Escape to the Movies: Splice

[Ersanven]

I'm gonna pass on this in the the theater and maybe wait for DVD. It looks really stupid to me. I know it's supposed to be intellectual but I just have this feeling that this might give me the same feeling District 9 left me with. (I hate hate HATE District 9.}

 

[dalek sec]

I'm going to give this a shot Bob. I'm not sure if it's this year's "District 9" but I'm glad it actually sounds like a smart movie.

 

[SovietSecrets]

Saw this last night and was a fairly good movie to see and very interesting. If you want something to talk bout def go see this.

 

[Yelchor]

...Wait. Is this movie only available in the US?

I can't find any information on a release in Europe!

Someone, please show that my fear is misplaced. I must see this movie!

 

[Zydrate]

Some Sundance movies are put On Demand for free, I hope I get to see this one soon.

 

[littlerudi08107]

I heard that the director for this movie is being brought on to make a film adaptation of Neuromancer. Here's hoping...

 

[DeadAccountMoveAlong]

I have to say, I saw the movie just based on your review and I am glad I listened. This movie did not dissappoint.

 

[Comic Sans]

I just saw footage from The Human Centipede.

Damn you Bob for bringing it to my attention and making me curious. I think I'm traumatized.

 

[blarghblarghhhhh]

You people sound all excited, but you have no idea how mind raped you're gonna be when it's over

Especially you girls.

this. the movie made my girlfriend nearly throw up at a couple points. It is a really good movie though. A tad predictable and the ending could have been better but I would recommend it to anyone with an open mind.

 

[Arashi500]

Get him to the greek was actually really funny compared to other comedies this year. But yeah gotta agree, this movie is absolutely brilliant.

 

[Toxilium]

Sigh, did everyone see the same movie I saw? I thought the entire film was forced, predictable, and just plain sick (mainly in the third act). I'm even a junior sciences student right now and just didn't like the characters, script or the "moral dilemmas" (despite being quite shallow).

 

[Mr.Pandah]

Sigh, did everyone see the same movie I saw? I thought the entire film was forced, predictable, and just plain sick (mainly in the third act). I'm even a junior sciences student right now and just didn't like the characters, script or the "moral dilemmas" (despite being quite shallow).

I definitely watched the movie you watched. The movie has really left me...I don't want to say scarred, but I'm greatly disturbed. The whole third act had me sick.

Spoiler

Rape of any kind, even used to advance some horrible plot, really makes me sick to my stomach

The movie was horrible and I really rather have it erased from my memory. I really would.

 

[Zeikier]

After seeing Splice, I was disappointed after going there fueled by the promise of ?This year?s District 9.? I was expected a small cast of strongly developed and sympathetic characters. What I got was a man who would be passable if his morality was on straight, and a somewhat sympathetic, primarily female character who soon devolved into a deranged, psychotic monster (Dren was pretty bad too now that I think about it).

Joking aside, as I said I was disappointed. The first two acts were the strongest, and I found myself questioning the measure of Dren?s humanity, and whether or not it would be right destroying it because of its inhumane origins. Eventually, though, the movie seemed to derail any sympathy towards Dren (and the other main characters for that matter) by demonizing her, taking her beyond sympathy. It was like the movie realized it had to fill some inane horror/slasher quota and make the movie?s climax fit accordingly, not to mention exploiting Dren?s fetishistic nature.

Part of me wants to chalk this up to science?s wild unpredictability, but another part was annoyed by the dismantling of the story?s integrity. I?ll take the latter part?s side. If a character is meant to be sympathetic, it?s probably a good idea to preserve that instead of getting rid of it for the sake of thrills and a pointless sequel (stories that are self-contained seem to be a dying art).

District 9 made sympathetic characters out of repulsive creatures you would never believe to be so, whereas Splice just forgot that sympathizing with the unknown and inhuman was possible.

 

[Atmos Duality]

I'm sorry, but saying "..it's this year's District 9" doesn't really say much. "District 9" was a mediocre film in my opinion and this film seems to take the classical "let's talk about cloning gone horribly wrong".

Another thing, why would the "We're tampering in God's Domain" be a bad theme? That's how we've essentially f***ed up everything else by going in way over our heads in a shallow attempt at making scientific progress for the sake of human civilization.

Well, at least District 9 had a precedent set in the real world (I believe it's based on an incident going on in South Africa) so at least the story and characters felt more real than that other shiny, CGI blockbuster (some remake of Dances with Wolves..) that failed to present a shred of humanity beneath its thick armor of stereotypes and cliche' characters.

As for science = tampering with God's Domain/Nature/Disney Philosophy/whatever...well. I say it's a non-issue; a red herring at worst. To me, we have sciences that support the preservation of that natural order just as much as we have sciences that destroys it.

It just so happens that in real life, the latter sort of science is more prevalent due to politics, greed, and some individuals' (or entities, if I am to treat corporations like people now..) personal quests for more money and power. Human beings by nature seem to want to spend resources to create new artificial objects, or at least modify their environment to their liking.
Material culture goes back beyond written history, and proves this.

Of course, I didn't come here to start babbling about existential philosophy and all that; I'm here to see if this new movie is worth a damn!

 

[Thunderhorse31]

Have to agree with Frozen Donkey Wheel2 on this one. The first 2 acts are good; however, they do not make up for the absolutely TERRIBLE third act. As stated earlier, you talked about the human centipede's "WHAT AM I LOOKING AT" factor being its only trait. Although Splice has more going for it than that, it falls back into what the human centipede did. Everything got thrown out the window; you know what I'm talking about.

Also one more thing:

Spoiler

Why does it HAVE to turn into a guy to rape her? Seriously. Would have made much more of an impact to have the female Dren rape the mom proving that it's bad or whatnot. But no, it HAS to turn into a male version, or pretty much, create a new monster just for the ending. They could have created much more thought by making the creature rape its mom, causing something ACTUALLY interesting to talk about, but no, we have to go with classic stereotypes of <Women jumps man's bones, he's at fault> <Man jumps girl's bones, man is raping her> So much for being a smart horror film or actually making you think huh?

I agree with you and Donkey Wheel as well, though I must admit there is the possibility that there are deeper issues at play, even in the "shocking" scenes towards the end. For example:

Spoiler

As a guy, it was interesting to think "just because something looks like a chick and wants to jump your bones, is that justifiable?" I mean really, let's be honest - most nerds have had some kind of fantasy about hot aliens and it's been present in tons of movies and games (it's been going on since Star Trek, at least), so here we are presented with a somewhat skewed version of that possibility - can we really fault him for going through with it, as sickening and twisted as it may be? Probably, but it's not quite so black and white.

Also, the whole "turning into a male and raping its mom" scenario raises a few interesting thoughts as well. First, as "just another animal" of sorts, isn't it expected that Dren only knows how to rage, kill, and fuck? Isn't it just giving in to it's base instinct (which is present in everyone, really)? Besides, it isn't rape since Elsa didn't say "no"...

Don't get me wrong, I think tons of the third act really was just "OH MY GOD MY EYES," I just wonder if there isn't some deeper questions going on at the same time.

 

[Jai Deliete]

After seeing Splice, I was disappointed after going there fueled by the promise of ?This year?s District 9.? I was expected a small cast of strongly developed and sympathetic characters. What I got was a man who would be passable if his morality was on straight, and a somewhat sympathetic, primarily female character who soon devolved into a deranged, psychotic monster (Dren was pretty bad too now that I think about it).

Joking aside, as I said I was disappointed. The first two acts were the strongest, and I found myself questioning the measure of Dren?s humanity, and whether or not it would be right destroying it because of its inhumane origins. Eventually, though, the movie seemed to derail any sympathy towards Dren (and the other main characters for that matter) by demonizing her, taking her beyond sympathy. It was like the movie realized it had to fill some inane horror/slasher quota and make the movie?s climax fit accordingly, not to mention exploiting Dren?s fetishistic nature.

Part of me wants to chalk this up to science?s wild unpredictability, but another part was annoyed by the dismantling of the story?s integrity. I?ll take the latter part?s side. If a character is meant to be sympathetic, it?s probably a good idea to preserve that instead of getting rid of it for the sake of thrills and a pointless sequel (stories that are self-contained seem to be a dying art).

District 9 made sympathetic characters out of repulsive creatures you would never believe to be so, whereas Splice just forgot that sympathizing with the unknown and inhuman was possible.

Got to agree. If this movie wanted to be clever, engrossing, and satisfyingly entertaining like District 9, well, then I think it must have been very confused about how to try doing that.

 

[The Wooster]

I'm intrigued by the concept and the presentation seems top notch but I won't be seeing this?

Why?

Because Dren creeps the ever loving piss out of me.

 

[JokerCrowe]

Why HAVE I NOT HEARD OF THIS MOVIE!?

God, I really hope it plays in a theater near me. otherwise Imanna have to get a copy on DVD. It looks pretty effin' Sweet.
And... yes, I would.
[sub]Not really surprising, I'm getting to a place of dangerous desperation.[/sub]

EDIT: also human centiped. Not gonna see it. I already use up this years supply of brain bleach. when my "friend" told me to go to that'snotsexy.
gaahh! just writing it reminded me! Brain bleach! brain bleach!

 

[Fordo]

Great! Another good movie I will never convince my girlfriend to go see...

 

[arcticphoenix95]

Sounds awesome!

One question though: Is there a sex scene?

For whatever reason sex in movies immediately turns my girlfriend off of movies. Like we went to go see Watchman and she seemed to be enjoying it until the sex scene, and she checked out. Needless to say it was awkward.

Anyway, I'd really like to see this movie, and I wanted to ask to see if I can bring her along or if it's a movie I should see by my lonesome.

there is 2. the second one is the MOST FUCKED UP THING i've ever seen.