Frankenstein's Daughter [Review: Splice]

Vincenzo Natali's film Splice is a modern-day take on the Frankenstein theme. Two scientists, Elsa and Clive (Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody) decide to make a baby - the genetic way - but their Artificial Life chimaeras are not freaky enough so they add in some human DNA. The result is Dren, two parts Frankenstein's monster to one part ET, who is brought up in a store room and then an abandoned farm. Delphine Chanéac plays Dren for much of the film and this is an intense performance.

The moral of this story is: scientists should not be allowed to have babies. Ever. Dren is mistreated and abused by the pair in the name of science, love or science and love. For Elsa (Sarah Polley) her own shaky family background comes back to haunt her - and drives her increasingly erratic behaviour. There's no similar explanation for Clive's equally bizarre and shocking treatment of Dren towards the end of the film.