In the year 2008, the cops are better armed than before, but nothing has prepared them for this. Swift, sharp-clawed and deadly, something moves among them on the streets, in the alleyways, on the rooftops, tearing out human hearts and devouring them. Maverick cop ”Harley” Stone (Rutger Hauer, Blade Runner) lost his partner to the beast, and now it looks like his girlfriend Michelle (Kim Cattrall, Big Trouble in Little China) is next on the killer’s list. Even in the future, there aren’t guns big enough to stop the creature’s deadly force, but Stone has no choice. Teamed with rookie detective Durkin (Alastair Duncan, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Stone must stalk the edge of his own sanity if he is to destroy the rampaging Evil on the outside and banish the very real demons within . . . It could all be over in a SPLIT SECOND.

Featuring special effects by Stephen Norrington (Blade) and written by Gary Scott Thompson (The Fast and The Furious), along with an all-star supporting cast that includes Academy Award® Nominees Michael J. Pollard (Tango & Cash) and Pete Postlethwaite (Inception), this cult classic sci-fi thriller will have you on the edge of your seat!

Jamie’s Take (3 / 5)

Well fuck my horn! Rutger Hauer sure had an interesting career before his untimely passing in 2019. Forever known as Roy Batty in Ridley Scott’s masterpiece Blade Runner, Hauer also starred in some very good films (Nighthawks and The Hitcher) to some rather odd career choices (Blood of Heroes and Blind Fury, two guilty pleasures of mine) to direct to VHS / DVD crap (Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal and Dracula II: Ascension) and then finally in bit parts like Batman Begins and Sin City. Split Second is in that guilty pleasure section for me. I saw it back on VHS in 1993 and so, 27 years later, I have revisited old Rutger and let me tell you, this movie is absolutely hilarious and oh so fun. But I think you need to be in the right mood to watch this film: willing to forgive its short-comings like acting, script, and budget. It wouldn’t hurt to also be intoxicated.

This movie stinks of early 90’s: black trench coats, lots of steam and rain, characters wearing sunglasses at night because…you know…it’s cool. Set in London in the future (2005) the city has been overrun by countless rain and smog making life not worth living and while the streets are overrun by criminals, there is one man who is willing to clean up the streets: Harley Stone. He’s a cop that covers every cliche you have ever seen in 80’s and 90’s cop movies. Stone is just as nuts, if not more so, than the average criminal. He’s a cop on the “edge” as we are told. He’s no-nonsense (although he spouts off plenty of nonsense with some hilarious F-letter word drives that had me howling) and works alone. If anyone rolled their eyes or groaned at my description, stay the fuck away from Split Second.

Partnered with a straight laced cop who knows a lot about the occult, Stone and his new partner are tracking down a serial killer that is tearing the hearts out of its victims. This same killer is the one that murdered Stone’s partner years ago and wounded him, giving him this psychic ability to track this monster down. That’s right, this is not a man but some creature that the film makers decided not to fully explain where this creature is from. There was some hoopla about the occult and pentagrams but maybe I was distracted at how funny this film was or seeing Kim Cattrall playing a damsel in distress while showing off her milk pillows.

As the two cops track down this creature which looks like Marvel’s Venom and scream and swear at one another, it becomes clear the films’ sole purpose is just to entertain and boy does it ever. Stone at one point interrogates a dog and shows the dog his badge and calls the dog a “dickhead”. Stone runs down a hallway and calls his fellow officers “fucks”. Every single character in the film is pissed off / furious or bona fide insane. Cattrall is the only actor that seems to be trying but is given so little to do she just needs to look pretty and scream. I was amazed that this film even went to theaters as the movie seems cheap and thrown together (may as well call this movie Last Second). Split Second borrows and steals from movies like Predator, The Terminator, I Come in Peace, Blade Runner, I could name maybe five more films.

While it seems like I am hacking the movie, I had fun watching Split Second and actually was entertained and appreciated it for what it was. It’s goofy, violent and at just 90 minutes, it’s a great time waster. Hauer is over the top and looks like he was having fun making the movie (one scene has him start to laugh that apparently was him trying to hold in his laughter on set). There’s some decent actors chewing the scenery like Pete Postlethwaite and Michael J. Pollard and Alun Armstrong as well as some fairly decent make-up effects by Stephen Norrington (Aliens and Alien 3). Listen, I like 80’s and early 90’s action films and cop pictures so sue me.

MVD’s transfer though…ugh. While I thought the transfer on Mikey was decent, MVD drops the ball here. The picture quality looks soft to me and never very clear. It also looks like the print source must have been lousy as the film has speckling and cigarette burns where the reels were changed. There’s no excuse to have this print damage on a blu ray release these days.

MVD does make up for it in the special features department as the disc is loaded with special features like audio commentaries, interviews and the longer Japanese cut that has one extra kill that didn’t make it in the original film. While the added scenes don’t add much to the film in terms of story, it is nice to finally see the longer cut that has been circulating via bootleg for years. If only they spent more time on the transfer as they did with the special features.

Split Second is dumb. It’s not very well made and has some lines of dialog that are both groan-inducing and laughable. It is also very entertaining, action packed, has boobies and blood, and a pretty decent monster. I say give it a try at least for a split second.

Hidden Treasure/Dumpster Fire?

Jamie says: Hidden Treasure!

Jamie's Take:	(3.0 / 5)
Blu-ray Extras:	(3.5 / 5)
Average:	(3.3 / 5)

• High Definition (1080p) presentation of the main feature in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, newly scanned, restored and color graded in 4K from the 35MM internegative
• Audio: 2.0 LPCM Stereo
• English Subtitles
• NEW! Audio Commentary by action film historian Mike Leeder and filmmaker Arne Venema
• NEW! ”Great Big Bloody Guns!” Producer Laura Gregory & Actor Alastair (Neil) Duncan on Split Second (HD, 27:25)
• NEW! ”Call Me Mr. Snips!” An Interview with Composer Stephen W. Parsons (HD, 22:21)
• NEW! ”Stay In Line!” An Interview with Line Producer Laurie Borg (HD, 23:02)
• NEW! ”More Blood!” An Interview with Creature Effects Designer Cliff Wallace (HD, 32:03)
• NEW! ”Shoot Everything!” An Interview with Cinematographer Clive Tickner (HD, 18:57)
• Original 1992 Split Second Making of featurette that includes interviews with stars Rutger Hauer, Kim Cattrall, Alastair (Neil) Duncan, Michael J. Pollard, Writer Gary Scott Thompson and more! (SD, 6:26)
• Original 1992 behind the scenes featurette with effects creator Stephen Norrington, cast and crew (SD, 3:41)
• Split Second Japanese Cut, full frame with burnt-in Japanese subtitles (SD, 95:00)
• Deleted Scenes from the Japanese Cut (English, burnt-in Japanese subtitles) (SD, 4:42)
• 7 Promotional TV Clips (SD)
• U.S. VHS Home Video Promo (SD, 2:34)
• Theatrical Trailer (SD, 2:15)
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by The Dude Designs created exclusively for this release
• Collectible Mini-Poster featuring original style VHS artwork