Movie Bytes: Splice (2009)

Directed By: Vincenzo Natali
Starring: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac

What It’s All About:

Clive and Elsa are lovers. They work for a company splicing together DNA of different animals to create hybrids. After the success of an experiement they decide to splice human DNA with that of their new creations against the will of their employers; creating a human like creature that matures at an alarming rate. After moving their creation to a farmhouse in order to keep her existance a secret things become out of hand a Clive and Elsa learn more about the creature and themselves.

The Final Verdict:

Just like the subject matter of the film in question “Splice” is a hybrid that fails to cement a strong basis for what it is trying to achieve. Part moral dilemma, part horror flick the film never quite reaches its true potential, falling short of the great horror film it could have been. The tension rises but never really boils over until the final moments of the film which are great yet it leaves you wondering why the film didn’t pan out like this from the beginning. Entertaining enough, but only worth a rental on a rainy weekend.

2/5

Predators (2010)

Directed By: Nimród Antal
Starring: Adrien Brody, Lawrence Fishburn, Topher Grace, Danny Trejo

What It’s All About:

Awakening in free fall, mercenary Royce is plummeting towards the jungle below when his parachute opens. He lands into the forest and finds a number of other degenerates who find themselves in the same position. None of them remember how they got there, and soon things heat up as they work out they are being hunted by an unknown Predator.

The Final Verdict:

Taking on one of the classic Sci-Fi franchises is never an easy task, especially with one so fragile as the Predator series. After a brief affair with those horrible AvP movies, this is the first sequel since the 1990 Predator 2, and fans are after something that is true to the original. It’s gory, it’s full of action but Adrien Brody fails to fill the shoes of a compelling leading man, which is a detriment to the success of the film. A step in the right direction, but fails to reach the its full potential.

2/5

Movie Bytes: Repo Men (2010)

Directed by: Miguel Sapochnik

Starring: Jude Law, Forrest Whitaer

What It’s All About:
Repo Men puts us in the dystopian future of the world where science has allowed us to genetically engineer artificial organs. These organs are impossibly priced and when a client can’t make a payment that’s where the Repo Men step in and collect your most vital asset.

The Final Verdict:
It becomes hard to work out which is more frustrating; the fact that Repo Men fails to deliver on every account or the fact that it is a movie that is screaming with potential that is never realised. Jude Law shows us that he can truly be a bad ass if the role requires, but his on screen partner in Whitaker leaves a lot to be desired. While the movie tries to touch on moral dilemmas of modern science and the state of the worlds economy, it always takes a back seat to pointless violence, horrible plot lines and mediocre dialogue. Do yourself a favour and give this one a miss.

1/5

Movie Bytes: The Thing (1982)

Directed By: John Carpenter
Starring: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, David Clennon

What It’s All About:
A group of scientists enduring the harsh winter conditions of Antarctica discover an alien life-form that is capable of assimilating any living creature. The “thing” infiltrates the base and minute by minute the surviving crew members fall into a sense of paranoia, wondering who is human and who has been infected.

The Verdict:
The Thing is quite possibly the most important Sci-Fi horror film since Alien (1979), seamlessly creating an atmosphere of true terror and paranoia. Kurt Russell truly shines as the leading man, and boasting some truly gory and terrific special effects for it’s day, The Thing is a movie that has stood the test of time.

4/5

F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin Review (PC)

In each and every wave of games that come through on the PC platform, there is always that one, must have game that will have people all over the world buying new systems, just to play the game at full spec. Quake 2 did this, Unreal did this and Crysis is still doing this. In 2006 Monolith’s horror FPS F.E.A.R was that must have game that had people buying more RAM and more graphics grunt than they could afford just to play the game in its full glory. To say F.E.A.R. 2 had a lot to live up to would be the understatement of the year and I’m happy to report it exceeds expectations.

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is the sequel fans have been waiting for. It picks up all the pieces from F.E.A.R and runs with them, improving almost every aspect of the game. Visuals are outstanding, AI is still smarter than most, even if it can be a little easy for some. Backed up with a strong narrative, fantastic atmosphere and a decent multiplayer offering, this is truly the horror FPS many have been waiting for.

To read the in depth review, including scores and much more info, please check it out here

9/10