Character Relationship Map: Splice

Characters

• Clive (played by Adrien Brody) — protagonist

  Genetic engineer at N.E.R.D. who secretly creates and raises the hybrid Dren with Elsa. He discovers the human DNA used was Elsa's own, has a sexual encounter with Dren, and attempts to terminate her....

• Elsa (played by Sarah Polley) — protagonist

  Genetic engineer and co-creator of Dren. She persuades Clive to keep the hybrid alive, forms a maternal bond, and discovers Dren's human DNA is hers. After being raped by the metamorphosed Dren, she k...

• Dren (played by Delphine Chanéac) — supporting

  A rapidly aging human-animal hybrid created by Clive and Elsa. Amphibious, carnivorous, and sexually mature, she forms a bond with Clive before metamorphosing into a male. She kills Barlow, Gavin, and...

• Barlow (played by David Hewlett) — supporting

  N.E.R.D. employer who forbids the creation of human-animal hybrids. He discovers human DNA in Dren's protein samples, travels to the isolated farm with Gavin, and is killed by Dren upon her emergence...

• Gavin (played by Brandon McGibbon) — supporting

  Clive's brother who accidentally discovers Dren and flees in fear. He later reveals the farm's location to Barlow and is killed by Dren when she attacks them at the barn.

• Joan Chorot (played by Simona Măicănescu) — supporting

  Employer at N.E.R.D. who initially forbids human hybrid experiments. At the film's end, she informs Elsa about the patentable biochemical compounds in Dren's body and offers a large sum of money to co...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Joan Chorot → Barlow (Professional Corporate Colleagues) — They jointly enforce N.E.R.D.'s official research restrictions.

  Joan Chorot and William Barlow are identified as the employers who forbid the human-animal hybrid experiment.

• Joan Chorot → Elsa (Professional Employer And Subordinate) — Joan supervises Elsa's work and later applies corporate incentives to her.

  Joan is an employer at N.E.R.D. who initially forbids the hybrid experiment and later negotiates with Elsa about continuing the pregnancy.

• Barlow → Clive (Professional Employer And Subordinate) — Barlow represents institutional authority over Clive's research.

  Barlow is one of Clive and Elsa's employers and orders them to abandon the human-hybrid project and focus on protein extraction.

• Clive → Gavin (Family Brothers) — Their family connection brings Gavin into the secret experiment's danger.

  The plot explicitly identifies Gavin as Clive's brother, and Gavin discovers Dren before fleeing in fear.

• Clive → Elsa (Romantic Partners) — Their romantic partnership is intertwined with their scientific collaboration and parenting decisions.

  Clive and Elsa work as a couple on the hybrid experiment, live together, and are described as a couple when they move Dren to the farm.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Clive → Dren (Narrative Creator) — Clive's role changes from creator and caretaker to threatened opponent.

  Clive secretly develops the human-animal hybrid with Elsa, raises Dren, and later attempts to terminate her.

• Dren → Gavin (Conflict Killer And Victim) — Gavin's discovery and disclosure of the farm lead to his fatal confrontation with Dren.

  Dren attacks Barlow and Gavin at the barn and kills Gavin after emerging from the grave.

• Dren → Barlow (Conflict Killer And Victim) — Their encounter ends in Dren's lethal rejection of corporate interference.

  After metamorphosing into a male, Dren rises from the grave and kills Barlow during the barn attack.

• Barlow → Gavin (Alliance Investigation Allies) — They cooperate in investigating and confronting the secret hybrid project.

  Barlow arrives at the farm with Gavin after Gavin reveals the location of the hidden experiment.

• Elsa → Dren (Narrative Creator) — Elsa is both Dren's genetic source and the human figure who raises her.

  Elsa helps create the viable hybrid, names Dren, forms a motherly bond with her, and later discovers that Elsa's own DNA was used.

Story Analysis

A secret genetic experiment becomes a tragic struggle over creation, parenthood, control, and corporate exploitation.

Plot Progression

1. Forbidden Genetic Ambition — Clive and Elsa create Fred and Ginger and envision a human-animal hybrid. Their employers forbid the experiment, so the pair proceeds secretly.
2. Naming the Impossible Child — Elsa preserves the developing hybrid and helps bring Dren into existence. Dren's intelligence and amphibious biology create both wonder and fear.
3. A Family in Hiding — Elsa grows attached to Dren while the scientists neglect their original research. After Fred and Ginger die, Dren is moved to Elsa's isolated childhood farm.
4. The Hybrid Unbound — Dren rapidly develops predatory and sexual traits, while Clive discovers Elsa's DNA in the creature. Violence, exploitation, and forbidden intimacy destroy the fragile household.
5. Graveyard Metamorphosis — Barlow and Gavin locate the farm, but Dren rises after metamorphosing into a male and attacks them. Elsa kills Dren, then accepts Joan's financial offer while pregnant.