Split Second (1992) Retrospective / Review
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Split Second (1992) Retrospective / Review
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Oliver Harper Hello I am a recent subscriber and I wish to congratulate you on such insightful retrospectives. Please keep up the good work.
Split Second seems like it'd be a fantastic one for you and Richard to do a commentary on, given his love for B Movie schlock.
Freeze at @10:23 - tell me you don't see Hank Azaria... I searched everywhere and couldn't find his name but IT MUST BE HIM! (or a clone)
Could you do a retrospective on dog soldiers pleaaaaaase
Is this movie considered cyberpunk?
This movie was held in higher regard for me as a kid because my viewing of it felt "at a glance". I caught it on TV, had no clue of the name, and anytime I asked at video stores they had no clue what I was talking about. Then we moved and I was talking about action movies I liked to a guy at the video store (who was very cool, gave me coupons for free game rentals every month) and he knew the movie. I was so excited to find the film and watch it beginning to end. For the longest time I thought it was a Predator sequel.
The setting is still evocative to me. I love the idea of a city that's ending but doesn't quite acknowledge it yet. The nonstop rain, the flooding, the pre-cyberpunk look...all of its so good. The tone of the film is really all over the board and it executes in such a way that feels very "80s" in my mind. Great film, even if it does look a little cheap.
My mom took me to see this opening day in NYC and I remember it being a huge crowd pleaser. Everyone cheered or laughed at all the right beats. Was a great theater experience.
This movie is amazing, don't pay attention to the nonsense and just enjoy Rutger chasing a heart-eating demon with a revolver that looks like a freaking cinder block.
Said revolver apparently was built out of a paintball gun or something, cause I've been looking for a replica of that thing since I was 12.
@@JnEricsonx the Crossman 3357 - if you can’t find one, a colt python will get you close
@@StereotypicBehaviour Yeah, finally got the info. Too bad no one's made a replica of it, complete with laser sight.
@@JnEricsonx you may be interested in the Khaos revolver kit by Sellswords. Maybe you could enquire into a custom Split Second revolver :)
This movie is magic. It's somehow simultaneously tongue in cheek and dead serious. The name Dick Durkin is nothing less than legend. Motorcycle in the living room of a walk-up.
The gatling-shotguns are now up there with my favorite film weapons ever.
+Irondrone4 They had similar weapons in another 90s cheese fest, Deep Rising.
We're going to need big guns. BIG FUCKING GUNS!!!
@@jeremyzak654 That one line has to be the best ever in a movie! big budget or not it just cracks me up every single time and the daft thing is I believe the bloke when he says it! He means it 100% lol
This has always been an uber-90's guilty pleasure for me. I have fond memories of hanging out with a bunch of friends back in my college days watching this movie and drinking Zima (!) and laughing out loud at some of Hauer's hilarious lines. And Durkin's "bigger guns" meltdown is classic! Just a perfect snap shot of that particular time when there weren't a lot of high end genre films being made (for reasons I still don't understand), and having to find stuff a little lower on the spectrum to entertain you.
I have loved this movie since the old video rental store days.
Dick: "Once again the Black Masque's power prevails over evil. Yes, Detective Dick Durkin, and his psychic sidekick Harley Stone, can relax for a moment before they are called forth once more to do battle against the forces of darkness."
Harley: "Durkin!"
Dick: "Hmm?"
Harley: "Shut up!"
Cab Calloway: "That old black magic has me in a spell..."
I'm love that you reviewed this movie. Rutger Hauer is my all-time favorite actor, and Split Second is my favorite movie of his.
You review everything! I keep on looking up obscure movies from the 90's and lo and behold, Oliver has done the most comprehensive retrospective ever!
This film is so underrated its unreal
A Retrospective / Review of THE HITCHER(1986) would be great.
Finest hour of Rutger Hauer!
That was a GREAT flick, the original with Rutger not that garbage remake.
👍
@@DefCon1966 Indeed - fuck that remake.
This and "I Come In Peace" (aka Dark Angel) are 2 of my favorite scifi guilty pleasures of the early 90s.
+Brian Rosenthal I Come in Peace will definitely be reviewed in the coming months.
+Oliver Harper Rad! Looking forward to it.
+Brian Rosenthal This, this, and more this!
+Brian Rosenthal I used to own the VHS of "I Come In Peace". **laughing and crying all at once**
I'm not even sure it can be considered a "bad" movie (I Come In Peace). I mean it's VERY self aware, and surprisingly inventive (the magnetized disc weapons, the "scorpion" harpoon (pre Mortal Kombat), the whole concept of alien drug dealers. It's insane. Love it.
This film has always fascinated me ever since I saw it on VHS as a little kid. Even back then I knew it didn't make any sense. And for years I wondered if it was the script that forgot to add exposition to explain what this monster was and why it's killing and how it's related to Rutger's character or did they just cut all of those scenes out. Now I know it was the script. Shame really because there are some really good ideas in this, It is prime for a remake though. The few instances where remaking a movie would be a good idea. Also I always thought the monster looked like the Venom symbiote bonded to Pumpkin Head.
+Omer Khan It was related to his character due to killing his partner when they were both investigating it's murders. It's linked to him because it attacked him - the claw marks on Stone's body - and he can sense it because of that connection, it took his DNA. Everyone else it attacks usually dies.
As to where it came from, it's implied that it's a manifestation of Satan, collecting souls during the apocalypse (Durkin mentions the city being in chaos, flood waters etc.). Pity it all got rushed and changed around due to The First Power...these notions could've been fleshed out a bit more.
Paul Dennett I got that part but it was just thrown in as an after thought. And makes little sense. It absolutely should have been fleshed out and I feel if it was and the 3rd act wasn't rushed this could have become a cult hit.
@@keikurono192 It already IS a cult hit.
Yep, this is one of the best low budget sci films to come out in the 90s, i feel in instant love with it when i watched it on cable back then . I wish i would have seen it on the big screen .
I love the atmosphere and overall setting, it's somewhat surreal , just outside of reality, dreamlike but still properly anchored in believability .
The cast really elevates this film to greatness, they play off of each other so well that even the non action scenes are a joy to experience .
It's great when mr uptight finally lets loose and grows some balls, i enjoyed that character arc , the two leads are perfect together , they had some great chemistry .
Great review again Mr Harper , this is a somewhat forgotten gem that should be highlighted .
The scene where Dick Durkin finally flips the fuck out and rants about needing bigger guns - from the torn door to the chief storming down the passageway telling people to bugger off is my favorite "Film flip-out" - even more so that Bill Paxton's character in aliens.
i watched this retrospective like 3 times now. This is peak cinematography. Every film should look exactly like this
"It's Blade runner on 50p"..lol I might give this a watch.
You will not regret it I promise
Definitely worth a watch.
If you don't take it too seriously and realise that it's a kind of action movie spoof, then you may very well enjoy it, sir.
Blade Runner for 50p and I have no hate for it at all! I love it! best 50p ever spent imho lol
My taste in films is summed up by the fact I would much rather watch Split Second than Blade Runner, which I’ve always found very overrated.
I love this movie, warts and all. I really can't say any more about it than you have. Our opinions of it are nearly identical. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one to see a connection to this film and UK comics. I discovered this movie in 1993 around the same time I discovered 2000 A.D. back issues imported to the U.S. I thought it was just me, but it does feel like a live action UK comic.
How is it possible I've never heard of this movie til now. Thanks for the review, now I've got to find this and watch it.
Quick note for everyone:
The British Blu-ray of Split Second is locked in Region B, but the German "Cult Classics Collection" releases are very much Region ABC. Even the German 3-Disc Edition with the two DVDs as well.
So buy that sheeyit if you're at all interested!
Still my favorite sci-fi/Action movie. Loved the outfit stone wore.
It's finally time to subscribe. I keep coming back watching your retrospectives. They are so well made, contain lots of information, depth and are pure joy to watch. No-one is even close reaching this quality.
Saw this in theaters when it was released. Those scenes from the Japanese VHS were never in the original film. This was one of my favorite gems, and I'll catch it anytime I can. It's currently on Hulu.
I LOVE this movie! I caught it last year on the recommendation of a friend and got into it. Love Rutger Hauer in this movie.
I love to watch this as a double feature with I Come In Peace which are very similar. Oddly enough, both have Michael J. Pollard.
I saw this movie in theaters...please don't tell anyone.
So jealous tho
Nothing to be ashamed of 😁
Thank you Oliver for reviewing this underrated film. I thought it was a diamond in the rough.
I once worked with a guy whose name is Richard (Dick) Durkin, who is a radio DJ in the North of England. He now goes by the professional name Ricky Durkin.
Retrospective on "Strange Days" (1995).
...Angela Bassett❤️
She was my first crush.
Fantastic movie.
This is everything I could have asked for in a review for this film
To this day, I just LOVE this film! I saw it first when I was quite young, not long after it was first released on VHS (remember those, kids?) and recently treated myself to a copy on DVD :D The soundtrack is awesome too, and the comedy is spot on; so many quotable lines :)
I remember this being one of those VHS tapes I saw at my local video store and I'd never heard of it before. The cover scared the shit out of me. When I finally saw it years later it was a muddled, fascinating mess.
The creature really does look very 90's kind of like the Alien wearing a motorbike helmet.
More like some rave sunglasses :))
Hm, never heard of this film. It's amazing how much of a parody of an 80's/early 90's action film this looks like :D
This is one of those movies that I loved when I was in high school but then saw again years later and thought 'Gee, this really isn't as good as I remember it'. I loved the idea of flooded London but I never did get why the monster wore a visor.
The tension when you heard that heartbeat, the creature's breathing, and the point of views which feel like the creature's.
Please watch Warlock. its such a good movie.
+TheRealDeal Good pick, I used to love that as a kid, haven't seen it in years. Give it a go if you haven't seen it Ollie.
yea watch it oliver, damn good.
I think you mean "please review Warlock." Just because he hasn't made a video on a particular movie it doesn't mean that he hasn't seen it.
that last sentence is how I feel, about the filmmaking business here in Mexico.
Rip Mr.Hauer.
The photography in this movies is fucking really impresive
Massively underrated film. I watched this back in the day & it stayed with me
I loved this movie so much when I was a kid
Oliver Harper.
You have, just about the best voice on youtube. You are very good at making reviews/retrospectives, as you are both nuanced and respectful.
I excuse for my English grammar.
I've loved this movie since I was a teenager in the 90s! Thanks for shining a light on it.
Another great gem I actually saw in the theatre, I dug it, another for my collection
Loved this for decades, used to be a great weekend rental to watch after the pub closed. Got the dvd recently and it's also on Prime and/or Netflix
The Sergeant is priceless... LOL
Great review! I enjoyed the sense of fun you had doing it & your knowledge of areas where they filmed. I must say that I truly missed out on this one growing up. I remember seeing the cover with Hauger & the creature behind him in video stores, not taking a chance to rent it.
'You're saying this thing thinks it's satan?'
'I'm saying it IS satan'
'Well satan is in deep shit!' *chk-chk*
lol 'It's blade runner on 50p'… enough said. ...I'M TOTALLY IN!
i always associated the monster with Venom.
I saw this on a low-quality recording off of TV in the late 90's. Because of the quality the monstrs visor wasn't really obvious and it just looked like a blank face. The only thing missing were the white markings, but even without them I felt this was very Venom-ish in portrayal.
Underrated and AWESOME !!!
17:12 that’s Papillon Soo Soo the “me so horny” girl from Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket
This is an excellent video commentary with a great deal of work and detail. "B" movies often have greater energy than their expensive cousins. The crews, due to less bureaucracy, somehow reflect their enthusiasm into the actors and onto the screen . Rutger Hauer is very funny and Kim Cattrall is her usual professional self. Rutger Hauer's partner is contrite and becomes a force in the film in his own right. The monster angle is an unexpected treat. Thanks for the insights. I now look forward to watching your review of "From Dusk to Dawn" which I rented when it came out and was completely surprised by it's unexpected ultimate manifestation much like with the iconic sleeper "The Matrix" which I reluctantly rented, out of bottom of the barrel desperation. I thought it would be the usual garbage. Imagine my astonishment when I watched it and tried unsuccessfully to convey how astounding it was, to others. Now, the Matrix is a metaphor for our lives and existence on many levels and one of those who I begged to see it, now regard it as an unconscious allegory of the most important historical event of mankind.
Oliver Harper it's the weirdest thing, I have been looking for this movie for over 15 years because my dad got it once from rental place... I was like oh man, cheap venom/carnage taking hearts..... thanks for this.
RIP Hauer...
I don't care what anyone says, I love this flick, Rutger and Dick Dirken. He was hilarious when he realizes what the killer really is and wants BIG BIG FUCKING GUNS. lol
I have a fan theory that Armstrong's character in New Tricks is actually from this parallel universe and the cognitive dissonance between timelines has driven him to drink.
Great review! Split Second is really fun and underrated action horror film which i always wanted to see get better DVD/Blu-Ray with all those deleted scenes put back in. You're right, the film is no masterpiece of cinema but it's just a fun movie to watch and enjoy the characters, dialogue and bits of action that it has.
+Jack Craven Thank you very much Jack! Hunt down the German Bluray when you can.
honestly , your channel is like my local cinema back in the early 90´s , in czech republic. i even saw some of these movies with my granda, but thank for bringing back childhood memories , some of your picks like this one or fortress i did not see for almost 30 years.
I get the xenomorph resemblance, but I think the monster also has a lot of Venom influences.
That's just a coincidence. The monster was influenced by Alien. As the director has stated. It has a resemblance to Venom is what you meant to say. You can't just state what you think influenced people to make something.
@@Largentina. Yeah but the fact that Venom started out like a few years prior and was popular leads most people to assume as such
Considering I have not heard of this movie till your review, I really want to give this a watch now. Great review and coverage Ollie.
although it's not perfect, it's one of my all time favorite films. they just don't make them like this nowadays
whenever I tell people about this movie they look at me like I'm crazy, most have never heard of it.
thanks for sharing, this and "Adrenalin: Fear the Rush" '96 are two of my favorites.
Looked awesome when i was 10, looks even better now in my 40s. Thanks for the review and the childhood memories.
Fun Fact-Alastair Duncan plays the freaking Turian Councilor in the Mass Effect games. No wonder Shepard probably wanted to punch him in the face 2 out of the 3 games, till he comes around in the 3rd.
By the way, your narration is getting really professional. It's smooth and natural, so keep it up.
One thing is clear:
They need bigger guns !
Big FUCKING GUNS!
Very enjoyable review of one of my favourite guilty pleasure movies.
One of the best B-movies ever made.
brilliant film,i still have my vhs.
Again, a great review! Loved this film as a kid, think I was eleven or something when it came out on VHS. Keep up the good work Oliver.
P.S. Can you maybe do Open Range one day?
loved this movie when it came out ...
just to nit pick here: Pan-Scan is where you zoom in and pan around a natively widescreen frame. Like the classic anamorphic systems based on the CinemaScope format and 70mm widescreen productions. This is done to fill up the 4:3 screens of the standard TV displays.
For movies like Split Second however, they probably shot it with the inevitable video market in mind. So they went with spherical lenses (as opposed to anamorphic), exposed the full 4 perf frame and cropped the image either for the projection prints or it was cropped during projection. For home video releases we get what is called an open matte version where they simply don't do the vertical cropping. Most 1.85 :1 movies were shot and released like this.
Only when you don't have the vertical height in the original image do you need to resort to pan-scan. It is also one of the reasons why James Cameron shot all of his film movies on super35. That way he could get a decent scope image for theatrical anamorphic release (the squeeze was added in post to be compatible with projection lenses) while still being able to get a decent 4:3 version without loosing too much image on the sides. Also, post effects work becomes so much easier at the time when you don't have to deal with the irregular distortions of anamorphic lenses until the final release prints.
So in short, with pan n scan you zoom in and crop the sides of. With open matte you don't vertically crop an already 4:3-ish image...
which to prefer? In my mind, neither. Since more often than not the image was composed for theatrical release I will always prefer the originally intended ratio. And both methods are unnecessary compromises in todays day.
And of course there's a whole slew of formats and techniques but in general, for getting a 4:3 image from theatrical films, those were the methods used.
This comment is already way too long...
Great review Oliver. I never heard of that movie before or maybe I must've saw on vhs back then when i was a kid. Brings back memories.
Great Film, yet another top review Ollie. Thumbs up.
It still bugs me that Dirkin says "trash can." We're frikkin' British!
I remember seeing this movie on VHS back in '92 I think it was a straight to video here in the states then again in '95 . I was playing a pen and paper RPG at the time with some friends called Cyberpunk 2020 then want and saw Tank Girl that same night.
Awesome review! I've always thought of this movie as the trashy love child of Aliens and Predator (for obvious reasons). I loved it when I was a kid, and as an adult I still have a laugh at it. Yes, it's got its problems, but it's still good fun. Thumbs up!
+Travis Tynes-Peissner I loved it as a teenager because just as Stone survived on chocolate, coffee, and anxiety, I was kind of doing the same at the time.
Love child of Alien and Predator is a good description. I always thought that this is what would happen if Lethal Weapon was a sci-fi action comedy in Britain.
As a young teen in the 90s, i sat down one night to watch this movie on TV. Somehow, they had gotten hold of the extended edition, for just one show. For years i would talk to people about the "Girlfriend" scene and everyone thought i was nuts. It's nice to know i'm not. Thanks Oliver Harper.
Great review as always! I actually love the look of this movie, provided the footage shown is from an official release. It's that classic mid-late '80s, early '90s look: silky, often blue-ish and a hazy, yet clean of dust and speckles - and no coarse grain at all. It looks a lot like it was shot on Super 16mm, but IMDB says it's all 35mm 1:1,85 widescreen (camera models not named). The often Super 16mm-ish look (especially in low light shots which require higher ISO/ASA film speed at the price of lower definition and coarse grain) very likely comes from the fact that a fresh theatrical release print was used as the master (digital intermediate process was still not the standard back in 1992) and probably more inexpensive film stock was used (I remember James Cameron, on the director's comment track, complaining about the poor camera (intermediate?) and print stock available when he made "Aliens" in 1985-86). Enough nerd talk: looks like a great movie with that typical "Terminator" (1984) look. I don't think it looks cheap at all. Rutger Hauer can phone-in his performance any day. Just his presence is more than enough for me :-) Sounds like tons of fun, and the great British actors are a welcome change to the usual hammy Hollywood acting (in that kind of flick) so there is no danger of it coming across as a failed attempt at Hollywood mainstream B-movie on a shoestring budget (which it is anyway). I will watch it as soon as I can. Thanks again for another great review.
Thank you so much for exposing me to this gem! As always your review are widly entertaining and really informative.
+mbckproduction Thank you very much!
+Oliver Harper please do LifeForce. I loved this review thanks
+mbckproduction Check NEMESIS with Olivier Gruner also nice movie, Matrix stole ideas from this one.
I would really like to thank you very much for this review. Despite its weaknesses, this film has a unique appeal. Thank you for taking the time to give a largely ignored film a fair review.
I just spotted the building used in the IT Crowd as the outside shots of Reynholm Industries. I'm late to this party so someone else may have already made this connection. It appears on 12:36.
Great review Oliver, split second is a fun watch, its so bizarre and off the wall that it becomes profoundly entertaining, and Rutger Hauer's performance is So over the top it's downright enjoyable, the added wry humour is welcomed also, However script has some rough edges and the ending as you stated was somewhat confusing with its layout, still I totally agree I would love to see more Horror/Sci-fi movies come out from the UK.
But split second needs a proper Re-Release on DVD cos the DVD I have is not in widescreen and its not the cleanest transfer.
+CRITTERBUSTERS You can get it on Blu-ray mate in the UK, its super cheap as well!
Thanks mate, I'll be sure to buy it :)
Been waiting to rewatch this since it first came out on video.
This was a great and very informative retrospective.
I love this movie, and I grew up with it. The old horror movies (Alien, Predator, Split Second) are the best. Not only the the plastic/rubber monsters are there - unlike the CGI, which is out of place, even if it's good -, the sound effects and stress building music along with the fake scare scenes followed by the real ones makes these unforgettable and 100% better than anything after 2010.
I saw this at the theater back in 92 with a friend of mine and my mother. Mom fell asleep during the movie, but I enjoyed it. Haven't seen it in a long time, but remember loving up until the end. That ending conflict really hurt repeated viewings of it for me, but having seen this, I might give it another go.
Hi Oliver! I always enjoy your reviews, but this is one of the best ones I've seen! Really entertaining. Like you I heard of Split Second, but had never happened upon it. The idea of an action film in London sounded intriguing, but I never was motivated to look it up. However your review makes me realise what a treat it looks, and I'm definetly going to buy it! It's cheap aspects and cheesiness, just make it look all the better! I'm fairly certain this is what Garth Marenghi's Dark Place was inspired by (which I love). Speaking of British movies trying to imimate American ones, have you seen Cold Justice (1989)? It's basically Dennis Waterman from Minder as a Cockney priest (!) and Roger Daltrey fighting the Mob in Chicago! I'm not making this up. It sounds like a pitch for a hypothetical movie Richard might come up with in one of your Video Specials! So i definetly recommend you check it out (and review it/video special it?).
Great review and I seen this film twice and it was pretty cool. There's something about it, especially the production values, that make this film pretty good.
RIP Rutger Hauer.
Love Rutger Hauer b movies. Could you do The Salute of the Jugger/The Blood of Heroes ?
just got the German Blu-Ray in the mail today, as it was one of my favorite childhood horror movies. But why the 6-minutes of extra scenes get cut out of all releases (except for the ones in Japan), I have no idea.
Great review. I don't think I've ever heard of nor seen this movie. Looking at this, this looks like pure 90's B-Movie schlock like you said. I'm gonna want to see this movie sometime.
I remember seeing this with some friends when it came out and I really liked it.
Now that's the kind of movie I know I would enjoy, I need to get it now.
Great Retro Oliver This is the stuff I like you doing, real 80s and 90s retro
The look of the movie also reminded of, at the time, Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future and the following TV series (also filmed in the UK).
this was always one of my favorite movies as a kid to rent from the video store on vhs, and blind fury and crossworlds