Julien Neaves, Sci Fi Head Writer
Warning: Spoilers ahead
Plot: In 2008 London flooded by heavy rainfall due to global warming a veteran homicide detective and an intellectual rookie hunt a bloodthirsty serial killer that may or may not be human.
Review: I discovered 1992 Sci Fi Horror flick Split Second while chatting on the socials. The film stars late genre legend Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner, Ladyhawke, Blind Fury) as gruff, cynical and burnt-out detective Harley Stone, and that fact alone made me track it down. And he is easily the best reason to recommend this flick. Stone oozes cool and is your prototypical bad attitude, plays-by-his-own rules, frequently jacking people up against walls kind of cop. And while we’ve seen this character type in scores of films, Hauer adds his trademark wit and charm to elevate the film into something worth watching.
But Stone isn’t alone (hey, that rhymes) in this wonderfully deluged, gloomy setting, which is in itself a character. There is his brand new and unfortunately named partner Dick Durkin (Neil Duncan) who is the brain to Stone’s brawn. The duo delivers the usual odd couple buddy cop energy, and Stone berating and pranking poor Dick never ceased to be amusing. We also have the lovely Kim Cattrall fresh off a role on Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country as Stone’s love interest Michelle McLaine, who is the widow of Stone’s late partner who was murdered by the mysterious killer. Cattrall does her best with the role and has genuine chemistry with Hauer, but she is just there to be the usual damsel-in-distress.
Split Second is described as a Sci Fi Action Horror but calling it an “action film” is something of a misnomer. There is not a whole lot of action here, especially in the first two acts, and most of the film is a thriller procedural. Think more Se7en and less Commando. And the film’s killer is kinda weird. He acts like a regular serial killer, though one that steals organs and whose acts are linked to the lunar cycle. But the killer is apparently a demon and looks like a proto-xenomorph. As I said, weird. It’s not the most original design but it is intimidating and gets the job done. And we do get a very bloody and satisfying confrontation between the killer and Stone in the end. That was a good time.
This isn’t a great film by any stretch and does feel quite dated. But Hauer’s fun performance, the cool, perpetually wet setting and the carnage candy do make it worth checking it out.
Editor Jules Score: 6.5 out of 10
Have you seen Split Second? How would you rate it? And you can check out more cult classic Sci Fi content below:
Julien “Editor Jules” Neaves is a TARDIS-flying, Force-using Trekkie whose bedroom stories were by Freddy Krueger, learned to be a superhero from Marvel, but dreams of being Batman. I love promoting Caribbean film (Cariwood), creating board games and I am an aspiring author. I say things like “12 flavours of awesome sauce”. Read more.