Reed Alexander's Horror Review of 'Split Second' (1992)

Sleep well and dream of electric sheep. Rutger Hauer (1944-2019)There were, of course, far more iconic movies to review for Rutger Hauer. But none affected me and my love of horror as much as this movie did. Movies like Split Second are the reason I became obsessed with horror, and eventually became a horror critic and writer.

This movie shouldn't be as good as it is. Everything about this movie smacked of 90's trash films. There was just something about it. The mix of detective noir and what the 90's consider cyber punk, really just made for marvelous stylization. Everything about the atmosphere was so fucking right. This movie takes place in future London, England. The effects of Global Warming is causing the city to flood, and smog is blotting out the Sun. It's always so damp and dark. Everything is waterlogged and looks like it's rotting. The props are pretty cool too. They have to drive hovercrafts and jeeps with lifts kits to get around in the knee deep water. That and the fucking hand cannon Rutger Hauer carries is just fucking cool!

Now, on the cover you can see this is clearly a creature feature. The rubber monster's practical FX were also pretty solid. Honestly, it looked better than the rubber monster in Leviathan. It's on par with Pumpkin Head, even a little better really. In any case, it looked good in the final reveal.

Given the detective noir style, the acting is kinda kampy. Rutger Hauer wanders around in a trench coat, with his mini cannon like a futuristic bounty hunter. That meshes kinda weird with the Detroit Robo-Cop feel that they add on top of it. And remember, this all takes place in London so everyone but Hauer has a Cockney accent. It's just fucking bizarre and really doesn't sound like it should make for a serious horror movie.

And yet, it some-fucking-how works anyways! The story just kind of ties it all together. Rutger Hauer's character has been hunting this serial killer, since the case went cold after his partner was killed. Eventually the killer comes back and has this strange ritual of collecting the victims hearts. This is a game of cat and mouse where the killer almost seems to want Rutger Hauer's character to catch up. Even stranger his character can sort of sense when the killer is near by.

Look, none of that even remotely sounds like it should be any good, but it's actually quite good. I'm only going to recommend it for Horror Heads, or the kinds of people who liked the original Robo-Cop, but definitely give this little known gem a shot.

SPOILERS!!!

It very quickly becomes obvious during the movie that there is an occult element to the killer's methodology. But there doesn't seem to be any patter in the killings at first. Back when Rutger Hauer's character confronted the killer, everything apparently seemed random. Then it killed his partner and deeply wounded him. The thing is, there was a fairly immediately obvious patter. The killer didn't care who was killed but rather was selective about where they were killed. This was to create a circle and a symbol over a very large area of the River Thames. Hauer's character is supposed to be this genius detective, and it's not like they don't have access to maps. It just smacks as odd that he never noticed.

Another thing, the killer only had one M.O. back when the case first opened. That would be the removal of a human heart, any human would do, at approximately 6:30 (for whatever fucking reason). Now, all of the fucking sudden, the killer is leaving these cryptic messages with each victim. This is understandable as these messages are clearly designed to coax Rutger Hauer's character along. But if the killer didn't do that before, why start now?! Clearly the intent was always to mock Hauer, not help him.

So, I bet you're wondering what this serial killer has to do with the beasty on the movie poster? Well, it should become evident pretty quickly that the killer is not human. They get a bite mold taken from a human heart and it's obviously not people teeth. In fact, this creature is apparently some kind of demon and is conducting a ritual to open a gate to hell. I guess then, this is technically the precursor to Hellgate: London.

As ridiculous as it sounds, a detective noir style creature feature, that takes place in a 90s fashioned cyber punk future, involving two detectives hunting a serial killer demon, is actually good. It's a bonkers concept that just fucking works. Give this a shot.