The Sci-Fi Horror Movie That's About To Leave Netflix
If you, like millions of other festive folks around the world, like to usher in the holiday season by watching Adrien Brody make out with a genetic abomination that he's raised as his own child, then you might want to hurry up – Splice is leaving Netflix on December 31.
Splice is a 2009 sci-fi horror flick that's been finding new legs (and wings, and gills) since it popped up on Netflix earlier this year. It was directed by Vincenzo Natali, the same guy who made 1997's Cube, and it more than lives up to the weirdness of its predecessor. It's ... funky.
The film follows two researchers named Clive Nicoli and Elsa Kast, played by Brody and Sarah Polley (2004's Dawn of the Dead). Their bailiwick: DNA experimentation, creating genetic chimeras in the pursuit of unique animal proteins, to be used in drug production. The duo hopes to eventually create human-animal crossbreeds, but their stuffy old bosses have a real stick up their collective behinds about the ethics of dabbling in powers man wasn't meant to comprehend.
But it wouldn't be speculative horror fiction without a heaping scoop of hubris. Clive and Elsa surreptitiously create Dren (played by Delphine Chanéac), a hodgepodge of genes that rapidly grows to adulthood, displaying a grab bag of developmental surprises along the way. Complicated, classic sci-fi questions are asked: "Is there a scientific line man wasn't meant to cross? Does the ability to create life grant the responsibility of ending it? Who trusts a scorpion lady with their cat?"
Splice splits from Netflix at the end of the month
When Splice first arrived in theaters, Deadline reported that distributor Dark Castle Entertainment had felt it found "the next Paranormal Activity" – which, ten years ago, was really saying something. Unfortunately, the film stumbled out of the gate, earning just $7.3 million during its opening weekend and eventually pulling $27.1 million worldwide against an estimated $30 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). A potential franchise went the way of so much high-concept science fiction, and plans for a sequel were hastily scrapped.
Reviewers, like Dren's face, were split down the middle. Roger Ebert called Splice "well done and intriguing," giving it three out of four stars. Conversely, Richard Roeper called Splice one of the worst movies of 2010, lumping it in with Sex and the City 2 and The Backup Plan. Rotten Tomatoes has Splice listed as Certified Fresh, with 75 percent of critics heaping praise on its experimental story. Audiences, meanwhile, only gave it a 37 percent approval rating.
If quasi-Freudian monster horror is your jam, Splice has you covered. One part Alien, one part Species, with a splash of erotic Jurassic Park fan fiction thrown in for good measure, it's got all the earmarks of the weirdest readily available movie night of the year. Stream it on Netflix before it leaves the platform on December 31.