Snips!” An Interview with Composer Stephen W.
#Rutger hauer split second movie#
The jam-packed special features include interviews with crew members and Neil Duncan, who plays Durkin, which detail their careers before and since as well as the making of the film – and what they have to say is far more intriguing than the movie itself. Interestingly, the script is by Gary Scott Thompson, who went on to greater success with The Fast and the Furious, its first sequel, Hollow Man and 88 Minutes. Perhaps they were simply at a loose end at the time – I can’t imagine why else they would be involved, particularly as their roles involve them saying some of the worst lines of their careers. But when it was eventually revealed I found I was reminded of two other creatures: Spider-Man villain Venom and the hero of The Shape of Water, both of which were not created until after Split Second’s release – could this simple-minded low-budget offering have been an inspiration to both? Perhaps we’ll never know, but it’s an intriguing idea.Īlthough the movie itself isn’t up to much, it’s worth watching to spot the familiar faces among the supporting cast – Alun Armstrong, Pete Postlethwaite, Kim Cattrall, Michael J Pollard, Ian Dury, Jason Watkins and Vivienne Westwood’s sometime muse Sara Stockridge all pop up.
It isn’t a spoiler to say that eventually the killer is tracked down to a disused underground station and meets an explosive state – this is not the kind of film that has an ambiguous or surprise ending. Making their task more difficult is the fact that London, where their quarry is wreaking havoc, is semi-flooded thanks to global warming, and is a perennially dark, unpleasant place to be. His superior officer brings him back from suspension to take the case, and teams him with Dick Durkin (yes, that really is the character’s name), an earnest young ‘tec he doesn’t want around but, surprise surprise, begins to prove his worth and win over his ever-growling new partner. Hauer glowers and stomps through the role as Stone attempts to track down the villain that murdered his partner, an event that also turned Stone into some kind of obsessive maniac. Instead, he phones in his performance as Harley Stone, a tough detective who, we learn early on, is the best in the business and yet has been fired by every police force he’s ever worked for because he is, to say the least, a maverick. Rutger Hauer is the lead actor and it’s fair to say he isn’t exactly pushed by the material. Apparently the movie now has a cult following, and although it has some good points, it’s far from being a classic. It’s almost undefinable, but not in a good way – it’s as if the makers threw everything and the kitchen sink at it in the hope something would stick. It’s a bizarre movie, an odd mix of hi-tech sci-fi, mystery, comedy, monster movie, buddy flick and suspense, made in Britain with a then-major star and recognisable homegrown character actors at a time when the UK film industry was on the bones of its backside. I’ve been thinking a lot about Split Second since watching it for the first time. Director: Tony Maylam Cast: Rutger Hauer, Alastair Duncan, Kim Cattrall