Memorable, crazy movie

From my favorite movies..

Brilliant and touching

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Sleek, fired up and mad as cheese, Split is exactly the sort of science fiction that I can really dig. A paranoid streak of a film, its hero is a rambling paranoid derelict by the name of Starker pursued by sinister forces as he careens through a run down cityscape of sad, buttoned up and lonely people, it basks in low budget grit, arch dialogue and offbeat humour. Some scenes blaze with energy, some are low key, all are propelled by actors acting as hard as they can. The writing and acting is reminiscent of films like Liquid Sky albeit not as crazy, naturalism is avoided in favour of manic expressions and a kind of forced but honest speechifying, it works well here where otherwise it might be noting more than a mark of ineptitude because in this film every character is moving, thinking, living as fast as they can, even extras delivering scant lines have a barely contained force to them and its a joy to behold. Timothy Dwight is a hoot as Starker, convincingly unhinged and compelling, while as a waitress drawn into his lunacy Joan Bechtel is rather fine, a sympathetic figure cowed by fear and doubt but basically decent, repelled by Starker's madness but not against helping him when push comes to shove. Amusement is provided for a spell by John Flynn as a goofball artist who becomes privy to Starker's scheme (and confronts a rather ace bit of throwaway weirdness), while the main villain is played by the films writer/director/visuals designer Chris Shaw. He doesn't come off quite as well as the aforementioned stars, bringing a performance of more straightforward over the top villainy, but he still capably entertains in the role. His direction is raw and speedy, perfectly suited to the material, while the writing works well, often amusing and insightful too as it skewers variously soulless modern living, individuality, artistic pretension and the surveillance society. Effects work in the film is primitive, a fair amount of basic computer generated imagery is used, visualisations of surveillance technology and some mathematical stuff, fractals and the like, with one rather fun practical set up for the villains lair. I can't really recommend this one to most, as its bound to be offputting and even for folk like me it has some flaws, at times the editing is overcooked and though sly and a lot of fun it never reaches the heights of twisted profundity or just plain bracing madness that lurk in its potential. But for folk who irresistibly groove to this sort of no budget weirdness its well worth looking up. 8/10 from me.

If you Listen to Ween (The Pod, God/Satan), then you know what's going on with "Split" I found that watching the film under the influence of LSD helped to deal with Audio/Video tracers from fantastic editing job. The plot was only important from second to second. The acid helped to interact with the sounds, subliminal and general pace of this masterpiece. Don't bother writing about something out of your comprehension's reach...There just isn't enough of these great independent attempts at expression at it's most raw , amateur level. I dare anyone to make a movie that can equally Mess with my head and change the way I look at visual arts and the world's reality. Not to mention the many realities that haven't yet been explored by this humans mind. I love the vision of Chris Shaw. I also appreciate the texturing terroristic film "The Begotten" by E. Elias Merhige.

Ten years before "The Matrix" and hot on the heals of "They Live" came this brilliant piece of low budget science fiction film making. If you like bizarre, unconventional, intellectually challenging, David Lynch meets John Carpenter style movie-making you'll love "Split". There are moments of true genius in the framing and cinematography. Look closely at a sequence shot through wine glasses in an art opening party and right after that a scene involving cue cards. The plot involves a man named Starker who lives outside of society who wants to wake us up from the dream. Similar to "They Live", "1984" and "The Matrix", it is based on the premise that we are all constantly monitored by shadowy Big Brother type government agents that know everything about us and have invisible robot probes constantly patrolling the city. This is all revealed pretty early on in the plot. POSSIBLE SPOILER: Starker has invented a drug that when placed in the water supply will wake everyone up from the illusion of reality. Along with the cinematography and the ingenious ways the director makes do with his shoestring budget, the other highlights of this film are the monologues. I challenge anyone to not be rewinding, memorizing and quoting the classic quotes from this movie for years to come.

In a very-near-future world, a corrupt government monitors everyone constantly with computers and surveillance. One man has managed to evade assimilation, and operates outside the system, fighting to preserve his freedom. An engaging and imaginative story and some very interesting editing and camera work. There are some confusing and slow parts, but all in all, an excellent example of what a small crew with brains and talent can do on a shoestring budget.