In a flooded future London, Detective Harley Stone hunts a serial killer who murdered his partner, and has haunted him ever since. He soon discovers what he is hunting might not be human.In a flooded future London, Detective Harley Stone hunts a serial killer who murdered his partner, and has haunted him ever since. He soon discovers what he is hunting might not be human.In a flooded future London, Detective Harley Stone hunts a serial killer who murdered his partner, and has haunted him ever since. He soon discovers what he is hunting might not be human.
Alastair Duncan
- Det. Dick Durkin
- (as Neil Duncan)
Sara Stockbridge
- Tiffany
- (as Sarah Stockbridge)
Chris Chappell
- Rat Catcher's Assistant
- (as Chris Chappel)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
For a serious horror movie, look elsewhere. For a b-movie that's right up there with Army of Darkness for amusement value and quotable lines, watch Split Second.
Stone and Durkin are the Gritty Cop and Sidekick who hunt down a mystery killer who taunts them at every step. It has supernatural strength and speed. They have guns. Big F***ing Guns.
Definitely worth renting, and buying too if this is the kind of movie you like.
Stone and Durkin are the Gritty Cop and Sidekick who hunt down a mystery killer who taunts them at every step. It has supernatural strength and speed. They have guns. Big F***ing Guns.
Definitely worth renting, and buying too if this is the kind of movie you like.
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.
How did I not see this until now? A crazy movie that is far out (to use a saying that may still mean something or not). Lots of blood, a splash of nudity here and there and a buddy cop story that is borderline insane. So is the character that Rutger Hauer portrays of course, but we wouldn't like it any other way.
Really good effects (for the time), a social message (with some eco thinking), but more importantly just a lot of fun. Who in their right minds would start making out while in the middle of fighting the big bad evil of the movie? Well if you guessed it, there are not extra points. Now this is tongue in cheek and very self aware ("I thought I saw a rat" is probably the best/worst excuse for total destruction). There's still a chance this won't tickle you or get you in the right mood. It doesn't mean anything more than this not being your cup of tea. Try to take this for what it is though and it may bring you a lot of joy ... lots of it! Maybe even more than blood being spilled here ...
Really good effects (for the time), a social message (with some eco thinking), but more importantly just a lot of fun. Who in their right minds would start making out while in the middle of fighting the big bad evil of the movie? Well if you guessed it, there are not extra points. Now this is tongue in cheek and very self aware ("I thought I saw a rat" is probably the best/worst excuse for total destruction). There's still a chance this won't tickle you or get you in the right mood. It doesn't mean anything more than this not being your cup of tea. Try to take this for what it is though and it may bring you a lot of joy ... lots of it! Maybe even more than blood being spilled here ...
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.
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.
Did you know
- TriviaIn the scene in Stone's apartment where they are discussing their names, Alastair Duncan is actually laughing. Because Rutger Hauer held it together so well, it was decided to keep it in the movie.
- GoofsAlthough the movie is supposedly set in a flooded London, all the footage shot along the Thames, shows the water levels at a perfectly normal level. This is most evident when we see the Thames flood barrier, which is always shown open. (The barrier was built in the early 1980s to protect many London boroughs from rising sea levels)
- Quotes
Dick Durkin: We need to get bigger guns. BIG FUCKING GUNS!
- Crazy creditsThe famous Moody Blues song "Nights in White Satin" is credited as "Knights in White Satin". "Knights in White Satin" is the title of the Giorgio Moroder remake.
- Alternate versionsThe Japanese cut contains several additional scenes, mostly with Det. Dick Durkin's girlfriend Robin, who he mentions in the film, but she is never seen. Roberta Eaton, who plays her, is credited in all versions of the movie, but all of her scenes were cut from all but the Japanese version. This extended cut has been released on DVD in Germany, and the additional scenes on Blu-ray in the UK.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Cine-Masochist: SPLIT SECOND (2018)
- SoundtracksNights in White Satin
Performed by The Moody Blues
Composer: Justin Hayward
Licensed courtesy of The Decca Record Company
- How long is Split Second?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- El devastador
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $7,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $5,430,822
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,250,000
- May 3, 1992
- Gross worldwide
- $5,430,822
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