Dominique Nicole D.

Ricardo
STEM 11 -G102

Reaction Paper: “Splice”

Life is full of mysteries, it may sound cliché, but this is the reality that man tries to
unravel throughout the years. Splice, a movie directed by Vincenzo Natali, clearly
depicts this kind of situation where man seeks answers that would revolutionize science
and life itself.

Clive and Elsa, the main characters of the film, are genetic engineers whose passion
and desire burn for science especially for their current project involving hybrids. This
devotion to science allowed the couple to take extreme measures for them to protect
their latest scientific breakthrough, the creation of Dren.

The word "splice" pertains to the act of connection by interweaving the strand. As
such, this word is very instrumental in the film. Apart from being its title, Clive and Elsa’s
experiment centers on the splicing of animal DNA to create hybrids. By adding human
DNA, Dren was created, a more diverse hybrid and intelligent to say nonetheless.

At first, Clive planned to terminate Dren as soon as possible, but Elsa was able to
convince him to let the hybrid live. The couple kept their new creation a secret from the
world since their superiors forbid them in developing a human- animal hybrid
beforehand. They focused very much on Dren allowing them to form a special bond with
her, but because of this the couple neglected their work with Fred and Ginger.The both
of them failed to notice that Ginger turned into a male which led to a gruesome between
Fred and Ginger. This phenomenon would later apply to Dren herself.

After jumping into Clive's brother, Gavin, Elsa and Clive decided to transfer Dren into
a secluded farm where she became extremely lonely and even displayed carnivorous
tendencies. Dren began to disobey Elsa, and started to have a mutual attraction with
Clive resulting to a sexual relationship between the both of them. It only shows that
Dren still has human feelings amidst being a hybrid of various animals.

The couple's relationship began to crumble when Elsa caught Dren and Clive
"together". One time as they went back to the farm, they saw Dren “dead”. They buried
her and burnt the things that reminded them of her. When their superior found out the
human DNA that Dren possesses, he confronted Elsa and Clive, but they insisted that
Dren is already dead.

Little did they know that Dren transitioned to a male similar to Ginger. They saw Dren
enraged, killing Gavin, William their superior, and Clive. At the same time Dren raped
Elsa which caused the latter to be pregnant, but she was able to kill Dren later on.
 Personally, I think that this movie proves that people shouldn’t excessively alter life
because there are certain tendencies that we’re not prepared to face similar to what
transpired during the last portion of the film. Deeper understanding about life through
studies and experiments could be achieved without giving up ethics.

Moreover, researchers should always keep in mind that the main objective of
conducting studies is to help sustain the lives of every individual and not for personal
gain. In the movie, Elsa insisted with the experiment for her to experience the feeling of
having a child which she has full control of.

Lastly, based from what I’ve seen in the movie, one should always remain
professional during work to avoid being overly attached with something that could
hinder him or her in making the right decisions for the greater good of everyone.

Life is very complex, a matter wherein various occurrence are left unexplainable.
With sheer curiosity, man has tried different means to progress life and contribute new
things to the world. Considering the continuous scientific breakthroughs by mankind,
they should know their limitations. Limitations that would protect every specie here on
Earth, and prevent the harmful consequences of modern-age discoveries.