Splice (2010)

Here it is, my first "9" of the year. This film is technically 2009, but for all intensive purposes is a 2010 release. The first thing you need to realize before viewing, is this; it is NOT a horror. I don't know who decided to market it as such, but please, do not go into it with these expectations. This film is a thriller at best, and quite honestly, it's more of a drama than anything. Director and Writer, Vincenzo Natali, executes this modern day Frankenstein tale to near perfection. It has several nods to Frankenstein, and delivered on point. Not only was this film written and directed well, but Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley did an excellent job of portraying their characters in a way that we feel the things that are happening, through them. This film presented what some will remember as, some of the most disturbing scenes they have seen in a piece if cinema. However, much more than that, it gives a lot of depth. Underneath it's sci-fi premise, I think this film, has a lot to say in the way of the dangers, and "do's and don't's" of science. It challenges our thoughts. Through the lives and actions of it's characters, we question and tip-toe the boundaries of ethics and morality. I viewed the film as a metaphorical timeline for how we sometimes handle things as people, and to me, it seemed accurate. Natali gave me want I wanted and more. Sci-fi has very much made a comeback. 9/10

-Travis Stauffer