By Peter Covino

Entertainment Editor

At least it isn't a sequel.It is so rare to get an original science fiction fiction film in summer instead of the usual high-octane special effects variety, that it is hard to find fault with Splice for at least trying.

Directed by Vicenzo Natali and starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley, Splice tries to reinvent the classic Frankenstein tale. Natali has Frankenstein so much in mind that the two main scientists  here are named Clive and Elsa and that is no accident, despite what happens in the lab. Colin Clive starred in all three of James Whale's Frankenstein films and Elsa Lanchester was the Bride of Frankenstein.

Oh, if Victor Frankenstein only had a lab like Clive and Elsa. He too could have created something like Fred and Ginger, and Dren, the three creatures that Clive and Elsa whip up in the lab.

Clive and Elsa are definitely the top dogs in the lab they created, which has been taken over by a corporation, of course.

The corporation wants results on their investment, and Clive and Elsa, as is always the case in “mad scientist” movies take things too fast, too far.

Brody, is particularly well-cast as a Dr. Frankenstein-type character, with his cold and calm demeanor, and Polley  gets the job done as well as his companion both in the lab and out.

First the pair come up with the two worm-like creatures Fred and Ginger, designed so the company can use that knowledge and make profits in areas of medical research.

But the couple take the next step and engineer Dren (Nerd backwards), a much more advanced creature who has both human and animal characteristics, including a tail with a deadly stinger. Dren grows rapidly, and is at times, just like a little girl, and because she matures quickly, soon, she is a young woman, well at least parts of her are.

But judging by what happened with their Fred and Ginger experiment, which did not have a  happy ending, you know that it is just a matter of time before once again, Clive and Elsa find they have played with lightning, just like that other Frankenstein, and can't control their creation.

Splice is very much made in the B movie tradition, so it is hard to take seriously,  especially when it tries to be goofy and eccentric, borrowing heavily from the David 's  — Lynch and  Cronenberg.

A few things don't work at all — including whatever it is that happened in Elsa's past that is only hinted at.

Natali takes some risks other places, including the fact that  Clive and Elsa are childless, and Elsa, particularly, starts to see Dren as their daughter. When things start to go wrong, Natali, who also co-wrote the script, really makes them go wrong. We haven't seen this kind of Frankenstein goings-on since Andy Warhol made his Frankenstein 3D in the 1970s.

This is not a particularly scary movie, and sci-fan fans who like their creatures more terrifying will be disappointed. But Dren is an original “Frankenstein monster,” and as played by Abigail Chu (the child version) and Delphine Chaneac (as an adult) she is played with feeling and pretty believable, as lab-type creations go.

The ending, though, has been seen many times before, and while appropriate for the situation, isn't going to have anyone going “wow.”

Critic's rating: B-

Splice is rated R for language, content.