Not the M. Night Shyamalan thriller, this earlier film of the same title revolves around a man living 'off the grid' in a society in which the government keeps tabs on what everyone does through purchases made, routines and habits. To evade authorities, our protagonist has to constantly change appearance and never interact with the same people for too long - something that leads to him living an existence a la Denis Lavant in 'Holy Motors'. Innovatively shot and edited, the film is film is as engaging visually as it is intellectually with the lead's head framed in neon signs, shots from inside wine glasses and an offbeat opening in which he appears to turn around and talk to the camera before it is revealed that he is conversing with a brick wall! The plot is sometimes hard to decipher, especially in term's of the government's motives and a quest for immortality subplot, but the pure weirdness of it all renders the film compelling from start to finish. More vexing in any case are the wild changes in tone throughout. At times, the film is borderline comical as our protagonist snorts sugar, talks with over-the-top fake accents and converses with an avant-garde artist, while at other times, the tone is deathly serious with a genuine sense of danger and unease in the air. Like it or not though, this is certainly one of the most unique and strangest films ever made and while certainly elements might be off-putting for some, at its best, the film ranks alongside the finest paranoia thrillers out there as the main character finds him pursued by mysterious forces for which few others believe even exist.

We're not sure if it's in the future or not, but at some point in time, two men against a black background control everyone on earth (or possibly San Francisco, again, not sure), with computers. A man named Starker (Dwight) has managed to escape their "filing system". Starker continually changes identities to try and avoid the master controllers, and meets some wacky people along the way, such as "The Artist" (Flynn), and Susan (Bechtel). Also, apparently, there's a man with silver body paint who is the boss of the two men with the computers (?) - it's all very confusing, but that's just the weird world of Split.Split is filled with ideas - almost too many for its 85 minute running time. While we appreciated a lot of the ideas - the ones we could comprehend, anyway - and the fact that it's sci-fi but has nothing to do with space or spaceships, this movie is far too disjointed and incoherent for most audiences to enjoy. Again, there are some movies out there with NO ideas, and those movies really suck, so at least there was a lot of effort put forth here. But it was mainly intellectual effort. If some time had been spent on making a barely-cohesive movie and some of the wildness was just put in some kind of order, Split might appeal to more people.At least this is real sci-fi, as opposed to the crud on the "Syfy" network. And simply because of the student film-like enthusiasm, we want to give this movie the benefit of the doubt. But it's just so confusing. And forget character development, that's out the window. There are plenty of cool camera tricks and such, but that does not a movie make. It's more a collection of scenes and effects, like director Chris Shaw wanted to show off every trick he learned in film school and worried he only had this one chance to do so, so he crammed 'em all in, all other considerations be damned. Thus, this movie is literally all over the place.It's also very much an art movie, and what probably happened is, sci-fi fans and art movie fans don't necessarily want to see the same things. This movie probably can't appeal to both crowds, so it "split" the difference and pleased no one. Plus it has a very Overdrawn At the Memory Bank (1985) feel. On movie marquee alert, we see a theater is playing Poltergeist III (1988), and the movie starts with a musical cue very much like Billy Squier's "The Stroke". It's all very hard to follow, but that was most likely the intention.Once again we give props to AIP for putting this out. They went out on a limb here, knowing this...challenging...movie might not appeal to everyone and is pretty "out there". Why they thought putting Silver Body Paint Man on the box cover front and center would draw in the video store patrons, we're not entirely sure. We wanted to like this movie more, and we did like some parts of it, but more than likely it will give you a "split"ting headache.For more action insanity, please visit: www.comeuppancereviews.com

I went to this film having no idea what to expect. I actually took a date to it in the theaters when it first came out. We both thoroughly enjoyed it and it helped to have someone to discuss it with after seeing it.I only recommend seeing this film if you appreciate non-mainstream movies. It's not as disjointed as Liquid Sky or as fanciful as Forbidden Zone. The original plot is very easy to follow. There's A LOT of subtle humor.Here's a quick summary of the plot if you are completely lost: A big-brother type government keeps tabs on everyone in society. Suddenly a new person appears and there's no data on him (he appears insane). He may or may not be the second-coming of Christ. The over-cautious government goes into a frenzy to find him and discover his true motives. The ruler is also obsessed with immortality.Some scenes are frantic while others are completely low-key. We follow the lead character as he encounters all different kinds of people in society.I didn't need my consciousness altered to enjoy the film, but I know that some of my friends felt that helped.Split was also filmed around Santa Cruz and San Francisco.

Split was one of the more original films I have ever seen, though I am not entirely sure if that is good. I do know that I thought at the time this movie would be come a midnight/cult movie due to its weirdness. The plot was out-there/semi-comprehensible, but the narrative (if you can call it that) unfolded in a very interesting manner. I have been unable to find this on video again, the original store I rented it at having long since folded. This unavailability I think has added to the fondness I have associated with this production. Who knows, perhaps it would be horrible upon modern viewing. I do remember the plot to be Matrix-like in a number of ways, as well as akin to the Philip Jose Farmer penned Dayworld novels.