General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Split Second

Split Second is a 1992 British-American science fiction horror film directed by Tony Maylam and written by Gary Scott Thompson, in which Rutger Hauer plays a burned-out police detective hunting a heart-ripping, apparently non-human serial killer through a London of 2008 that has been largely submerged by flooding attributed to global warming.¹^•² It was released in the United States on 1 May 1992 by Interstar Releasing, runs about 90 minutes, and carries an R rating.¹

Key fact	Detail
Release	1 May 1992 (Los Angeles and New York openings); distributed by Interstar Releasing¹
Director / writer	Tony Maylam; screenplay by Gary Scott Thompson¹
Cast	Rutger Hauer (Harley Stone), Kim Cattrall (Michelle McLaine), Alastair Duncan as Det. Dick Durkin (credited as Neil Duncan), with Alun Armstrong, Pete Postlethwaite, Ian Dury, and Michael J. Pollard¹
Setting	London in 2008, largely submerged after forty days and nights of torrential rain caused by continued global warming¹
Runtime / rating	90 minutes (91 minutes per some listings); R¹^•³
Box office	$4.8 million gross in the United States²
Critical reception	Metascore 26 of 100 from 15 critics (generally unfavorable); Tomatometer 56% from 4 reviews⁴^•²

Spoilers

Plot and setting

The film opens with title cards reading "London 2008" and explaining that after forty days and nights of torrential rain the city is largely submerged below water, a result of continued global warming, with pollution so severe that day has become almost endless night.¹ Rogue detective Harley Stone, fueled by endless coffee and chocolate, drives his Jeep through the watery streets hunting a killer who rips out victims' hearts. Three years earlier the same killer murdered Stone's partner, Foster McLaine, and Stone has been haunted by guilt over an affair with Foster's wife, Michelle.¹

Chief Thrasher assigns Stone a new partner, Dick Durkin, an Oxford University-trained expert on serial killers. As the murders continue, evidence including McLaine's pistol and a Scorpio sign painted in blood points toward something other than an ordinary human culprit.¹ Streaming synopses describe the investigation as pointing to a non-human killer in a city where rising sea levels have placed large areas underwater.⁵

Production

Principal photography began on 17 June 1991 in London, England, and ended the first week of August 1991, with locations including Tower Bridge and the Hartley Jam Factory on Tower Bridge Road in Southwark.¹^•⁶ According to the American Film Institute catalog, Split Second was the first movie produced by Challenge Films, a London-based company with a Los Angeles office geared to the United States market.¹

A change of directors. Tony Maylam is the credited director, but Ian Sharp directed the subway train and additional sequences after Maylam left the production.¹^•⁶ Clive Tickner served as cinematographer and Dan Rae as editor.¹

The score was composed by Francis Haines and Stephen Parsons in an atmospheric, futuristic style often compared to Brad Fiedel's work on The Terminator (1984). Wendy Carlos had originally been tapped for the music, but her work went unused.⁷

Origins of the script. Gary Scott Thompson's original 1988 spec script was titled "Pentagram" and was set in Los Angeles, involving a ritualistic serial killer who killed five people every five years and left a pentagram symbol after each kill; the project was later picked up by Challenge Films head Laura Gregory, who brought in Maylam.⁸

Reception

Critical response at release was largely negative. The film's Metascore stands at 26 out of 100 based on 15 critic reviews, classified as generally unfavorable, with 11 of the 15 reviews negative.⁴ Chris Willman of the Los Angeles Times called it "a monstrous cheat," objecting that the film allows few glimpses of the beast and never explains where it came from or what animus drives it.⁹ Variety's Lawrence Cohn described it as "an extremely stupid monster film" with enough violence and special effects to satisfy less-discriminating viewers.⁴ On Rotten Tomatoes the Tomatometer stands at 56% from only 4 reviews, while more than 5,000 audience ratings average 3.4 out of 5.² The film grossed $4.8 million in the United States.²

Some critics found merit in the production design. A review quoted by Rotten Tomatoes praised the lighting and atmosphere as nearly perfect, calling the production visually impressive.² Retro reviewers have similarly noted Clive Tickner's camerawork, which emphasizes the dank sets and world building, including aerial shots of the River Thames.⁷

Later availability and cult status

The film has remained in circulation on streaming services; as of late 2026 it streams in the United States on Amazon Prime Video, Pluto TV, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Plex, and other services, and can be rented or bought digitally.¹⁰ A restored Blu-ray presents the feature in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, newly scanned, restored, and color graded in 4K from the 35mm internegative, with behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and an alternative full-frame Japanese cut.⁶

In retrospective discussion the film is remembered as a cyberpunk-tinged creature feature, and its vision of a flooded, climate-changed London has drawn renewed attention as its once-futuristic 2008 setting passed into the past.⁷

Note on the title

The name Split Second also belongs to Split/Second, a 2010 arcade racing game by Black Rock Studio set in a destructible reality-television city, which scored 82 on Metacritic for its main console version; the two works are unrelated.¹¹

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works) › Science fiction and fantasy films of the 1990s › Released 1990 to 1995

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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