A couple of genetic engineers named Clive Nicoll (Adrien Brody) and Elsa Kast (Sarah Polley) are trying to splice animal DNA to create hybrids for medical use at NERD (Nucleic Exchange Research and Development). So far, they have succeeded in creating Fred and Ginger, two large worm-like creatures they hope to mate. Next, they would like to create a revolutionary human-animal hybrid, but their employers Joan Chorot and William Barlow (Simona Malcanescu and David Hewlett) forbid them to do so. They would rather the scientists focus on extracting proteins from Fred and Ginger for drug production.
Clive and Elsa go ahead with their plan in secret and create a viable prepubescent female creature. The plan is to terminate it before it reaches full term, but Elsa persuades Clive to let it live. It matures rapidly and develops a mentality like a human child. When it uses blocks to spell out NERD, reading Elsa’s shirt, she calls it Dren (Abigail Chu as a child and Delphine Chaneac later). Clive’s brother Gavin (Brandon McGibbon) discovers her and runs away when she jumps on him. When Dren has a fever, she is dipped in cold water and when Clive holds her under, she develops gills. Elsa begins to mother her and they neglect Fred and Ginger, not noticing that Ginger has become male until, at a publicized presentation, they kill each other.
They move Dren to the isolated farm where Elsa grew up. Dren becomes carnivorous, grows retractable wings, and enters human adolescence. She becomes bored but they dare not let her out. It turns out the human DNA used in her creation was not that of an anonymous donor, but Elsa. Dren uses the stinger in her tail to kill the cat and Elsa cuts it off. Dren produces pheromones and seduces Clive, horrifying Elsa. They try to terminate Dren, but she seems to be dying.
William Barlow discovers human DNA in Dren’s protein samples and arrives at the barn. Elsa says Dren is dead and buried behind the barn. But Dren, now a male, rises from the grave, kills Barlow and rapes Elsa. Clive tries to help but Dren overpowers him. Dren kills Clive and Elsa kills Dren. In the head office, Joan tells Elsa that Dren’s body contains patentable biochemical compounds. They offer the pregnant Elsa a lot of money to bring her fetus to term, and she accepts.
This seriously creepy movie was written and directed by Vincenzo Natali, famous for Cube, and produced by Don Murphy, Joel Silver, and Guillermo del Toro. Critics were impressed but audiences not so much. I think they were creeped out, frankly. It was filmed in Toronto with funding from Telefilm Canada. It was respected at Sundance, and Dark Castle released it in the States, just before it was to be consigned to video. It did not perform that well in the States, but it is now, of course, a cult film. This is a horror movie. I don’t even want to list the ways in which it's disturbing, the more so because it’s so beautiful and touching sometimes.
The creature, which is somehow repulsive and gorgeous at the same time, was created by Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero. They made eleven different versions. The eyes are Delphine Chaneac’s but set farther apart digitally. The idea began when the director saw a photo of a mouse with a human ear on its back. Clive and Elsa are named for Colin Clive and Elsa Lanchester, the stars of Bride of Frankenstein. Dren is made of human, salamander, kangaroo, bird, fish, horse, and stingray DNA. Delphine always stood in high heels to get the proper posture. She worked closely with Abigail Chu, who played the character as a child. The film has often been compared to Species. Much of the sex-scene between Dren and Clive was cut out, but it’s hard to say whether because it was too sexy or too disturbing. Dren is nude for about 20% of the film. The implication is that Elsa had an abusive mother and became one herself.