History Film / SplitSecond

--> '''Stone''': [[CrowningMomentOfFunny I couldn't get a permit.]]

** Although, of course, [[ShurFineGuns Stone's Weapon is rendered conveniently useless ]] when it's time for him to fight the BigBad.

* {{Jerkass}}: Stone is a cantankerous prick throughout the movie. He goes out of his way to be a smartass to people, even to the extent of purposely ordering coffee in a bar.

* MsFanservice: The nightclub stripper.

* NonAppearingTitle: The film seems to be called ''Split Second'' because that sounds cool. It has nothing to do with anything that happens in the film.
** Although to be fair, ''Harley and Dick versus The Giant Demonic Mutant Rat in Futuretown'' was probably already taken.

* ShapeShifter: Heavily [[ImpliedAttribute hinted at]], although never explicitly shown. The Killer is mentioned as having "Multiple Restriction Polymorphic DNA Strands", which include the DNA of all the people it has attacked and killed, plus rat DNA. It can do things which shouldn't be possible for a creature of its size and appearance (See PlotHole). Most glaringly, walking through a crowded nightclub and into a well-lit toilet to attack one of its victims.
** Possibly to avoid SpecialEffectFailure - if a film states that a creature is a shapeshifter, the audience will reasonably expect to see it change shape on-screen at some point. The budget presumably wouldn't have supported this.
* SkepticNoLonger: Detective Dick Durkin refuses to believe that the SerialKiller he and Harley Stone (his partner) are tracking isn't actually a human being at all, but rather some kind of monster. And then he runs face-to-face with the thing.

** Seeing the monster also leads to Durkin's line (and temporal MadnessMantra), "We need to get bigger guns!", which under the circumstances was a very rational reaction.

-->'''Thrasher''': Are you telling me, there's some...''[[TheThing Thing]]'', running around loose in this city, ripping the hearts out of people and ''eating them''...So he can take their souls back to Hell?

-->'''Thrasher''': You're both fucking nuts! What am I supposed to do? Put out an APB, on some fucking guy, who looks like the Devil? Answers to the name of Lucifer? I suppose he's got two fucking horns sticking out of his head, yeah! A long fucking tail! (Storming off in frustration) [[PrecisionFStrike Fucking out of the way with ya! You're a pair of pricks!]]

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The creature isn't revealed as such until near the end of the film - before that, it is only fleetingly glimpsed and its attacks usually take place off-screen. So you wouldn't know that it wasn't a human, but rather a giant Xenomorph, Rat-Hybrid monster...Unless you'd seen the poster at the top of the page.

* {{BFG}}: Dick Durkin snaps and ends up demanding, literally, Bigger Fucking Guns.

** And then after more attempts by Thrasher to get an explanation of the killer's identity, veers straight into TheNeidermeyer territory:
-->'''Thrasher''': Are you telling me, there's some...''[[TheThing Thing]]'', running around this city, ripping the hearts out of people and ''eating them''...So he can take their souls back to Hell?

-->'''Thrasher''': You're both fucking nuts! What am I supposed to do? Put out an APB, on some fucking guy, who looks like the Devil? Answers to the name of Lucifer? I suppose he's got two fucking horns sticking out of his head, yeah! A long fucking tail! (Storming off in frustration) [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck out of the way with ya! You're a pair of pricks!]]

* PlotHole: It is likely that the identity of the SerialKiller as being a giant [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Xenomorph]]-like monster was [[WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants decided on fairly late in production]], because a lot of the movie becomes nonsensical as a result. The alien is a nine feet tall behemoth, yet no one in the night club noticed it walking around, while there's also a MurdererPOV shot shown at human eye level. It has giant claws, yet it can smear big letters on a mirror in blood. It can't talk, but somehow it paid someone to deliver a victim's heart to the police station. And so on.

** When Stone and Durkin, both armed to the teeth are confronted by DaChief who demands an explanation:

** And then after more attempts by Thrasher to get an explanation of the killer's identity, veers straight into PrecisionFStrike territory:

-->'''Thrasher''': You're both fucking nuts! What am I supposed to do? Put out an APB, on some fucking guy, who looks like the Devil? Answers to the name of Satan? I suppose he's got two fucking horns sticking out of his head, yeah! A long fucking tail! (Storming off in frustration) [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck out of the way with ya! You're a pair of pricks!]]

** And then after more attempts by Thrasher to get an explanation of the killer's identity, he himself has had enough:
-->'''Thrasher''': You're both fucking nuts! What am I supposed to do? Put out an APB, on some fucking guy, who looks like the Devil? Answers to the name of Satan? I suppose he's got two fucking horns sticking out of his head, yeah! A long fucking tail! (Storming off in frustration) [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck out of the way with ya!]]

* DaChief: "The Chief" (named Thrasher according to the credits), who spends most of his time trying to rein the violent and snarky [[CowboyCop Harley Stone]] in.

** DaChief is not lacking in responses, either:
-->'''Thrasher''' (Upon seeing Stone and Durkin getting armed to the teeth and leaving the station): "And what am I supposed to do? Put out an APB to all officers to look for someone who looks like Satan, and answers to the name of Lucifer?"

-->'''Durkin:''' "I followed him down an alleyway - he shot a trash can!"

* DeadpanSnarker: Harley Stone. It helps that Rutger Hauer seems to naturally gravitate to playing characters this way.

* DaChief: "The Chief" (named Trasher according to the credits), who spends most of his time trying to rein the violent and snarky [[CowboyCop Harley Stone]] in.

-->'''Trasher''' (Upon seeing Stone and Durkin getting armed to the teeth and leaving the station): "And what am I supposed to do? Put out an APB to all officers to look for someone who looks like Satan, and answers to the name of Lucifer?"

--> '''Trasher''': I'm surprised you don't have a grenade launcher.

* CyberpunkWithAChanceOfRain: ([[TheEighties Then-]]) future London, and so bad that a good chunk of it has long since flooded. You never even see the sun up until the final credits.

-->'''Thrasher''' (Upon seeing Stone and Durkin getting armed to the teeth and leaving the station): "And what am I supposed to do? Put out an APB to all officers to look for someone who looks like Satan, and answers to the name of Lucifer?"

--> '''Thrasher''': I'm surprised you don't have a grenade launcher.

-->'''Thrasher'' (Upon seeing Stone and Durkin getting armed to the teeth and leaving): "And what am I supposed to do? Put out an APB to all officers to look for someone who looks like Satan, and answers to the name of Lucifer?"

** Seeing the monster also leads to Durkin's line, "We need to get bigger guns!", which under the circumstances was a very rational reaction.

* CowboyCop: Stone is a complete rundown of the trope: He's a multiple gun-toting hardass who treats everyone like crap, shoots first and asks questions later, pisses of DaChief and treats his by-the-book partner like a nuisance and gets the job done with superior firepower.

--> '''Stone''': I couldn't get a permit.

* PsychicPowers: Stone has a mysterious psychic connection to the killer; he can predict where he first strikes upon his return and sense his presence by hearing the killer's beating heart. Dick Durking thinks it's because he's a Scorpio.

** Seeing the monster also leads to Durbin's line, "We need to get bigger guns!", which under the circumstances was a very rational reaction.