Splice
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: June 4, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
26
Mixed:
7
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
A cheeky, great-looking, thoughtfully loopy creature feature about the lure and dangers of cutting-edge gene splicing. Read full review
91
Tampa Bay TimesSteve Persall
It's a refreshing change from run-of-the-kill horror. Nothing in Splice feels done merely for the moment -- it's to creep you out later. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
The film takes itself frivolously when that's appropriate--some of it is charmingly silly--and seriously when, as is often the case, all sorts of good surprises are unleashed. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesMichael Ordoña
In its mix are ethical quandaries in biotechnology, nature versus nurture and an adorable-sexy-disturbing monster. So there's that. But it wins best in show by focusing on one of the weirder relationship triangles in recent memory. Read full review
90
TimeMary Pols
The movie is ridiculously over the top, inelegant and so defiantly ?crazy?that it works, reminding you how fun gore and creatures that go bump ?(and? grind) in the night can be. It's a sci-fi horror film, but no actual ?comedy?has made me laugh as much this year as Splice.? Read full review
90
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Mr. Natali, whose earlier films include “Cube,” hasn’t reinvented the horror genre. But with Splice he has done the next best thing with an intelligent movie that, in between its small boos and an occasional hair-raising jolt, explores chewy issues like bioethics, abortion, corporate-sponsored science, commitment problems between lovers and even Freudian-worthy family dynamics. Read full review
90
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Dark, sleek, funny and creepily infectious, the genetic-engineering horror-comedy Splice is a dynamic comeback vehicle for Canadian genre director Vincenzo Natali, who made a splash a few years ago with "Cube." Read full review
85
MovielineMichelle Orange
Heady, creaturely, and looking for trouble, Splice is also a sovereign creation: Conceived and midwived by Vincenzo Natali (Cube), it suggests the pure-bred Canadian love child of James Cameron and Margaret Atwood (I see David Cronenberg presiding over the baptism). Read full review
85
NPRJeannette Catsoulis
The film's greatest accomplishment is its ability to change tone at least three times without losing the audience. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Played with black humor that never gets in the way of the horror, Natali’s film cleverly exploits Dren’s uncanny semi-humanity. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Disappointing then, that the movie introduces such an extraordinary living being and focuses mostly on those around her. All the same, it’s well done, and intriguing. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
The sexual component to Splice pushes the story in provocatively eerie directions. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Unsettling, intelligent, and way-out-there. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
The movie begins to run out of gas as it racks up a body count, but even the mad-scientist and I-created-a-monster clichés are contorted satisfyingly enough. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Played as a child by Abigail Chu and as an adult by Delphine Chanéac, Dren morphs into a special-effects miracle, sexy and scary in equal doses. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Despite acting under the computer-generated encumbrances of that monkey tail and those centaur legs, Delphine Chanéac does something remarkable with Dren – she makes her a disturbingly sexy thing. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Smart, scary -- and at times very funny -- horror movie. Read full review
75
PremiereJohn DeVore
The flick is driven not by special effects or outrageously gory acts of violence, but by its characters. Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley reinvent the crazy scientists playing God, turning in performances that are charming one minute, petulant the next, and ultimately, compellingly hubristic. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn Defore
Writer/director Vincenzo Natali takes his tale in some truly icky directions, not quite making it into Cronenbergland but going far enough to elicit solid 'ewww' laughs from the crowd. Read full review
70
VarietyJustin Chang
Vincenzo Natali's outlandish sci-fier sustains a grotesque and funny fascination throughout its slightly protracted runtime. Read full review
70
Village VoiceNick Pinkerton
Splice is a queerly funny movie, attuned to the absurd. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Echoes of James Whale’s Frankenstein movies reverberate through this creepy Canadian sci-fi tale, whose innocent, confused beast is alternately terrifying and pathetic. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Splice is a twisted little genetic updating that's not half as electrifying as Shelley's novel twist on the whole man/God/creation situation (and the perils thereof). Read full review
67
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
Horror fans should still seek the film out for Dren -- one of the most striking abominations to hit the big screen in a while. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Splice is as much a psychological thriller and drama about bio-ethics as it is a horror movie. Like the vastly superior "The Fly," it uses gore sparingly; delivering shocks to the audience is a secondary consideration. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchKevin C. Johnson
Moves along well until the characters and situations become too ridiculous to be believed. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith Uhlich
If you’ve seen "Species," you know where this don’t-mess-with-Mother-Nature horror show is going, though director-cowriter Vincenzo Natali has a few interesting twists up his sleeve. Read full review
50
Orlando SentinelRoger Moore
It begins with such promise, a kinky modernist twist on a classical sci-fi morality tale. That it degenerates into conventional, genre horror is all the more disappointing. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
By the time the film's climactic 15 minutes rolled around, viewers at a preview were laughing as if they were watching "Knocked Up." For a horror picture, such a reaction is the equivalent of a stake through the heart. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
It's good to see Polley back on screen, after her successful turn behind the camera directing 2006's "Away From Her." She brings a measure of intelligence to the one-dimensional role. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
For all its surface seriousness, Splice is a regulation monster movie. So however somber it gets, it's never truly thought-provoking, and however outrageous it gets, it's still always 20 minutes behind the audience. It's just too dumb to be serious and too slow to be entertaining. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/03/MVKJ1DOO26.DTL#ixzz0pqYvhKuF Read full review
40
Boxoffice MagazineAmy Nicholson
Despite Brody and Polley's reasonable efforts, they can't compensate for a script that undermines its curiosity about humanity. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz
An unruly mix of science, morality, family dysfunction, horror and finger-down-the-throat gross-out ridiculousness. Read full review
0
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
The yuck factor spins off the charts in Splice, a thoroughly repulsive science fiction-horror flick that slicks up its B-movie tawdriness with high-gloss production values and two otherwise classy stars. Read full review
0
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
Splice is an unholy mess because it fuses together the worst parts of every bad medical-monster thriller, and then boldly cranks up the ridiculous. Read full review
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