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SPLICEMovie Reviews
Science fiction tale about a couple, two geneticists, who combine human DNA with that of various animals to create a mutant creature. Cast:Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chaneac, David HewlettDirector:Vincenzo NataliRelease Date:June 4, 2010DVD Release:October 5, 2010From:Warner Bros.Rating:RLength:1 hr 44 min
Splice played to good reviews that at the same time were mixed. • Curt Holman wrote in Atlanta Creative Loafing, "The rare, issue-driven horror movie that leaves audiences with things to discuss even after the gag reflex has subsided." • And Mary Pols wrote in Time, "...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." More Reviews Below...
Mary Pols, Time: EXCELLENT "...ridiculously over the top, inelegant and so defiantly crazy that it works... a sci-fi horror film, but no actual comedy has made me laugh as much this year..."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 813 words, 06/04/10
David Germain, Associated Press: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...pure potluck -- a pinch of braininess, a bit of gothic terror, a morsel of gross-out horror, a touch of kinky sex fantasy."(See all of David Germain's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 674 words, 06/03/10
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...cheeky, great-looking, thoughtfully loopy... splits into an eerie horror picture, then divides again into something out of 'Rosemary's Baby.' "(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 188 words, 05/28/10
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...leaves the viewer left with a frustrating sense that interesting paths were bypassed in service of a narrative that offers few surprises..."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 938 words, 06/02/10
Claudia Puig, USA Today: MODERATE(cg) "...elicits fear, revulsion and sympathy.... But when the creature matures into a bald, dancing teenager with hormones in overdrive, the film devolves into a silly fright-fest..."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 397 words, 06/04/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...pleasurably shivery... delivers for the horror movie fan who has grown weary of being suckered by films that promise new frights only to deliver the same old..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 954 words, 06/04/10
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: POOR(cg) "...an unholy mess because it fuses together the worst parts of every bad medical-monster thriller, and then boldly cranks up the ridiculous."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 434 words, 06/04/10
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...smart, scary -- and at times very funny... Brody and Polley's performances keep the film grounded in a semblance of reality even when it threatens to go over the top..."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 472 words, 06/04/10
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: VERY GOOD(cg) "It's all slightly uneven, made with bits of DNA from Sigmund Freud, Mary Shelley and David Lynch, but 'Splice' stands as its own weirdly compelling creature."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 294 words, 06/04/10
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: VERY GOOD "...looks positively splendiferous, with a mixture of icky and poignant and terrifying... Too bad the climax is botched, rushed when the action needs to slow down..."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 721 words, 06/02/10
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...a self-serious psychodrama and a queasy creature-feature... attuned to the absurd.... watch with the right audience, and you'll have a party on your hands."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 680 words, 06/02/10
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a film about cross-species tinkering that is all too human in the skewed way it recalls Dr. Frankenstein's famous boast, 'It's alive!' "(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 785 words, 06/04/10
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "On the surface, it's a classic Frankenstein's monster tale... Yet below that, in a vast sub-layer of twisted psychology, there's a whole lot going on."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 762 words, 06/04/10
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: POOR(cg) "It's difficult to know who the filmmakers hold in more contempt in this goopy, gory, grotesque exercise: the characters or the audience."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 346 words, 06/04/10
Mick LaSalle, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...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."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 585 words, 06/04/10
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: MODERATE(cg) "...the loony and provocative first two thirds lurches into a predictable final act that makes the whole enterprise seem just crazy..."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 480 words, 06/04/10
Cary Darling, Dallas Morning News: MODERATE(cg) "...an engrossing, if flawed, techno thriller that never quite goes where expected, and that's what makes it such a pleasant surprise."(See all of Cary Darling's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 411 words, 06/04/10
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: VERY GOOD(cg) "Natali smartly keeps the emphasis on the psychodrama of his characters.... the film takes an unfortunate turn toward the ridiculous and the laughable..."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 376 words, 06/04/10
Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...while it's far from perfect, it's a timely and well-considered thriller about the scarier aspects of genetic engineering."(See all of Jeff Shannon's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 389 words, 06/04/10
Mike Russell, Portland Oregonian: GOOD(cg) "...horror fans should still seek the film out for Dren -- one of the most striking abominations to hit the big screen in a while."(See all of Mike Russell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 358 words, 06/04/10
Kevin C. Johnson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "You'd think the characters in the new movie 'Splice' would have seen enough sci-fi thrillers to know it's not nice to fool with Mother Nature."(See all of Kevin C. Johnson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 276 words, 06/04/10
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...much smarter than the average horror flick but no less gratuitously drenched in blood and sex. The performances are uncommonly good..."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 506 words, 06/03/10
Tom Long, Detroit News: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Daring, disturbing and deliciously twisted... an innovative jolt of a movie... A sci-fi horror film that knows rules are made to be broken and then broken again..."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 576 words, 06/04/10
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "The creature effects are terrific, but the human protagonists aren't nearly so interesting, and the don't-mess-with-nature message is too hoary..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 375 words, 06/04/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (7 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...a self-serious psychodrama and a queasy creature-feature... attuned to the absurd.... watch with the right audience, and you'll have a party on your hands."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 680 words, 06/02/10
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "...provocative... explores this hoary theme with apt, flippant gravity, updating it with canny hipness, but subjecting it to too many mutations to bring it fully to life."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 556 words, 06/03/10
Keith Phipps, AV Club: EXCELLENT(cg) "Natali keeps the film unsettling by using icky creature effects, but just as often by offering up grotesque caricatures of real-life parenting discomforts..."(See all of Keith Phipps's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 527 words, 06/03/10
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The rare, issue-driven horror movie that leaves audiences with things to discuss even after the gag reflex has subsided."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 458 words, 06/04/10
Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper: MODERATE "...maintains a sense of foreboding with dark cinematography, quiet tension, and odd, steep-angled camerawork.... it does, in its weakest moments, become laughable."(See all of Tricia Olszewski's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 489 words, 06/03/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (4 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: VERY GOOD "...small and distinctive.... directed, deftly, by Vincenzo Natali from an extremely smart screenplay that he wrote with Antoinette Terry Bryant and Doug Taylor."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 446 words, 06/04/10
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...pleasurably shivery... delivers for the horror movie fan who has grown weary of being suckered by films that promise new frights only to deliver the same old..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 954 words, 06/04/10
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: GOOD "Benefits significantly from the casting of Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley... sustains a grotesque and funny fascination throughout its slightly protracted runtime."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 777 words, 01/26/10
John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "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."(See all of John DeFore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 371 words, 01/28/10
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...pleasurably shivery... delivers for the horror movie fan who has grown weary of being suckered by films that promise new frights only to deliver the same old..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 954 words, 06/04/10
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: VERY GOOD "...small and distinctive.... directed, deftly, by Vincenzo Natali from an extremely smart screenplay that he wrote with Antoinette Terry Bryant and Doug Taylor."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 446 words, 06/04/10
20.7 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Splice's reviews are separated by an average 20.7 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Splice (48 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Splice's reviews cover 93.5% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 22,748 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 474 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 58.8 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Splice's reviews on average broke 58.8 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Splice's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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