Journey Through Sci-Fi: A Science Fiction Film Podcast · James Payne

Splice (2009) & Mimic (1997): Playing God with DNA

February 12, 2026·1 hr 14 min·10 clips

James and Matt open with mad science. They frame *Mimic* and *Splice* as two movies where a scientific fix looks useful at first and then turns disastrous, which gives the pairing a clean thematic spine. The banter stays loose, including the joke about mimicking each other, before they settle into why the subject works so well for horror sci-fi. Both films live in creature-feature territory. They also keep one foot in Frankenstein territory, especially with *Splice*, where bioengineering and creation do the same kind of narrative work that mad science often does in the genre. They are genuinely pleased with the pairing. James and Matt say it is satisfying when a double feature actually connects instead of forcing a theme, and they argue this one gives them plenty to work with. *Mimic* gets the longer conversation. They revisit how well it holds up nearly 30 years later, including the dark CGI moments and the way the creature work blends into the movie instead of standing apart from it. Susan and Peter matter here. They point to the backstory of the couple, the chemistry between them, and the high-pressure circumstances that make the human side of the movie feel more substantial than a basic bug picture. The bugs are scary. The discussion also notes that the film never really needs to explain them in this level of detail, and that the subterranean threat and the sense of an entire colony waiting below the city help sell the dread. Logic becomes part of the fun. They question the jump from trapped scientists to blowing up the New York subway, but they treat that escalation as part of the movie’s opportunistic, big-stakes energy rather than a fatal flaw. Peter comes off as focused. His priority is getting Susan and Chewy to safety, and the episode follows that moment into the practical problem-solving that pushes him back toward danger. The conversation keeps returning to how mad science starts as a solution and becomes a hazard. It also keeps the films moving by shifting from plot mechanics to genre lineage and back again. James and Matt never make the pairing feel academic. They keep it conversational, with small corrections, clarifications, and the kind of back-and-forth that sounds like two people working the films out together. The episode is especially good when it treats the movies as objects of memory and rewatching. *Mimic* in particular gets measured against time, and the hosts are interested in what still lands and what now feels like a leap. Their tone stays easy. Even when they disagree a little about how far the films can stretch their logic, they do it with a shrug and keep moving. The result is a compact genre discussion that understands why mad science stories are fun before they become tragic. It leaves the listener with the sense that these movies are about invention, panic, and the point where a fix stops being a fix. They close by teasing something lighter next time and signing off.

As heard by us

A friendly double feature where mad science turns into a creature feature problem.

James and Matt frame Mimic and Splice as mad science stories, and the pairing holds because both films begin with a fix for a problem before the creation starts to run ahead of everyone.

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Why you'd press play

You want a smart double feature where mad science keeps getting worse.

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