By Jared Curtis jared@dmcityview.com
‘Splice’
Directed by Vincenzo Natali
Rated R, 104 minutes
Like a breath of fresh air this summer, “Splice” offered genre fans something more than the crap that was being force fed to the masses on a weekly basis. Elsa (Sarah Polley) and Clive (Adrien Brody) are two young and rebellious scientists. After having their funding taken away, the two break legal and ethical boundaries with a dangerous experiment. They splice together human and animal DNA and create a new organism named Dren. The creature rapidly ages from a little girl to a beautiful but dangerous woman within weeks, and she is soon too much for them to handle. They take her to a wooded and secluded location, but that only adds to the problem. “Splice” does go off the rails a bit toward the end but is still worth checking out for its originality and the unconventional chances it takes. CV
‘The Fly’
Directed by David Cronenberg
1986, Rated R, 96 minutes
“The Fly,” which featured one of Jeff Goldblum’s best performances, questions how far a scientist would go for glory. Seth Brundle (Goldblum) has been researching in the field of teleporting and nearly has all the problems ironed out with his telepods. Brundle becomes infatuated with Veronica (Geena Davis), an investigative journalist, but her jealous ex-lover Stathis (John Getz) won’t have it. In anger, Brundle decides to attempt to teleport himself. But when he tries, a fly enters one of the telepods and Brundle comes out of the experiment a changed man. His DNA starts taking on the fly’s DNA, and he calls himself a Brundlefly. Soon he begins to horribly mutate, and his mind becomes filled with madness, which leads to a deadly and tragic showdown. “The Fly” is one of David Cronenberg’s best films, filled with great performances, outstanding effects and a creepy tone. So “be afraid, be very afraid.” CV
