Split Second (1992) ***

Split Second (1992) is sci-fi action horror neo-noir nonsense with a healthy heaping of gore that is candy for genre fans. The movie is an honestly pretty goofy blend of Blade Runner (1982) (review), Alien (1979) (review), The Terminator (1984), Highlander (1986) (review), and buddy cop movies. It seems to be intentionally taking the piss out of genre fare while simultaneously displaying its love for said films (and more). Nemesis (review), released the same year, shares a similar vibe, though it’s devoid of the intentional humor.

Rutger Hauer is suitably erratic as a haunted and over the top cop, Alastair Duncan is (mostly) very amusing as the nerdy partner, and Kim Cattrall is super fine with her black bob cut (though her role is severely underwritten). Speaking of underwritten, the whole demonic/psychic connection thing is just gobbledygook thrown on screen but quite amusingly so. 

The creature is pretty derivative, an obvious mix of a Xenomorph and Venom—designer Stephen Norrington (and later director of 1998's Blade) did work under legend Stan Winston, after all, and (kind of crazily) also did creature effects on Alien 3, released the same year as Split Second. Another crazy thing to think about is that Wendy Carlos, the famous synthesizer innovator who scored Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971) and The Shining (1980) (review), was originally hired to score SS but had her score rejected.

All in all, the picture is a very entertaining mess with a hodgepodge of styles, but it's well-shot and I could absolutely see myself watching it again.