Survive the Night

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?"

While I had never heard about this 1993 action thriller TV movie titled "Survive the Night", as I stumbled upon it here in 2025, of course I opted to watch the movie. I do believe in giving all movies a fair chance. And thus, I sat down to watch director Bill Corcoran's 1993 movie without any expectations, nor actually knowing what I was in for.

The narrative in the movie was pretty bland. Watchable for what it was, sure, but hardly a noteworthy action thriller in any way. So writers Jerry Lazarus and Steven Whitney didn't exactly conjure up an overly enjoyable or entertaining script for director Bill Corcoran to bring to life on the screen.

The acting performances in the movie were okay, though nothing outstanding. Of the entire cast ensemble, I was only familiar with Kathleen Robertson and Lawrence Gilliard Jr.

Watchable, sure, but "Survive the Night" was by no means an outstanding movie. It is not a movie that I would recommend you to spend 93 minutes on watching. Nor is it a movie that I will return to watch a second time.

My rating of director Bill Corcoran's 1993 movie "Survive the Night" lands on a generous four out of ten stars.

This is a good chase movie with very good acting from Stephanie Powers. Three ladies run out of gas at night in the Bronx. While looking for some gas, the antagonize a local gang and the chase is on. I found the story easy to follow, some twists, good acting all around but especially from Powers. Are these 3 Women going to be able to Survive the Night? You will have a good time finding out. Helen Shaver also plays her part well as one of the Women. I also liked how this film showed the gang members going into a frenzy to try to find the Girls. This movie is well worth your time if you happen to have a chance to see it, you wont be disappointed.

I'm a real Stefanie Powers nut, so I can't dislike anything she's in. But this film had an unusual amount of gore and suspense for a television film. Stefanie plays Victoria, and is in a car with her sister Stacy and daughter Julie. They are driving home from a Thanksgiving dinner and notice they are almost out of gas. They see a gas station at the bottom of a turnoff, thinking it is open, but it is closed and is lit just to deter thieves. They run out of gas, and a gang of guys surround their car at the gas station. Things go downhill fast. This movie is similar to the film Judgment Night in two ways; 1) People take a turnoff and land in a bad neighborhood they are unable to escape from and get chased on foot by people who want to kill them; 2) It has a scene where a long plank is used to get from one building to another. I don't know if this movie copied off of the other, or if it was the other way around. This film has an eerie quality and is very special to me, but I don't know why.