Survive the Night (TV 1993)

On their way home from Brooklyn psychiatrist Vic, daughter Julie and sister Stacey run short of gas. They leave they highway to search a petrol station - but end up erring around in South ... See full summary »

Director:

Bill Corcoran

Writers:

Jerry Lazarus (story), Steven Whitney (story),

Stars:

Stefanie Powers, Helen Shaver, Kathleen Robertson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stefanie Powers	...	Victoria
Helen Shaver	...	Stacy
Kathleen Robertson	...	Julie
Lawrence Gilliard Jr.	...	(as Larry Gilliard Jr.)
Simon Reynolds	...	Cat
Frances Hyland
Chaz Lamar Shepherd	...	Thad
Currie Graham	...	Ice
Walter Alza Jr.	...	Banger
Louis Di Bianco	...	Officer Fugazi
Andre Mayers	...	Officer Washington
Peter MacNeill	...	Watch Commander
Robert Thomas	...	Beef
Pedro Guevara Mann	...	Birthmark
Diego Fuentes	...	Tattoo

Storyline

On their way home from Brooklyn psychiatrist Vic, daughter Julie and sister Stacey run short of gas. They leave they highway to search a petrol station - but end up erring around in South Bronx. A youth gang under the sadistic Ice stops their car and starts menacing them. When Julie drives away in panic, she damages one of their bikes. Ice feels provoked and decides to hunt them down... without fuel the 3 women soon have to flee by foot and defend their life with all means possible. Only the youngest gang member T.J. tries to help them.

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Plot Keywords:

gang | evil man | slum

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 January 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Detour to Terror

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

User Reviews

What an original premise...

A woman, her sister and her daughter, on their way from Brooklyn to Connecticut, accidentally turn off the highway in the South Bronx (actually Toronto with fake graffiti on the walls) and what ensues is a veritable "bonfire of the vanities," to coin a phrase. Their car is surrounded at an abandoned gas station by a thoroughly racially-integrated gang (as all street gangs are in such movies) which is intent on pumping much more than gas. They escape on foot, and spend the rest of the movie being chased through, over and under the mean streets of the big city...

This is fairly standard for its genre, if a little bloody -- the three unarmed women manage to kill a surprising number of the heavily-armed bad guys, obviously an early manifestation of girl power. Stephanie Powers and Kathleen Robertson are quite good as the mother and daughter, as is Chaz Lamar Shepherd as the youngest gang member. The suspense is also well-done, even though it's hard to be legitimately scared by the Southern Ontario faux-Bronx setting. Recommended, if only for Robertson's unforgettable final line to Powers, absolutely dripping with the quasi-ironic, self-aware zeitgeist of the early 90's: "Next time you drive, OK?"