Splice

Ah, ain't she cute? Splice's Dren
After the overblown silliness of 'Inception', it is refreshing to come across an honest-to-goodness sci-fi gem like 'Splice'. Basically a return to that old chestnut, 'Frankenstein', and all the better for that, it updates that myth for a 21st Century, post-Freudian, consumerist audience. And while Mary Shelley dwelt on the father figure to highlight parental anxieties in the Romantic male, Natali (director of the cult hit 'Cube' and the underrated 'Cypher') uses a couple to fill his 'mad scientist' role allowing him to tackle modern anxieties in both sexes.
In this take, cutting-edge genetic splicing is the means of creation. While not an original notion in itself, it's perfectly suited to the film's themes. As a result most of the action occurs in an industrial research outfit, a setting in line with a modern age where mad scientists simply don't have the resources to kit out their own labs. This leads to pragmatic problems when the transgressing scientists have to hide their forbidden research (using human DNA) from their employers.
Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley play the hot shot scientists as rock stars (complete with flashy clothes and hip furnishings). When faced with having a kid they have to grow up fast and it's this uneasy development that allows Natali to lay bare many of the contradictions inherent in modern parenting. He has a lot of fun doing it and mixed in with the horror are some laugh out loud moments. One might quibble with some of the sexual stereotypes trotted out (it is exploring Freudian ideas after all), but the complexity and authenticity of the central couple's characterisation more than make up for this. And whatever way you look at it Dren is a captivating creation.
The Film Studies mob will be making a mountain out of the 'Inception' molehill for some time to come. If they bother looking in the right place though they'll see a much more culturally relevant patchwork right here.