{"id":1496,"date":"2010-06-14T05:38:29","date_gmt":"2010-06-14T13:38:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/poptheology\/?p=1496"},"modified":"2010-06-14T05:38:29","modified_gmt":"2010-06-14T13:38:29","slug":"splice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/poptheology\/2010\/06\/splice\/","title":{"rendered":"Cut Me Out…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got a one sentence review of Splice<\/em><\/a>, the latest sci-fi\/horror film currently playing in theaters, but it doesn\u2019t an article make.\u00a0 If you really want to read\/hear it, you\u2019ll have to swear you\u2019re not planning on watching it\u2026in theaters at least\u2026because if I had to suffer through the film, you do too.\u00a0 For my extended review, read on.<\/p>\n

The beginning of Splice<\/em> literally births us into a genetic lab to a \u201cfather\u201d and \u201cmother,\u201d Clive Nicoli (Adrien Brody<\/a>) and Elsa Kast (Sarah Polley<\/a>), a couple of rock-star scientists whose research has landed them on the cover of Wired<\/em>.\u00a0 They\u2019re working on a genetic mutation that will produce protein capable of treating livestock, yet one of them, Elsa, wants to step it up a notch in search of cures for diseases that plague humans.\u00a0 To do so, they will need to insert human DNA into the experiment.\u00a0 She doesn\u2019t have to work too hard to force her pushover boyfriend Clive to follow along, but she does insert her own DNA, when other test subjects\u2019 DNA fails, behind his back.\u00a0 This \u201cnext level\u201d research is successful, at first, as it creates a hybrid being that at first looks like a large chicken, but then grows to resemble a human with bird-like legs and a tail (see below).\u00a0 Oh yeah, Dren, as they name her, becomes more \u201cattractive\u201d as well which presents a whole other host of problems for Clive.\u00a0 As they struggle to raise Dren and keep her a secret, Clive and Elsa must move forward with their initial research.\u00a0 Their first creations meet a hilarious, untimely death which does not bode will for Dren\u2019s future either.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Dren and mommy dearest, Elsa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first half of the film makes for some interesting viewing as it raises a host of ethical concerns and questions including genetic engineering, gender, abortion, and family politics.\u00a0 Clive and Elsa do engage in the requisite moral\/ethical conversations if only cursorily to establish conflict between the two.\u00a0 Yet the second half of the film rapidly devolves into a horrid mess.\u00a0 Mind you, there\u2019s absolutely nothing scary about this so-called \u201chorror\u201d film aside from the occasional jump from behind the corner and the requisite loud burst of noise.\u00a0 The second half of the film, or so, is disgusting and quite offensive\u2026and films hardly ever offend me.\u00a0 There are two disturbing sex scenes that really have absolutely no place here.\u00a0 Again, I am not against sex and violence in cinema, but they should at least serve a semblance of a purpose.\u00a0 Contrary to Splice<\/em>, the film, Old Boy<\/em><\/a>, contains a similar potentially-offensive scene, but I love that film because it is integral to the narrative.\u00a0 The twists and turns that Splice <\/em>slogs through are nothing more than signs of unimaginative writers, Vincenzo Natali<\/a> (who also directed) and Antoinette Terry Bryant<\/a>, who take the easy way out rather than thoughtfully following through on the topics and tone that the first half of the film establishes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Dren and daddy dearest, Clive.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Theofantastique has raised an interesting discussion<\/a> about the lack of attention that Splice <\/em>is receiving in theaters and questions what type of audience is seeing or refusing to see the film.\u00a0 I think when critics on one side of the argument claim that the film is substantive and intellectual is simply saying too much.\u00a0 It raises substantive questions and intelligent points but is not intelligent enough to provide any answers of its own aside from grotesque, contrived, half-hearted responses.\u00a0 Perhaps the \u201cintelligentsia\u201d are staying away because they can smell crap from a mile away.<\/p>\n

Splice <\/em>(104 mins) is rated Rated R for disturbing elements including strong sexuality, nudity, sci-fi violence and language.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve got a one sentence review of Splice, the latest sci-fi\/horror film currently playing in theaters, but it doesn\u2019t an article make.\u00a0 If you really want to read\/hear it, you\u2019ll have to swear you\u2019re not planning on watching it\u2026in theaters at least\u2026because if I had to suffer through the film, you do too.\u00a0 For my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":288,"featured_media":1499,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film"],"yoast_head":"\nCut Me Out...<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I've got a one sentence review of Splice, the latest sci-fi\/horror film currently playing in theaters, but it doesn't an article make.\u00a0 If you really want\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/poptheology\/2010\/06\/splice\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cut Me Out...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I've got a one sentence review of Splice, the latest sci-fi\/horror film currently playing in theaters, but it doesn't an article make.\u00a0 If you really want\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/poptheology\/2010\/06\/splice\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pop Theology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-06-14T13:38:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"J. 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