10 to Midnight (1983)

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

J. Lee Thompson (story)
William Roberts (writer)

Release Date:

11 March 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Back in town... with a vengeance!

Plot:

A serial killer gets his kicks by knifing his victims while naked. A veteran cop, Leo Kessler believes...

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Revenge | Female Frontal Nudity | Bare Breasts | Nudity

Cast

Charles Bronson	...	Leo Kessler
Lisa Eilbacher	...	Laurie Kessler
Andrew Stevens	...	Paul McAnn
Gene Davis	...	Warren Stacy
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Dave Dante
Wilford Brimley	...	Captain Malone
Robert F. Lyons	...	Nathan Zager (as Robert Lyons)
Bert Williams	...	Mr. Johnson
Iva Lane	...	Bunny
Ola Ray	...	Ola
Kelly Preston	...	Doreen (as Kelly Palzis)
Cosie Costa	...	Dudley
Paul McCallum	...	Lab Technician
Jeana Tomasina	...	Karen
June Gilbert	...	Betty

Also Known As:

Bloody Sunday (USA) (original script title)
Ten to Midnight (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2004) (self applied) | USA:R (Certificate #26973) | New Zealand:R16 | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1983) | Norway:18

Filming Locations:

2000 S Pisani Place, Venice, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Cannon Group

Trivia:

(At 1:33:07) Warren Stacy picks up the police radio and it says, "Code 6 Florence and Normandie". Nine years later, the Los Angeles Riots (AKA the Rodney King Riots) Would break out starting at that Intersection.

Goofs:

Continuity: Blood on Warren's naked body keeps appearing and disappearing and appearing in different parts at climax of the film.

Quotes:

Laurie Kessler: My father's gonna kill you!
Warren Stacy: Oh, no, he's not. I know where he's at.
Laurie Kessler: That was him on the phone just now. He'll be here any second!
Warren Stacy: Oh, yeah? Then I guess I better hurry up!

Movie Connections:

References Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

A nudie killer.

A serial killer on the loose in Los Angeles murdered a couple having sex in the back of a van. Detective Leo Kessler, along with his young new clean-cut partner Paul McCann investigate the murders, to stumble onto the girls diary, which leads them to a very suspicious suspect Warren Stacey. The girl actually worked with Warren, and seemed to be creep out by him. Kessler starts to realise that they have their man, but there's no real evidence to connect him. However Kessler fabricates evidence, but when it's found out. Warren is released, and Kessler is sacked, but Kessler makes it his own business to catch him when his daughter gets caught up in it.

This creaky, low-budget Charles Bronson and J. Lee Thompson item from the 80's is probably my favourite (just ahead of "Murphy's Law (1986)" of their collaborations with Cannon productions. By the way the title itself is quite useless. At this time of his career Bronson was set-up to walk the all-familiar vigilante character, which started of in his semi-classic "Death Wish (1974)". Actually William Roberts' compact, harsh screenplay has plenty in common with the brilliant Clint Eastwood masterpiece "Dirty Harry (1971). Both shared their right-wing frustration of the flimsy excuse they call the justice system, where the main protagonist (a cynical cop in both) takes the law into their own hands. The themes are incidental, but because of its leering callousness and sordidly crude mindset amongst the political matter, it comes off looking more like a basic, routine crime/slasher/exploitation hybrid that lacks character. When it's trying for that cynical exploration on the rights of the criminal, it does feel half-baked as it doesn't seem to go out on an emotional bang and it was achieved much better in William Friedkin's captivating "Rampage (1987)".

What Thompson's slick, razor-sharp direction has done is created an airtight and highly authentic atmosphere. Along the way he stages some intense, and quite jarring attack and voyeuristic scenes, which are plain nasty and has the killer going around in the buff. Thrusting in is a scorchingly draining, if at times experimental sounding music score by Robert O. Ragland. The editing by Peter Lee-Thompson is ably done, and everything about it is well paced. Photographer Adam Greenberg accordingly shapes it. Charles Bronson might be the headliner, but it's an extremely effective and dynamic performance by Gene Davis. He brought the right temperament to his unsettlingly homemade, calculating character whose emotions played out like a unstable twitch. Bronson does what he does best, and here it's no exception with his comfortable turn of total conviction and yes, liveliness when things get drastic. Andrew Stevens and the lovely Lisa Eilbacher are fine support. Also there are amusing small roles for Kelly Preston and Geoffrey Lewis (a real favourite of mine) as a slimy defence lawyer.

"10 to Midnight" can be spotty and outlandish in its intentions, and turn off people due to its malevolent nature, but what we get is a solid offering in b-grade territory.