Split Second (1992)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Best movie ever!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

In the future of London 2008, the city has suffered the consequences of global warming and as a result flooded by endless rain. Harry Stone, an anxiety induced cop is back on a murder case after witnessing a grisly murder performed by the same killer that got his partner killed. They believe the murderer is a serial killer, although the nature of the deaths seems inhuman.Split Second is a low budget British sci-fi action horror film that managed to gain a theatrical release. However, despite promising marketing, it ended up being a flop due to the bad timing of the LA riots.It ended up being relatively successful on home video and has now become a cult favourite among genre fans, although it still remains relatively obscure.Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner), while not giving his best performance, is having fun with the part and delivers some cheesy yet funny lines. The supporting cast also consists of recognisable names including Alastair Duncan (Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor), Kim Cattrall (Sex in the City) and Pete Postlethwaite (In the Name of the Father).The world the film tries to create is essentially a third-rate version of Blade Runner. While some of the sets look decent, it's the location shoots where you notice they're essentially filming in London without any futuristic details. I quite like the Blade Runner esque nature of the world though, it very well could serve as a prequel of sorts.Split Second is a quite flawed yet enjoyable b-movie that I believe genre fans will enjoy.

It starts saying its set in 2008 and Global Warming has flooded London. Well needless to say one more movie where the global warming cult got it wrong. The movie has a certain charm especially if you like shoot em up movies. Just remember to get a bigger f**king gun when you go hunting the almost indestructible mutant monster.

I remember Split Second being a rather popular rental title in the early 90s and everyone seemed to have seen it but me. Even the reviews I read at the time were generally favorable despite the dubious plot synopsis. Now, all this time later when I had all but completely forgotten that the movie even exists, I gave it a go. It's not good.Set in a future 2008 London this is not a city permanently haloed by TV choppers circling the HSBC building capturing footage to illustrate the recent banking crisis to half-witted viewers. No, this is a gloomier alternate London that has no financial district and has been flooded by global warming and torrential rain. Rats thrive in the shadows, decay and despair have stained every backdrop, and a serial killer is stalking the streets. Tough cop Harley Stone (Rutger Hauer, slumming it as usual) has a vendetta with said killer after the death of his partner but uses a new-found psychic connection to his advantage. His new, goofball partner immerses himself in occult research and tries to deliver expository dialogue on the nature of the killer but it's all a load of codswallop. Split Second tries to present itself as a low-budget hybrid of Blade Runner and Predator 2 but instead is more like Friday the 13th crossed with Alien. The final "reveal" of the killer is very disappointing and makes no sense whatsoever. Not only does it look like it was made out of bin liners and paste but its physicality does not fit with anything that it has done throughout the movie. And why is it wearing a helmet? Even the tagline makes no sense. "He's seen the future and now he has to kill it." Say what???The filmmakers have no clue what this thing is supposed to be. Extra terrestrial? Mutant? Demon? Devil? All of the above and none of the above? It's never defined, it doesn't add up. They chuck a smearing of hokum into the exposition hoping that some of it will work but it simply doesn't. Fast and Furious creator Gary Scott Thompson is the man behind the script but it's obvious that London was not the original location (perhaps New York as it is liable to flooding in the future) and has merely but cut- and-pasted despite localisation issues (UK cops are not armed with guns).The movie has some satisfyingly rough edges, particularly in the overlit and grainy cinematography that will remind of other British horror films of the same vintage such as Hellraiser or Paperhouse. Kim Cattrall shows us her pleasing breasts a few times, and the cheap synth score (by no one you've ever heard of) fits the grimy atmosphere. There are a couple of nice aerial shots of a London long gone but that's it for establishing the location. Since the climax was helmed by a completely different director I can't shake the notion that there was some behind-the-scenes trouble. The ending is so disappointing and rushed but I was still sort of glad that it was over. Split Second squanders the potential of the setting and theme and is never all it could be.

Hauer is a great antihero, the mood is dark and hopeless, the monster is quite funny, and there are enough jokes and enough tension to keep you fascinated also nice is that no one cares to exactly explain what or who that monster is, providing the movie with a bit of mysterythis movie works more like alien or seven, or maybe even blade runner - on the psychological level, do not expect it to be action loaded, but enjoy the darkness and tension insidea great plus point for the movie is that they didn't make a sequel. i guess they had no money for it, but still great - most movies do not benefit from a second partso as i already said - i loved it, but i can see that not everyone will still - give it a try