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Splice
Metascore
66 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 35 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 35
  3. Negative: 2 out of 35
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  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    91
    A cheeky, great-looking, thoughtfully loopy creature feature about the lure and dangers of cutting-edge gene splicing.
  2. Tampa Bay Times
    Reviewed by: Steve Persall
    91
    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.
  3. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    90
    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."
  4. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Michael Ordona
    90
    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.
  5. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    90
    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.
  6. Time
    Reviewed by: Mary Pols
    90
    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.?
  7. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Joe Morgenstern
    90
    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.
  8. NPR
    Reviewed by: Jeannette Catsoulis
    85
    The film's greatest accomplishment is its ability to change tone at least three times without losing the audience.
  9. Movieline
    Reviewed by: Michelle Orange
    85
    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).
  10. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Keith Phipps
    83
    Played with black humor that never gets in the way of the horror, Natali's film cleverly exploits Dren's uncanny semi-humanity.
  11. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    75
    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.
  12. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    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.
  13. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    75
    The sexual component to Splice pushes the story in provocatively eerie directions.
  14. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    75
    Smart, scary -- and at times very funny -- horror movie.
  15. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    75
    Unsettling, intelligent, and way-out-there.
  16. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    75
    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.
  17. Premiere
    Reviewed by: John DeVore
    75
    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.
  18. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    75
    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.
  19. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: John Defore
    70
    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.
  20. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Nick Pinkerton
    70
    Splice is a queerly funny movie, attuned to the absurd.
  21. Variety
    Reviewed by: Justin Chang
    70
    Vincenzo Natali's outlandish sci-fier sustains a grotesque and funny fascination throughout its slightly protracted runtime.
  22. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    70
    Echoes of James Whale's Frankenstein movies reverberate through this creepy Canadian sci-fi tale, whose innocent, confused beast is alternately terrifying and pathetic.
  23. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    67
    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).
  24. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: M. E. Russell
    67
    Horror fans should still seek the film out for Dren -- one of the most striking abominations to hit the big screen in a while.
  25. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    63
    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.
  26. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Kevin C. Johnson
    63
    Moves along well until the characters and situations become too ridiculous to be believed.
  27. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Keith Uhlich
    60
    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.
  28. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    50
    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.
  29. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    50
    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
  30. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    50
    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.
  31. Orlando Sentinel
    Reviewed by: Roger Moore
    50
    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.
  32. Arizona Republic
    Reviewed by: Bill Goodykoontz
    40
    An unruly mix of science, morality, family dysfunction, horror and finger-down-the-throat gross-out ridiculousness.
  33. Boxoffice Magazine
    Reviewed by: Amy Nicholson
    40
    Despite Brody and Polley's reasonable efforts, they can't compensate for a script that undermines its curiosity about humanity.
  34. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    0
    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.
  35. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    0
    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.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.3 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 145 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 62
  3. Negative: 27 out of 62
  1. grandpajoe6191
    7
    "Spice" is a movie that urges you not to observe the plot, but to observe the maturity and growth of a CGI'd SF creature. The movie's pretty fun to watch like looking at a science experiment.… Full Review »
  2. Air
    5
    Really, don't expect anything stellar here. The biggest fault of the movie is that it tries to blend elements from various genres into one, mediocre package. The premise is intriguing; you are in a reality where gene splicing is already being used to cure many diseases of creatures other than humans (or something along that line). Two scientists who are in a romantic relationship decide to do the bold, and try using human genes in the splicing process. It is from that moment where they create the hybrid creature until the next hour which you must endure what can be called a "child-raising" sequence. However, right as you begin to think this is what the movie is all about, it takes a huge right turn and puts it in more of a horror-movie style setting, but only for a couple of minutes. Literally. It's obvious this was just put in there so they could snag the horror fanatics in their marketing, but if you come into this expecting a deep, compelling, and thought-provoking Sci-Fi film, or a scary and thrilling Horror film, then you may have come to the wrong place.… Full Review »
  3. MarcoB
    3
    I've haven't seen such a fundamentally flawed movie in ages. Brody and Polley have absolutely no screen chemistry together. I didn't believe them as a couple for even a second so when their creation invariably threatens their romance, I could not care less. Moreover, the Brody and Polley characters are supposed to be cutting edge scientists but they seem clueless about the imminent danger even though the warning signs are so obvious that a 7 yr old in the audience would be able to pick them out.… Full Review »
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