(Look no further than his humorous turn in BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.) You can't exactly call his turn in SPLIT SECOND a comedic performance, but there is no doubt Rutger knows exactly what kind of movie he's in and goes all in on a character who is such a complete stereotype. It's easy to forget, in light of the many straight-faced, dour and intense performances he's best known for, that Rutger had some really decent comedic timing. Originally, we were going to go with another film for this installment of Best Horror Movie You Never Saw, but it only felt right to give Rutger his due. WHY IT'S GREAT: This is being written less than a week after the unfortunate passing of the legendary Rutger Hauer. The final film certainly wears some of the hallmarks of a movie that endured trouble during production and post-production, but the end result is still rather entertaining, especially for aficionados of action-horror-buddy cop flicks from the 80s and 90s. Maylem was eventually replaced by Ian Sharp, a veteran from the world of British television. The end result is certainly reminiscent of the xenomorph design from the ALIEN films, perhaps no coincidence as Norrington was on the ALIENS effects crew.
(This isn't a knock on the final film, but it is a fact.) Apparently no one could agree on what the main villain (which is a sort of alien/monster hybrid and I'm still confused as to what this thing's deal is) would look like, so creature designer Stephen Norrington (who would eventually helm BLADE) had only a few weeks to work on the design. The film was directed by Tony Maylem (THE BURNING) but evidently there were several on-set rewrites and changes made throughout the production, which could explain why the plot often makes no sense. (It is currently very, very hard to picture Harrison Ford starring in this movie.) Producers sent the script to Rutger Hauer, who loved it and agreed to star in it, even though Thompson had originally imagined Hauer's BLADE RUNNER co-star Harrison Ford in the lead role. Thomson eventually decided to set it in a futuristic London that had been devastated by the effects of global warming. The film originally took place in modern day Los Angeles and was called PENTAGRAM, but producers felt it was too close to the Lou Diamond Phillips occult thriller THE FIRST POWER so changes were demanded.
THE HISTORY: The script for SPLIT SECOND was written by Gary Scott Thompson, who would later go on to work on the very first FAST AND THE FURIOUS movie. Saddled with a stuffy new partner – he works alone, dammit! – Stone must take down the monster in order to save the city at large as well as settle an old score.
Rutger hauer split second serial#
THE STORY: In a very soggy futuristic London (well, the film takes place in 2008, which was the future in 1991 when it was made), lone wolf cop Harley Stone (Rutger Hauer) goes after a serial killer he has a psychic connection to. This week we take a look at the sci-fi-action-horror hybrid SPLIT SECOND ( WATCH IT HERE – OWN IT HERE) starring the late, great Rutger Hauer. We know plenty of you horror hounds out there will have seen many of the movies we pick, but there will be plenty of you who have not. Welcome to Arrow in the Head's The Best Horror Movie You Never Saw, which will be dedicated to highlighting horror films that, for one reason or another, don't get as much love as we think they should.
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