

The story here isn’t necessarily original and, unfortunately, could have used some tightening — as could the script. There were a few moments where the characters stumbled upon a few clichéd lines, and Elsa’s traumatic back-story felt a little too contrived at times. But as far as gripes go, that is about all I’ve got.

The rest of the film really fulfilled what I’d hoped it would be. The trailer marketed it as a jump-out-of-your-seat thrill ride, but, thank God, it wasn’t. It was disturbing on an emotional level, which is quite hard for a film of this genre to pull off. The magic lies entirely in Dren: one of the most memorable characters I’ve seen in a long time whom turns out to be more human than the actual humans. She manages to bring up a lot issues that aren’t often addressed in science fiction films — parenting, ownership, control, sexuality, freedom, and, of course, ethics! Morality! Whether or not we have the right to play God and then patent it. Wonderful things to think about, though part of me wonders if audiences would rather just see the monster go haywire and try to kill everyone. So, in that regard, perhaps this isn’t for everyone. Keep in mind that it’s more of a cautionary/morality tale than a thriller.

All in all, I was satisfied. Not blown out of my seat, not mesmerized, but an impact was definitely made. It may not be for everyone, but those who go with an open mind may find a worthwhile experience.

FINAL GRADE: B

FROM HELL (2001)

DIRECTORS: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes

STARRING: Johnny Depp, Heather Graham

Given my admiration of Johnny Depp and unhealthy fascination with serial killers, I figured this film would be a perfect fit for me. On paper, it appeared it would be. Unfortunately I ended up fast-forwarding through the most of the second half, just to get to the finale. That doesn’t exactly speak well for good filmmaking, now, does it?

From Hell tells the story of the events surrounding the murders of Jack the Ripper, taking place in the poverty-stricken Whitechapel district of London in the late 1800’s. Someone is out there butchering prostitutes in the most gruesome manner imaginable, and it’s up to Inspector Frederick Abberline (Depp) to solve the case. Not only is he heavily addicted to opium, but Abberline also has some clever skills to aid him in his investigation: he is clairvoyant, often receiving visions of the victims before they’re killed. As he continues to gather clues and put pieces together, he eventually seeks the assistance of Mary Kelly (Graham), a hooker who is part of the victims’ circle. Naturally, the two of them begin to develop a romance, even as it becomes clear that Mary is likely on the killer’s hit list.

I think my problem in watching this film was the fact that I was probably expecting an historical thriller — you know, factually based. That really was not the idea behind From Hell. Yes, the historical facts behind the Jack the Ripper case were certainly the foundation of the story, but not by any means essential. Even though the case itself is unsolved the filmmakers felt it necessary not to leave anything open-ended, fitting on a contrived ending and explanation to the mystery. The result was a surprisingly boring film — boring enough to fast forward through and not miss much.

As far as performances go, I’m beginning to realize that although Johnny Depp is a phenomenal actor when given the right roles, he isn’t very good at playing characters that are fairly straight. As Abberline, he sort of deadpans his way through his scene — not in a dry, humorous way, but just flat. Even his affection for Mary doesn’t have a lot of energy behind it. It almost seems that in order to make the character interesting he had to become a clairvoyant, a trait that made absolutely no significant impact on the story and, frankly, felt out of place. Heather Graham as Mary Kelly, on the other hand, didn’t do too horribly, but like Depp she didn’t really put much into her role. Most of the time I was just distracted by her horrifically-dyed red hair, the shade of which could never be natural on any human, and was therefore just one more piece that didn’t fit into the whole picture.

Needless to say I was disappointed. I didn’t expect anything fantastic but I did expect something watchable — which, honestly, this wasn’t. It just seemed lazy and poorly executed. Don’t waste your time.

FINAL GRADE: C