10 to Midnight

Cannon greatness starring Chuck Bronson and directed by Bronson's frequent collaborator J. Lee Thompson. Bronson plays a grizzled detective out to nab a psycho that killed a woman for rejecting him. The problem is the killer covered his tracks well so Bronson has to resort to less-than-legal means of getting him. When this backfires, Bronson's own daughter becomes the psycho's next target.

One of Charles Bronson's best movies from the '80s. As with most of his output that decade, it's sleazy and violent but it's also undeniably fun in a cheesy sort of way. Bronson gives his usual one-note performance. If you've seen his Death Wish movies, you know what to expect here and whether you'll like it or not. Gene Davis makes for a memorable pervert psycho. He also appears naked quite a bit, as do many other people (women and men). Lots of T&A in this one. Lisa Eilbacher is Bronson's pretty daughter and does well. Andrew Stevens holds up his end as the young detective who can't condone Bronson's methods. The rest of the cast includes Geoffrey Lewis, Wilford Brimley, Ola Ray, and a young Kelly Preston. The lady playing Davis' boss takes the honors for worst performance. Her "Betty's dead!" scene should be taught in acting schools.

It's a fun movie if you're not the type who takes everything seriously and gets easily offended. The cheesy elements will please many, as will the voyeuristic stuff. Bronson takes it all very seriously which makes it all the more enjoyable when he's spouting lines like "You know what this is for, Warren? It's for jacking off!" This is a great '80s thriller with a lot of things going for it, including a terrific ending.

In Los Angeles, the rookie Detective Paul McAnn (Andrew Stevens) teams up with the veteran Detective Leo Kessler (Charles Bronson) to investigate the murder of Betty Johnson (June Gilbert) and her boyfriend that were stabbed by a naked serial-killer in a park. Detective Kessler recognizes the victim, who lived in the same neighborhood many years ago and childhood friend of his daughter Laurie Kessler (Lisa Eilbacher). The killer Warren Stacy (Gene Davis) goes to the funeral and overhears Betty's father telling Detective Kessler that his daughter had a diary.

Warren breaks in Betty's apartment and stabs and kills her roommate Karen Smalley (Jeana Tomasina) trying to find the diary. But Karen had already delivered the journal to Detective Kessler. Leo Kessler is sure that Warren is the serial-killer and her plants a false evidence in his apartment. However, Warren's defense lawyer presses Detective McAnn accusing him of perjury and Warren is released. Now the Warren is stalking Laurie to revenge against her father.

"10 to Midnight" is a classic thriller from the 80's and among the best movies of Charles Bronson. I saw this film two or three times in the past and I have just seen it again. The unexpected reaction of Detetctive Leo Kessler is the climax of this great film and gives an unforgettable conclusion to the story. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Dez Minutos para Morrer" ("Ten Minutes to Die")

... Could a tag-line possibly sound more Bronson-like? J. Lee Thompsons "10 To Midnight" of 1983 starring the great late Charley, is a decent cop flick, not nearly one of the most memorable Bronson flicks, but still a pretty suspenseful little thriller that will highly entertain all my fellow fans of everybody's favorite no-nonsense ass-kicker.

Warren Stacy (Gene Davis) is a psychopathic serial killer who gets his kicks by running around naked and stabbing his victims to death. He does not randomly select his victims, but kills, because he wants to get back at the women who have rebuffed his advances. Leo Kessler (Charles Bronson) is a tough and experienced cop, who doesn't hesitate to use unorthodox methods to get justice done. When Kessler investigates the murders he has to find out that the latest victim was a close friend of his daughter's (Lisa Eilbacher). Accompanied by his rookie colleague Paul McAnn (Andrew Stevens), Kessler soon finds out who the murderer is. Warren Stacy is quite smart, however, and never leaves any evidence. Things quickly get personal between Kessler and Stacy, and you know Charley B. - he's probably not the guy you wanna mess with.

"10 To Midnight" differs from the majority of other Cop vs. Serial Killer thrillers, since the viewer knows from the very beginning who the killer is. The movie focuses on the strife between Bronson and the serial killer, and builds up suspense by focusing on the serial killer and his possible victims. Since Bronson has to use illegal methods in order to get justice done ("Forget What's Legal... Do What's Right!") the film is, of course, politically incorrect as hell; But isn't that exactly what we love about Charlie Bronson? The man takes the law in his own hands and doesn't mind the bad guys getting hurt - If you don't like it, stop whining. Bronson is great as always and Gene Davis delivers a great performance as the serial killer, very wooden and therefore very creepy. Lisa Eilbacher, who play's Bronson's daughter, is very cute, and Geoffrey Lewis is great as the killer's sleazy lawyer. Some folks complain about poor editing in this movie, I don't really see why. One of the things I didn't like was the fact that the killer was rather one dimensional. "10 To Midnight" may lack depth, but it is a suspenseful film, certainly no masterpiece, but nonetheless a decent thriller that Bronson fans should like. I recommend to watch this, and to have a beer doing so.

About the time "10 to Midnight" was released, I read an interview with Charles Bronson in which he was asked why he continued to make one "Death Wish" clone after the other with bad hack directors instead of taking over his career and taking chances like his contemporaries Sean Connery and Clint Eastwood. I remember he wasn't too happy with the question, but it was, and remains, a legitimate one, for while Connery and Eastwood would cap their careers with Oscars Bronson would limp toward the end of his with one bomb after the other. So bad were his '80's films in fact, this one is one of the best, even though it still is a pretty mediocre, and at times terrible, film.

The difference between "10 to Midnight" and say, "Kinjite," is that Bronson actually has a pretty good supporting cast to work with, including Lisa Eilbacher, Andrew Stevens, Geoffrey Lewis and Wilford Brimley. And his adversary, a kinky lady-killer (literally) played by Gene Davis, is a little more interesting than your standard-issue villain. Davis is Warren Stacey, a handsome young stud who is such a sociopathic sleaze that even his sexy looks and great body can't get him a date. So when he's rejected, what's a guy to do? It's simple, he strips naked, grabs some gloves and a knife, and kills the object of his affection, usually when she's also naked and in the middle of lovemaking. Obviously, "The French Connection" this one ain't. Enter Leo Kessler (Bronson) who surveys Stacey's carnage and comes up with the perceptive observation: "His knife must be his penis." Together with partner Andrew Stevens, he has no trouble fingering Stacey as the killer; unfortunately, the psycho is an expert at establishing airtight alibis. Also unfortunately for Kessler, he has a nubile, yet estranged, daughter (Lisa Eilbacher)--a nurse who not only was friends with victim one, but also shares an apartment with several potential (and beautiful) victims. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where this one is going.

Yep, it's all as sleazy as it sounds, and surprisingly watchable. "10 to Midnight" also contains an astonishing amount of nudity (both male and female) for a mainstream film, and a sex scene near the beginning that is about one thrust away from tagging this with an X-rating. Fortunately, Bronson and the supporting cast keep it from veering too far off the deep end, with Eilbacher especially effective as a daughter who is every bit as tough and hard-headed as her father. I also liked Geoffrey Lewis' turn as a smart-as-a-whip defense attorney, and Brimley's presence as Bronson's superior adds a welcome touch of professionalism. And while Davis can't act, he does project enough menace to keep it interesting. Unfortunately, director J. Lee Thompson is less adept at handling his bit players, many of whom are so wooden as to be absolutely laughable. One actress in particular, playing the boss of the first victim, elicited howls of audience laughter when I first saw this with her absolutely terrible job of conveying shock and horror when hearing about the murder. In fact, Thompson's directing here is so routine and at times inept, it is almost impossible to believe that the same man was responsible for the authentic classic "The Guns of Navarone."

All-in-all, "10 to Midnight" has to classify as the ultimate good/bad film. Sleazy, predictable, offensive and laughable all could be used to describe it. But it's also strangely watchable, even entertaining at times. And the ending packs a real wallop. In other words, it's a real guilty pleasure. **1/2 (out of *****)

It's easy to forget that in the 80s, action movies were every bit as violent as horror films and 10 to Midnight is pretty harsh. It feels like they're attempting to make both a Friday the 13th and a Death Wish movie AT THE SAME TIME!

Charles Bronson plays a tough cop dedicated to his job. He stumbles onto a serial sex killer and obsessively hunts him down only to have the system fail him leading to a truly shocking bloodbath at the finale.

10 to Midnight is Cannon film, thus it's over-the-top with lots of sex and violence. It's also through and through a Bronson film so there's a lot of tough guy grandstanding and complaints about a broken legal system that values the rights of the accused over those of the victim.

The positives of this movie are that it has a truly solid cast. Bronson actually seems to care about his performance (not always the case in his later films), the villain is creepy and frightening (he likes to attack his lady victims while he is totally nude), and the kills are intensely effective.

The negatives are that the movie is just a little too slow. There are too many cop movie cliches and I didn't care at all about Bronson's partner. Honestly, I feel that this movie would have worked much better as a straight forward giallo film.

This is a cop movie that occasionally turns into a slasher film which leaves a movie that can't find a consistent tone. Fans of slashers and cop flicks are both likely to be put off by the movie but it is unique enough that I get why it has a cult following. It's an above average latter day Bronson film and probably at least worth a look for fans that don't mind a little (or a lot!) of bloodshed.