Splice: Creature Dren’s Origin Explained

Vincenzo Natali’s 2009 sci-fi horror movie, Splice, explored the perils of experimental technology and the high cost of human experimentation with his original creature, Dren.

Splice, which starred Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, and Delphine Chanéac, received largely positive praise from critics, and yet didn’t get the level of acclaim it fully deserved. Citing an interest in exploring what happens when science fiction catches up to what’s become possible with modern technology, Natali searched to the human genome as his next frontier. Human experiments and body horror are a staple of sci-fi/horror crossover movies, and the concept in Splice has been played with before in movies such as David Cronenberg’s The Fly. However, Natali managed to bring a unique creature to the screen that added strong elements of humanism with different animal influences.

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While creature horror is nothing new, and has been explored since the golden age of horror cinema with Universal’s monsters like Creature from the Black Lagoon and even more recently with The Shape of Water, Dren stands alone in Splice as not only a horrifying example of scientific discovery, but a subversive take on the aftermath of where these discoveries often lead – despite good intentions, much can go south, and quickly.

Splice: Dren’s Creature Origin Explained

In Splice, Dren’s creation is overseen by two genetic engineers, Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Polley), who continue on with their forbidden project after it’s terminated by their company. The company, called Nucleic Exchange Research and Development (N.E.R.D.) ends up serving as the inspiration for Dren’s name after she is born – Dren is NERD backwards, and the creature essentially names herself in a charming sequence while she’s playing with lettered blocks. N.E.R.D. uses animal hybrids for testing, then apply these specimens to serve various medical purposes, which is partially why human DNA gets into the mix – later, the human component of Dren is revealed to be Elsa’s own, and could be partially why she almost immediately warms to the specimen like a mother would to her own child.

Clive and Elsa have known failure with their experiments before, yet still become attached to the highly intelligent, curious Dren who seems more humanoid than animal as she rapidly develops and ages. Yet, during various stages, both scientists seem to have regrets, particularly Clive. One sequence has him attempting to drown Dren in water, though his intentions are dubious. It is at this point where she starts to show signs of other species’ traits – they learn Dren is, at least in part, amphibious, as drowning doesn’t kill her. As she develops and goes through puberty, Dren simultaneously exhibits signs of human adolescence, including a sexual attraction to her own creator, Clive.

As far as appetite, Dren’s carnivorous nature is immediate foreshadowing that she might become dangerous, and she later develops wings that are similar to a bat. Dren also has a long tail with a barbed end, like a venomous stinger. Her legs are bowed, her body lean, but her face and upper torso very much resemble a human female, which is bolstered by the fact that Dren is played by an actress (Chanéac), and isn’t fully CGI. The humanoid aspects of Dren make her even more terrifying – and vicious – because the human side of her could very well propel Splice‘s bizarre ending sequences that include Dren abruptly changing her own gender, then sexually assaulting Elsa. Though Dren is killed at the end of the film, it’s revealed that Elsa’s rape resulted in pregnancy. Splice left plenty of room for a sequel, but so far, there’s no sign of future endeavors.

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