Split Second

Summary

“You’re telling me this guy is superhuman – is that it?”

Fans recently mourned the death of Rutger Hauer. The beloved actor holds a very special place in the hearts of science fiction fans due to his role as Roy Batty in the iconic film Blade Runner. MVD Rewind Collection, the niche film label that is primarily dedicated to nostalgic collector’s editions, announced that they were working on a new 4K scan of his film Split Second the day that he died. Fans of Hauer had been expecting news of this release for months. It was a bit of bright news on a sad day. After watching the film digitally, this release went to the top of my list of releases I was most anticipating. The film falls into the early Nineties cyber-punk genre of near-future science fiction. I grew up loving these types of films and video games and the first time I watched the film, it quickly brought back memories of playing Rise of the Dragon on Sega CD in my youth. I was reminded of the feeling that my parents were about to come into my room and seize the game for its mature content. For me, that feeling is good as gold. I preordered the blu-ray release and checked it out as soon as it arrived.

The film opens with this title card:

“London 2008- After forty days and nights of torrential rain, the city is largely submerged below water, a result of the devastating effects of continued global warming. The warnings ignored for decades have now resulted in undreamed-of levels of pollution where day has become almost endless night…”

As the film begins, Detective Stone (Rutger Hauser) is suspended from the police department. He is trying to track down a unique serial killer. He arrives at a club and he can actually hear the heartbeat of the game he is tracking. He asks for a coffee. Within a couple moments, a woman is murdered in the bathroom of the club. The heart has been ripped out. Stone looks for the killer but knows he has missed his opportunity. His partner Foster was killed three years earlier and the same serial killer is back. The serial killer moves extremely quickly and eats the hearts of the victims. Smart but inexperienced Detective Dick Durcan (Alastair Duncan) is assigned to work the case with Stone. The killer sends a half eaten heart to the police department. When a cast is made of the teeth, it becomes obvious that the killer may be something more than human. Stone will stop at nothing to avenge his partner. Stone must track the killer down while protecting a former flame named Michelle McLaine (Kim Cattrall.)

First off, if you haven’t seen Split Second, this movie is awesome. For fans of B-movie science fiction, this is a must-watch. The movie’s script takes elements from detective films, science fiction, Blade Runner, and Alien in a post climate-change world and blends them all together to highlight the best tropes from all of those genres. Writer Gary Scott Thompson went on to write Hollow Man and a couple years later he penned the stunningly successful Fast and Furious. I personally would love to see if he has any old science fiction scripts lying around, because Split Second is a blast.

First and foremost, Harley Stone is an amazing hero. He is a rat killing, cigar chomping, candy eating, foul mouthed detective that loves smoking and drinking coffee. He lives like a slob with an apartment full of pigeons. He has anxiety and panic attacks and is totally paranoid. With this material, Rutger Hauer is allowed to chew the scenery like there is no tomorrow. It is easily one of the best roles he played in his career. The cast also benefits from enjoyable supporting turns from both Kim Cattrall and Alastair Neil Dunkan. Dunkan is a perfect companion to Hauer in the final sequences of the film and Kim Cattrall is perfectly capable of playing the damsel in distress in the film.

In order to fully enjoy the film, an appreciation of B-movie science fiction is necessary. The film makes up for some of its minor budget deficits by showcasing interesting characters and fun ideas. The film has a lot of enjoyable atmospheric touches that feel well thought out and well delivered. If you don’t mind inexplicable moments that may cause laughter, the film is fantastic. For example, the score at one point copies the Moody Blues song “Nights in White Satin.” When this happens I laughed out loud because I thought it had absolutely just stolen the song, but the film plays the actual song at a bar sequence later. Moments like this kept me on my toes as I watched the film and kept a smile on my face. The action sequences in the film are pretty great and have some wonderful moments. I do think it is worth mentioning that the final creature design was rushed and it looks rushed, but I didn’t find that to be a dealbreaker. Tony Maylam did a great job of directing the film with help from cinematographer Clive Tickner. They were able to accomplish a great amount given a $7 million dollar budget. Unfortunately the film was largely panned by critics upon its release, but fans have kept the film alive for nearly thirty years.

Overall – this is easily one of the best releases on the MVD Rewind label, and one of the best roles that Rutger Hauer ever performed. 

Video

MVD Rewind have provided a good-looking transfer of the film in 1080p using an MPEG-4 AVC codec that draws on a newly restored and color corrected 4K transfer of the film. The film is presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. I had extremely high hopes for how this film would look in 4K, and I think the results were slightly less impressive than I had hoped. I think this is more a fault of myself than the restoration itself, which presents the film with more detail than ever before. The issue seems to be that the film print has some specking and features sequences that are shot in softer focus than many films made today. I think that if fans come in with open eyes and without the expectation that the 4K scan will absolutely bring this film close to UHD quality, they should be pleased.

Audio

MVD Rewind has provided an English LPCM 2.0 stereo track. The stereo 2.0 track recreates the original sound design well. The movie has an enjoyable score by Stephen W. Parsons that fits the film well. Immersion is limited and some of the sound effects sound canned, but I was happy overall with the presentation.

Supplements:

• Audio Commentary by action film historian Mike Leeder and filmmaker Arne Venema
• Great Big Bloody Guns! – in this new interview, producer Laura Gregory and actor Alastair Duncan discuss the making of the film.
• Call Me Mr. Snips! – composer Stephen W. Parsons gives an excellent interview about the decisions made on the score for the film.
• Stay in Line! – line producer Laurie Borg is interviewed.
• More Blood! – this is a great interview with creature effects designer Cliff Wallace who discusses some of the effects that worked in the film and the somewhat rushed nature of the creature design.
• Shoot Everything! – this is an excellent interview with cinematographer Clive Tickner who discusses the numerous challenges of shooting the film and the success achieved despite a limited budget.
• Original 1992 Making Of
• Original 1992 Behind the Scenes
• Split Second Extended Japanese Cut – (480i; 1:36:09) features burnt in Japanese subtitles.
• Deleted Scenes from the Japanese Cut
• 7 Promotional TV Clips
• U.S. VHS Home Video Promo
• Trailers – Split Second along with trailers for other releases from MVD Rewind

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – 5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Split Second is one of my favorite B-movie science fiction films. Rutger Hauer is a joy to watch as the neurotic badass hero cop Harley Stone. The new 4K scan on which this release is based looks better than any prior release, but seemingly leaves some room for improvement. The supplemental features are excellent and includes a 480i presentation of the longer Japanese version. I honestly love this movie warts and all and this release comes highly recommended. This is easily one of the best titles in the MVD Rewind collection.

R.I.P. Rutger Hauer