Cinematic Chimeras — When Is Messing With Human DNA Ever a Good Thing? » 30ninjas

Cinematic Chimeras — When Is Messing With Human DNA Ever a Good Thing?

Share on Facebook posted 05-27-10 by Max Tedaldi

Scientists on the forefront of biological technology have found ways of using animal cells to benefit mankind. An ear harvested on a mouse’s back here, pig skin grafts used to rehabilitate burn victims there, it’s all very cutting edge. But the directors of the silver screen have a very different point of view from the scientists of the hybrid DNA dream. Chimeras, or human-animal hybrids, are typically portrayed in film with the sort of venereal disgust usually reserved for failed STD tests. The horror of seeing human limbs and organs combined or replaced by genetically inferior beings is a lot like seeing that guy on the subway with the skullet; you are simultaneously terrified and entranced. Prepare for equal parts horror and exhilaration!

The Fly

The Cronenberg remake of the 1958 classic is one of the best examples of the chimera genre. Jeff Goldblum is cast to perfection in the role of Seth Brundle/BrundleFly. Goldblum’s natural quirkiness and jittery delivery throughout the film is a perfect accompaniment to the oscar-winning special effects. Scenes like the arm-wrestling arm tear and Veronica’s dream of a maggot baby create a biological horrific atmosphere that countless other films have tried to recreate.

During the screening of The Fly, audiences found one scene to be too gratuitously graphic. Apparently there where a few audiences members who ralphed during the now infamous Monkey-Cat scene. The scene is startling but hardly gratuitous, it may even be a little bit adorable.

Species

Let’s say that you get a message from some alien sentient being. Awesome right? The message tells you how to create an unlimited self-renewing form of energy that will transform the way that the world operates. They sound friendly, maybe even trustworthy? Next come instructions on how to combine human DNA with alien DNA. Hmmmm, now things are beginning to get a little suspicious. But if you are the scientists in Species it’s fine because the instructions basically translate into “grow your own hottie in less than 4 months.” Sil, the alien human hybrid is equal parts slimy xenomorph and swimsuit model. She’s looking to get down to business as soon as possible to spawn enough offspring to take over the human race. Will you get the alien or the Pamela Anderson lookalike? Sounds like an ad for Craigslist.

Splice

Splice isn’t actually in theaters yet, but this film looks like a worthy successor to the throne of Sci-Fi Film Freak Fest. The scorpion/rabbit?/human hybrid called Dren looks terrifying but also a little bit sexy (too far?). Check out the latest clips from the film here

District 9

Director Neill Blomkamp’s mock-documentary science-fiction film is fraught with political and social allegory to the post-apartheid climate of South Africa. It is also one of the coolest and emotional action science-fiction films of all time. District 9 was done in the Cloverfield-documentary-style creating an atmosphere of immediacy to the film. When mild-mannered manager in the Department of Alien Affairs, Wikus van de Merwe, is inadvertently sprayed with a mysterious alien fluid he begins to transform into one of the aliens he was formerly liaison to. This transition is painful and weird and gross and one the sweetest man-to-shrimp metamorphoses ever captured on film. After watching this film tell me honestly that you don’t crave some scrumptious Red Lobster.

Alien Resurrection

Take one of the most bad-ass, alien crushing female protagonists of all time, and clone her with a mixture of xenomorph DNA and what do you have? A super strong, acid blooded, Ripley who not only empathizes with the aliens, but also has the aliens thinking of her as a mother. This might be one of the biggest boneheaded moves in film history. What made scientists think that taking their best weapon against the xenomorphs and combining her DNA with that of the aliens was a good idea?

The Island of Dr Moreau

It was Dr. Moreau’s dream to take animals and by splicing their feral DNA with human DNA, create a divine human void of any animal instincts. This obviously doesn’t work and Dr. Moreau is forced to control his freaks with a form of electro-shock therapy to keep them under control. This obviously doesn’t work and all of Dr. Moreau’s island goes to shit, but not before we get treated to a weird mix of ape/feline people.

The Island of Dr. Moreau is one of the most infamous tales of film production gone horribly wrong. Val Kilmer was going through a nasty divorce with his then wife Joanne Whalley, and Marlon Brando was dealing with the tragic suicide of his daughter. This combined with rotating directors, actors, and innumerable script changes to create a film that was nominated for six razzies.

Lizard Boy

A brilliant and quirky scientist (is there any other kind?) is abandoned by his wife when she finds out that he is sterile. So he does what any other quirky, brilliant scientist in his position would do: He creates his own son by combining human and lizard DNA. Sounds like a no-brainer! Problems (I know how could there possibly be any problems with this) arise when his lizard boy starts to develop a taste for human flesh. This is definitely one of those “so bad it’s bad-ass kind of films“!

Squeal

Squeal actually has a lot in common with the critically acclaimed horror film Frontiers. Both start off with a seemingly innocuous road-trip that quickly descends into a bizarre spiral staircase of weird. In Frontiers it’s a confrontation with Nazi-Cannibals and in Squeal its a meeting with evil Pig-Humans. Haven’t we seen this episode of the Twilight Zone before?

Avatar

Perhaps the only example of human-hybrid cloning that has a beautiful, not to mention 3-D result. It doesn’t really matter that the plot-point explaining the Na’vi/Human hybrids is paper thin, the outcome is gorgeous. In order to improve relations with the Na’vi of the earth-like moon Pandorum, humans create avatars that are Na’vi/Human hybrids controlled remotely by humans of corresponding DNA. What Colonel Miles Quaritch and Parker Selfridge don’t count on is the unbearable sweetness of the Na’vi race and the tree-burning lameness of their own army. By the end of the film the audience doesn’t even think of the avatars as hybrids but full fledged Na’vi warriors. In the end we see them. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.