The Dystopian Sci-Fi Thriller That’s A VHS Era, R-Rated Classic

By Robert Scucci
| Published 14 seconds ago

One of my favorite I Think You Should Leave skits involves a burnt-out cop named Detective Crashmore, portrayed by the late, great Biff Wiff, who doesn’t even care if he dies “because everything has sucked lately.” He kicks down doors and pumps rooms full of lead before rattling off catchphrases like “You f****** suck!” He’s overtly angry, constantly butts heads with his commissioner, and arms himself to the teeth with comically large weapons before getting back to business after tragedy strikes.

While there’s no definitive way for me to prove it, I have reason to believe that Rutger Hauer’s Harley Stone in 1992’s Split Second was the inspiration for Detective Crashmore, because it’s basically the same character, aside from the fact that Split Second isn’t meant to be a parody.

Billed as a dystopian buddy cop science fiction action horror film, Split Second is an over-the-top exercise in swift and brutal justice, as our hero searches for answers in a string of serial slayings that have eluded him for years. While Split Second isn’t necessarily a comedy, Rutger Hauer’s cigar-smoking, coffee-swilling, gun-blasting Harley Stone is so deadpan in his badassery that I can’t help but imagine Biff Wiff studying this movie while preparing for the Tim Robinson sketch I love so much.

“He’ll Need Bigger Guns”

Set in 2008 London, Split Second wastes no time establishing Harley Stone as a hardened homicide detective who shoots first, asks questions later, and operates so firmly in his own lane that nobody can keep up with him or keep him under control on their best day. Coming in hot after his suspension is lifted, Harley is forced to let rookie officer and psychologist Dick Durkin (Neil Duncan) tag along on his investigations and report on any unstable behavior that he exhibits. 

Fortunately for Harley, his insane theory about a serial killer ripping the hearts out of its subjects is proven correct, allowing Dick to brush aside any psychological concerns he may have originally had. All they know is that the killer’s activity is linked to lunar cycles, and may have origins in the supernatural, extraterrestrial, or occult. 

Haunted by the case because the killer claimed the life of his partner, Foster McLaine (Steven Hartley), matters are complicated for Harley when his widowed wife, Michelle McLaine (Kim Cattrall) reenters his life and becomes one of the killer’s targets. With no solid leads to pursue, but every single comically large gun known to man at his disposal, Harley embarks with Dick on a blood-soaked quest to find the killer and end his reign of terror once and for all, making sure there’s plenty of collateral damage along the way. 

Extreme Buddy Cop Energy

Harley and Dick are the ultimate odd couple in Split Second, and their chemistry works better than it has any right to. You don’t get the usual fighting-over-the-radio-station trope here, but watching Dick slowly transform from idealistic rookie to chain-smoking, gun-toting, coffee-chugging badass under Harley’s influence is such a satisfying payoff. As they close in on the killer, they move as one in their efforts to keep Michelle safe and finally crack the case that has been tormenting Harley for years.

Split Second’s violence is my favorite kind of violence because it’s so gratuitous you can’t take it seriously. Blood is bright red and splatters everywhere, hearts are theatrically ripped from chests, pentagrams are carved into bodies, and coffee cups get chugged and tossed with reckless abandon. It’s pulpy and melodramatic, but played completely straight, which makes it impossible not to fall in love with these characters. They’re so accustomed to living in this world that everything they do feels second nature, with zero pretension.

A total VHS-era classic, Split Second is one of those movies you throw on simply because it’s so over-the-top in every conceivable way that you can’t help but love it. Marketed as “Blade Runner meets Alien,” it doesn’t really play like either film, but it’s unique enough in its execution to have real staying power as the low-budget B movie it was always destined to be.

As of this writing, Split Second is currently streaming for free on Tubi.