(1983)
Reviewed By- Eric King
Directed By- J. Lee Thompson
Starring- Charles Bronson, Lisa Elibacher, Andrew Stevens, Gene Davis
Released Through- MGM Home Entertainment
Region- 1
Format- NTSC
A lot of times when people hear the name Charles Bronson, Death Wish
immediately comes to mind. Many of the actors other great (Telefon, The Evil That Men
Do, The Mechanic and many others) works are often forgotten, or sometimes even
confused with another bad Death Wish sequel. Thankfully, MGM has released
many of these Unremembered gems to DVD, so the old-time fans and newly acquired
ones can get a better idea why Bronson is held in such high regard as one of
the most iconic bad asses to ever grace the silver screen. A lesser known
favorite of mine is 10 To Midnight, which mixes a slight slasher movie approach into
Charlie's more traditional detective thriller.
Bronson plays Leo Kessler, a sarcastic Los Angeles cop on the trail of Warren
Stacy (Gene Davis), a pretty boy weirdo that brutally murders women that
reject him. He's fairly well educated, a movie buff, speaks Spanish, experienced
in martial arts (though this is never demonstrated in the movie, unless you
want to consider kicking in a bathroom door barefooted) and goes through with his
homicidal plans very carefully, making it nearly impossible to be caught. He
also commits his crimes naked wearing rubber gloves so no trace is left
behind.
After murdering a woman he worked with, along with her lover, Warren shows up
to her funeral where Kessler and his new partner, Paul McAnn (Andrew Stevens)
are asking questions and paying their respects. The victim had grown up with
Leo's daughter, Laurie (Lisa Elibacher), who notices the killer at the
funeral, and has a few facts that makes him a suspect. It seems that everyone that's
came in contact with Mr. Stacy claim he is very weird and most women are
scared of him. He also has a history of violence and harassment on females,
especially when rejected by them. It's not enough evidence to put him behind bars,
but it's enough for two of L.A.'s finest to keep a strong eye upon him.
After another murder and several maniacal phone calls of perverse persuasion
occurs, Leo Kessler decides it's time to get this guy put away for good,
before someone else turns up dead. But clues are still running thin. After an
interrogation that goes nowhere, Leo decides to frame Warren with blood samples on
his clothes that match the first found victim's blood type. Sadly, the plan is
botched, Kessler is fired from the force, and the killer is set free. Knowing
he can't let this happen, Leo Kessler decides to take the force in his own
hands Bronson style before Warren Stacy strikes again!
10 To Midnight is edge of your seat and nicely involving. The film goes down
how it's expected to, and it doesn't fall into the "who dunnit" genre. You
know what's going down the entire time, not a whole lot of payoff or any twists.
It's the road that gets you to the end that makes it enjoyable. Watching how
the killer conducts his work is possibly the most fascinating charm the film
has.
For instance, the build up to the first victim. Warren walks up to a movie
theatre, sees two females in line ahead of him and decides to purchase a ticket
for what they're going to watch (which happens to be Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid). After being turned down by one of the girls in the dark cinema, he
goes into the bathroom and exits through a window. Knowing where his first
victim already is by spying on her earlier, he drives to this destination, gets
out of his car naked as all hell, creeps over to a van where she and her lover
are having sex and proceeds to stab them with a butterfly knife, severing
their intestines. He then goes back to the cinema, through the window of the
bathroom, flushes his bloody gloves down the toilet, and goes back into the
theatre room. He's virtually unseen, leaving not a trace behind.
This, and many other sequences are shot brilliantly. Some instances are shown
through a POV perspective, while others are third person for the viewer,
which are just as rewarding. Director J. Lee Thompson had quite a bit of history
working with Bronson on several other films, so this was probably just a lot of
fun seeming hardly like a job at all. A lot of formulas used in slasher films
are done here; such as slow walking buildups in dark areas, prank phone
calls, stalking, knife usage with gloves and so on. It's highly effective, and when
thrown in the blender with detective/thriller aspects (which the bulk of the
story revolves around), it leaves very little time for the viewer to get
bored. The movie was just simply crafted with near excellence, for what it is.
Charley is excellent in this. He and his daughter have long drifted away
since the death of his wife, so other than the law he really has nothing to give
him a good outlook on life. Which is what probably makes his cynical behavior
flare. His daughter Laurie is a total female version of him. Good casting call,
because Lisa Elibacher makes the performance ever so believable. She's every
bit as sarcastic as her Father, but has a deeper sense of abandonment, due to
them not speaking so much after her Mother's death.
Andrew Stevens plays Kessler's new police partner, Paul McAnn. You'll easily
recognize him if you have flipped Skin-e-max in the wee hours of night, as he
has shown his face many a time in late night erotic masterpieces. He also does
a lot of work behind the camera as a producer. Anyhow, McAnn is thought of as
a wet behind the ears officer, who Kessler treats like a child more than a
partner. Paul has a sense of aggravation over this, though, never comes out with
it to Kessler. But he and Laurie bicker back and forth quite frequently, as
this is the love connection layered into the film. It's cute at times, and
thankfully never gets in the way of more important aspects of the story.
Gene Davis gives a damn fine performance as the killer, Warren Stacy.
Reserved when around males, yet highly talkative around women, almost demanding;
Davis gives this character everything it needs to be authentic. And this is not
even taking into consideration the madness he performs when he flips his
killswitch. It's a shame he didn't land a lot more roles like this or even more
overboard ones, because he's seemingly meant for it, but I guess that would be
redundant. He's so entertaining here, because his character doesn't fit the
profile of a killer at first glance, but they really never do.
10 To Midnight has some bloodletting, but isn't gory. Most of the murders are
offscreen, and usually show what happens before and after the fact. The
gorehounds get a few shots of open wounds from stabbings the victims undergo, but
nothing cheer worthy. Though, it isn't needed, since this is more Detective
than Horror. The body count does get up in the numbers before you know it,
though, which makes the movie's madman all the more intimidating.
MGM gives a pretty swell transfer of 10 To Midnight, with an option of
viewing it in Widescreen or Fullscreen ratios. It's also sounded never better, being
remastered with Dolby Digital. The extras are minimal, with the theatrical
trailer, as well as trailers to other MGM films. But as far as the movie goes,
this is the best way to see it, and I urge Charles Bronson enthusiasts to do
so.
Recommended.
Audio: 4.5 Bitch Slaps
Video: 4 Bitch Slaps
Film: 3.5 Bitch Slaps
Overall: 4 Bitch Slaps
