Wednesday, May 5, 2010

One Is The Loneliest Monster

The above poster for Splice is one of the most eye-catching one-sheets I've seen in awhile - not just for the striking image itself but for the fact that it reminds me of how rare it's become to see a single original creature as the subject of a genre film. Save for the return of an old favorite like The Wolf Man, monsters in the new millennium have stuck to a "more the merrier" (or scarier) attitude with the genre of late represented by either zombies or zombie-like victims of virulent plagues (Resident Evil, Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later, Quarantine, The Crazies), werewolves (Dog Soldiers, Skinwalkers), vampires (30 Days of Night), the subterranean crawlers of The Descent, the Lovecraftian spawn of The Mist, as well as the familiar likes of the Aliens and Predators and the mythological creatures of Clash of the Titans.

The most dramatic thing about Dren isn't the cleft down the center of her head or her X-shaped pupils but that she's a monster in 2010 without any back-up. It's become so common now to see monsters travelling in anonymous hordes, finding strength in numbers, that it jumps out to see one going solo.

8 comments:

Blue Seven said...

I'm seeing an upside-down cross in that eye, which is also rad.

Rusty James said...

they shoulda went with the older Dren - she's sexy.

Ivan said...

"Dren"? Is this a reference to that Happy Days episode when Joanie had a crush on Potsie and sent him secret love notes calling him "Dren"--which was "nerd" spelled backwards.

(I am looking forward to Splice; Polley's participation is a plus)

Jeff Allard said...

Blue, to me that cross shape gives Dren a kind of a button-eyed doll look which I find creepy.

White Wolf, this is just a teaser - hopefully there'll be a series of posters as Dren "evolves."

And Ivan, whenever Happy Days references find their way into monster movies, it's a good thing!

Anonymous said...

As Senski stated, the trailer for this was the highlight of the entire craptastic film going experience that was the new A Nightmare on Elm St.

Jeff Allard said...

PoT, it's true. The good times at Elm St. ended when the Splice trailer was over!

Timmy Crabcakes said...

This looks like a fun creature-feature... and having Sarah Polley and Dark Castle involved gives me some faith it won't completely suck.

Jeff Allard said...

Yeah, Dark Castle has a good track record as far as I'm concerned. At the very least I've been entertained by almost all their movies. And Polley's great as well.