O Destruidor

I got a copy of the movie I recorded from the TV, and a DVD release. I was sorry to find out that the movie on DVD lack some crucial scenes that cripples the atmosphere. For example, there's no scene when Stone asks the girl on the steps of the residential house if she saw the monster. Just after the scene when Stone starts firing and get all the cops on himself here goes the scene in the men's bathroom. No ambulance, no nightmares, the scene, when Durkin sees Stone's scars and gets curious, is cut. So is the scene with Durkin's wife when he and Stone just drop in to warn her. Is there a theater cut on DVD? And is there a director's cut then for TV?

Split Second was a blast to watch. This movie has all the great elements of action and horror, with a bit of the absurd to border on a cult film. Rutger Hauer is very good in this kind of film. The film is tight and there aren't alot of wasted frames. I enjoyed the characteristics of Hauer's Stone character. Watching Rutger Hauer take on a monster and scarf down some chocolate donuts was very cool. The monster itself was a very imaginitive creation and I liked that it attacked so quickly. Split Second is a great film for a rainy day or a late night feature.

Rutger Hauer plays one big walking cliche in this amusingly, knowingly routine B flick that does have a sense of humour about itself. Hauer plays a surly, slovenly detective named Harley Stone in London in the "future" year of 2008. Global warming has resulted in the city being partially submerged in water. Stone stalks through this unusual setting in search of the serial killer who slaughtered his partner once upon a time. This particular killer loves to taunt Stone, and has a penchant for EATING the hearts of their victims. What Stone learns is that the psycho might be something other than human.

Excellent urban-Hell production design and moody cinematography are assets of this deliberately drab-looking cop vs. killer programmer with a true grungy aesthetic. Some people may feel that projects like this were way beneath Mr. Hauer, but the truth is that he always remains fun to watch, and he's clearly having a good time as this tormented protagonist. Kim Cattrall, on first glance, seems under-utilized as his love interest, but then she *does* get to help out during the final assault on our inhuman villain. Hauer has good odd-couple chemistry with Alastair Duncan as the eager-beaver new partner with book smarts regarding serial killers. Duncan is very amusing, and fun to watch himself. The supporting cast includes a couple of familiar faces: Alun Armstrong, American character actor Michael J. Pollard (popping up briefly to do his typical shtick as a rat catcher), Pete Postlethwaite, Ian Dury, and Tony Steedman.

The movie further benefits from its relentless and seemingly impossible-to-kill murderer, as well as a pretty good pace that results in a trim run time of just over an hour and a half. Its dialogue may sometimes be silly, but it's good that screenwriter Gary Scott Thompson (future creator of the "Fast and the Furious" franchise) and director Tony Maylam ("The Riddle of the Sands", "The Burning") refuse to ever take any of this too seriously. Viewers will also love the over the top gore and Stephen Norringtons' design of the monster (bearing more than a passing resemblance to a Xenomorph from the "Alien" franchise).

A good, mindless way to kill 91 minutes.

Seven out of 10.

Split Second is great at what it does delivering fast paced action filled b-movie sci-fi / noir. The acting is actually quite good, the plot interesting and well constructed and the action sequences just about deliver the goods on what was no doubt a tight budget.

Rutger Hauer does OK as the tough guy cop Harley Stone without ever really excelling, congratulations should go to Neil Duncan who brought humour to the movie as the irrepressible Detective Dick Durkin, Kim Cattral makes a pre sex in the city film appearance and does OK with the limited scope she's given.

It's an entertaining bit if sci-fi fluff the influences are obvious Blade Runner, Predator and Alien instantly spring to mind It never scales the heights of those films to transcend it's genre and as such is unlikely to appeal to anyone who doesn't go for this kind of B-movie style entertainment. However it does provide a good hour and a half of solid entertainment in an interesting environment, the rain lashed semi flooded London is an interesting premise and is explored as much as budget allows.

If you want good plot, fine acting and very big guns wrapped in a nice bit of trashy sci-fi then this could be the one for you. 7/10

If you don't like B-movies, then you should stop reading this review right now, and drop any interest in Split Second.

If you do DO like B-movies, check this one out, because it is a quintessential cult flick. Great hammy acting by Rutger Hauer and some of the supporting cast. (Note that great hammy acting is considerably different than great acting). The director actually did pretty well, establishing the post-apocalyptic mood with reasonable skill. The effects are godawful, but neat, just as it should be in this kind of movie. Lots of great one liners, especially from Hauer.

All in all, if you enjoy those good-because-they're-bad sci-fi flicks, this is a mighty enjoyable one. If you're looking for meaningful cinema... ummm.. well what are you doing looking up a movie about an alien serial killer?