James Whale's 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" was one of the earliest films to chronicle man's quest (via science and nature, and in notably strict defiance of God) to literally create life by transgressing human reproduction; granted, the result was the hideous, hulking visage of Boris Karloff, but one couldn't help but be in awe of the sheer gumption of Victor Frankenstein and his accomplices. Roman Polanski evolved this idea (via adaptation of Ira Levin's novel) in "Rosemary's Baby," which took the notion of creating something truly awful (the son of Satan) and using it as a metaphor for a woman's self-destruction and paranoia during pregnancy. Larry Cohen's "It's Alive" took contemporary paranoias of a carcinogen-engulfed atmosphere and nuclear proliferation and applied it to his own murderous, bloodthirsty infant. And rounding out this prolific bunch is David Lynch's "Eraserhead," a hauntingly surreal horror film that not only presents parenthood with fearful uncertainty, but treats acts of sexuality and procreation with a metaphorically clinical (but never explicit) disgust.

Vincenzo Natali's "Splice" falls somewhere within this noteworthy pantheon of mad science, moral/ethical conundrums, and icky special effects. Many have already drawn comparisons (both positive and negative) to the early, mutation-informed works of Canadian auteur David Cronenberg, but Natali is just as interested in exploring the questions under the surface as he is showing an astutely creative visual eye. For a while, the film plays like something closer to an art-house feature (especially given the presence of character actors like Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley) with intriguing ideas and a solid FX budget. There are missteps along the way, but for the most part, this is a solid little sleeper.

Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Polley) are young scientists who have made a breakthrough in artificial life: two blob-like creatures (one male, one female) with the ability to manufacture an artificial protein for the purpose of nourishing livestock. In typical, business-first fashion, their corporate overlords marvel at the notion of mass-manufacturing it, and promptly reject Elsa's proposition of human experimentation (to cure genetic disorders). Driven by curiosity, the duo wind up creating Dren (Delphine Chaneac),a creature whose accelerated life cycle prompts the creepily maternal Elsa to keep her as part of a more personal "experiment." "Splice" contains subtle, well-played allusions to bad childhoods, long-term psychoses, and the shifting roles of parents in the eyes of children (Clive starts off as vehemently oppositional; later, he becomes a reluctant accomplice who ultimately develops a bizarre affection for the creation),not to mention the tension between parents amid the child-rearing process; watching this trio interact supplies most of the film's compelling, hypnotic moments. This deliberate pace and focus on character may prove off-putting to horror fans sold on the ADHD weirdness of the trailer, but those with open minds will find much to gorge themselves on.

Despite all the admirably creative spins on familiar concepts, Natali (or perhaps the producers, action aficionado Joel Silver being one) run out of fresh material by the climax, which takes chase clichés and overdone monster effects down a road that exists solely to patch up some character arcs and drum up excitement in a blandly conventional way. That being said, the first 3/4 of "Splice" is such a surprisingly effective slow burn of suspense and dread (culled from universal hopes and fears),played out by actors who know the fine line between camp and creep, that its later machinations are pretty easy to forgive.

6.5 out of 10

Inspired by James Whale's Frankenstein film and David Cronenberg's body horror films. Splice starts off promisingly and then goes off the rails.

Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) are genetic scientists who created an artificial life spliced with various DNA. Two blob like creatures, one male, the other female are produced which are intended to produce artificial proteins. The scientists then go a step further in creating Dren (Delphine Chaneac) that has an accelerated life cycle but they seemingly have not thought through the ethical issues surrounding their experiment.

Clive is reluctant to care for Dren, Elsa has a closer maternal bond with Dren. As Dren quickly grows older, her physical and emotional needs change. Despite looking human she has parts of other creatures such as a tail and wings.

As the film is labelled as a horror film you can kind of figure the creature would go on a rampage at the end, however Clive's intimacy with Dren is too left field and far fetched especially as he scolds Elsa for betraying research principles. It has a pretty unconvincing ending which is unintentionally hilarious.

SPLICE is the latest variant on the Frankenstein genre, with a couple of genetic scientists managing to create an alien-human hybrid in their laboratory before it all goes inevitably wrong. By far the most interesting thing about the production is the presence of director Vincenzo Natali, who has been away from movie screens for far too long since his astonishing debut, CUBE.

Sadly, SPLICE nowhere equals the quality of that movie, and actually turns out to be a bit lacklustre come the ending. It starts off well in the first half, with some great laboratory scenes that incorporate truly outstanding CGI work in the form of the hybrid creation. The film generates plenty of interest at this stage, but begins to fall apart once the action shifts to outside the laboratory.

The ensuing scenes are long, repetitive and seem to go nowhere. I appreciate the change in direction of the storyline, but other than one or two moments of interest, nothing much really happens. By the end, it's turned into yet another generic CGI monster fest. The cast is nothing to write home about either. Adrien Brody seems to have the ability to be either really engaging (as in THE JACKET) or as stiff as a plank of wood (PREDATORS). He veers towards the latter here, and his character is pretty dull. Sarah Polley is better as his slightly zealous partner, but this is hardly an actor's movie.

Natali does a fine job of directing and his work is one of the main reasons to keep watching. I'm still surprised at how well they handled those newborn creature scenes; an exemplary combination of live action and CGI imagining that sets a new standard for the calibre of FX. It's a shame there isn't a more original film to hang those effects on.