Split Second

A run-down, renegade cop - complete with trench coat, shades and matching bad attitude - scours the urban underbelly in search of a brutal killer that just might be 'ol Scratch himself.  Oddly enough, that synopsis fits no less that three movies from the '90s:  The First Power, End of Days and Split Second.  All three are guilty pleasures for genre fans, but the latter is likely the most obscure, starring Rutger Hauer and Alastair Duncan as a mismatched pair of heavily armed police officers hunting down a demon through the flooded streets of a semi-apocalyptic London.  

 

Obsessed with vengeance for his murdered partner, Detective Harley Stone (Hauer) is saddled with a straight-laced replacement (Duncan) that specializes in serial killers.  But the by the book approach isn't getting results as the killer leaves a trail of victims - their hearts torn from their ravaged bodies - and promises to add Stone's former lover (Kim Cattrall) to the list.  As the duo steadily increases their arsenal, it becomes obvious that what they're hunting is more than just a man...and might not even be human at all!

 

Set against a soggy urban backdrop of global warming, there's no real reason the film needs to take place in a neon-lit near-future other than to remind the audience of Hauer's iconic role in Blade Runner.  But kudos to the production designer and art department for pulling it off brilliantly!  Director Tony Maylam's film looks like it cost 10X more than it actually did.

 

An amalgamation of action and sci-fi clichés, Split Second plays like an early '90s mixtape of video store greatest hits. While the script by Gary Scott Thompson (also responsible for the first Fast and Furious screenplay) is an exposition-heavy mess, it's also wildly unpredictable, refusing to telegraph where it might go next.  Hauer is looking a bit paunchy here, but still delivers his crippling paranoia and one-liners convincingly.  He's supported by a cast that's far better than it has any right to be, including Pete Postlethwaite, Duncan and Cattrall, who flashes some obligatory brief nudity and adds a touch of class.   

 

Part of the MVD Rewind Collection, with packaging that replicates the VHS experience (actually the new cover art is a big improvement), the hi-def transfer is a bit uneven, looking quite colorful and detailed but with some speckling and softness throughout.   If that keeps you on the fence about Split Second's cinematic value, the extras package is almost irresistible.  Along with archival promos, trailers and behind-the-scenes stuff, a slew of all new interviews with producers, composers, effects designers and cinematographer Clive Tickner are included.  Not to mention an extended Japanese cut of the film itself and a collectible poster.  In this case, bigger definitely is better.

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