Vincenzo Natali’s SPLICE is a dark fantasy about what would happen if maverick scientists decided to flout the rules and
Vincenzo Natali, San Francisco, CA 5/10/10
insert human DNA into a hybrid creature. The result is terrifyng on both a cerebral and an emotional level, with the complex structure of the human psyche, good and bad, making for the real horror of the piece.
When I spoke to the director/co-writer on May 5, 2010, I was as interested in the psychological research he had done as I was in the research he had insisted on in order to ground his premise in serious science. The lively conversation that ensued covered science, commerce, why Adrien Brody wears a peculiar plaid suit in the film, and the endlessly fascinating realm of bioethics. Equally and just as endlessly fascinating was Natali’s experience at Sundance, where SPLICE was a hit and where it became the first film that producer Joel Silver signed onto that he didn’t produce from scratch himself. Natali also took the opportunity to quash the rumor that he was forced to change the film in order to get distribution.
Your Thoughts?