Split Second (1992 film)
Split Second | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | |
Produced by | Laura Gregory |
Written by | Gary Scott Thompson |
Starring | |
Music by |
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Cinematography | Clive Tickner |
Edited by | Dan Rae |
Production company |
Muse Productions |
Distributed by | Astro Distribution |
Release dates |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Box office | $5.4 million[1] |
Split Second is a 1992 British science fiction film starring Rutger Hauer, Kim Cattrall, and Neil Duncan. The film is directed by Tony Maylam and Ian Sharp.
Plot
In the year 2008, heavy rainfall has flooded large areas of London. Rookie police officer Dick Durkin (Duncan) is assigned to partner Harley Stone (Hauer), a burnt-out and highly cynical homicide detective who, according to his commanding officer, survives on "anxiety, coffee and chocolate" after being unable to prevent the murder of his partner by a serial killer several years previously. Now however, the murders have begun again and Stone and Durkin are assigned the case. After investigating the scenes of several killings, they appear no closer to identifying the killer, with their only clues being that the murders seem to be linked to the lunar cycle, and that the killer has multiple recombinant DNA strands, having absorbed the DNA of the victims.
Finally, after Stone's girlfriend Michelle (Cattrall) is kidnapped, the detectives track the killer deep into the flooded and disused London Underground system and discover the truth: the killer is not human. It's a horrific and possibly demonic form of life that is fast, savage, bloodthirsty and fixated upon killing Stone just as it previously killed his partner. In fact, as the movie progresses, each killing and "appearance" of the monster is an attempt to lure Stone closer and closer.
During a tense battle in and around an abandoned underground train, Michelle is found suspended over the water as bait, but Stone is able to pull the monster's heart from its chest and kill it. However, as the policemen leave the scene with Michelle in a rescue dinghy, bubbles of air are seen breaking the surface of the water, suggesting that there may be more than one monster.
Cast
- Rutger Hauer as Harley Stone
- Kim Cattrall as Michelle
- Neil Duncan as Dick Durkin
- Michael J. Pollard as The Rat Catcher
- Alun Armstrong as Thrasher
- Pete Postlethwaite as Paulsen
- Ian Dury as Jay Jay
- Roberta Eaton as Robin
- Tony Steedman as O'Donnell
- Steven Hartley as Foster
- Sara Stockbridge as Tiffany
Production
The subway scene was directed by Ian Sharp.[2]
Reception
Lawrence Cohn of Variety wrote, "Split Second is an extremely stupid monster film, boasting enough violence and special effects to satisfy less-discriminating vid fans."[2] Chris Willman of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "It's hard to think of a less satisfying creature feature in recent memory than the simply terrible Split Second".[3] Stephen Holden of The New York Times called it "fairly dull".[4] Doug Brod of Entertainment Weekly called it "utterly soulless and imitative".[5]
References
- ↑ "Split Second". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
- 1 2 Cohn, Lawrence (1992-05-01). "Review: 'Split Second'". Variety. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
- ↑ "MOVIE REVIEW: 'Split Second': A Monstrous Disaster". Los Angeles Times. May 5, 1992. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ↑ "Reviews/Film; A Most Unpleasant London". The New York Times. May 4, 1992. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ↑ Brod, Doug (1992-09-04). "Split Second". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
External links
- Split Second at the Internet Movie Database
- Split Second at AllMovie
- Split Second at Rotten Tomatoes