I think I did a thread on this one, back in the action/adventure section in 2017 or something, of this rather underrated early 80s Charles Bronson chiller. But I guess that one is "gone" in the Film General section, so instead of making up a new one there, I hope it is okay to bump this one, as I sure do believe
10 to Midnight (1983) has way more in common with the horror and thriller genre, than it has with just being "another" Charles Bronson b-movie action title.
Anyway, I re-watched it last night, and just thought I should put a bit of thoughts or writing on how it went down.
Well, the search function sure did not do much to help me out, in the Film General, that is for sure. Everything but the one movie I was looking for, came up, and I am not gonna browse my way through hundred of pages, so it was actually far more easy just going into my own personal profile, then use the search function of those threads or posts I have made over the years, and it came up right away.
However, I am a bit lazy this morning, so part of this review do consists of that old movie thread a couple of years back, but also some new stuff that I picked up last night:
"Anybody who does something like this, his knife's gotta be his penis."Veteran cop Leo Kessler (Charles Bronson) and his young partner Paul McAnn (Andrew Stevens) are assigned with their toughest job yet, which is to catch a brutal serial killer, who mostly seems to target young beautiful women. But as they close in on their man, the situation are about to get a bit too personal, especially when Kessler's own daughter becomes involved. And as a result, Leo decides to make use of his rather special working methods, in trying to lure his prey out of hiding, which in return could be a fatal mistake.This early 80s Bronson output, once again from Cannon Pictures, is quite something "different" of a approach for the main star. I mean, it is actually quite a "unique" if you will, little b-movie, but then again, Bronson was quite a unique guy back in those days, and this is clearly a bit of a cash-in on the whole horror slasher mania that, I guess was still hitting the big numbers, or at least so many studios seemed to believe.
The movie was probably in the making back in 1982, so when it was released in 83, I am not sure if the slasher genre still had the same draw power as during the golden years, that of 1980-1982, but still I think it is interesting to see that even Bronson tried his share of luck and also not just another Paul Kersey adventure, even though it sure has its Deat Wish moments.
Anyway, I have always kind of liked or enjoyed this film, and while surely not among the better movies Bronson made back then, it is really something else.
Here you have him going up against a very sick and creepy individual, who stalks and preys upon beautiful young women, and obvisouly has a very huge problem getting along with women in general, or as Detective Leo Kessler so nicely puts it:
"His knife's gotta be his penis." 
That is just masterful police work.
Through out the film, there is this almost cat and mouse "game" going on, between Kessler and the very creepy and sleazy serial killer, that is Warren Stacy.
Already from the very first scene of his back to the camera, where he stares, or preys upon a couple of pretty girls at college, you sure sense that, something is not quite right with this guy. And, yeah, that is for sure.
Gene Davis does one hell of a job as Warren, and comes off as a very unlikeable and chilling young man, who somehow, I guess remind you of a bit of
The Terminator (1984) and much later on
American Psycho (2000), which is of no coincidence, considering he prefers to slaughter his victims while being all nude, which makes it just even more disturbing, and he also delivers a couple of: "I'll be back" lines along the way.
But the one, truly stand-out and truly chilling scene, and which just oozes of very early 80s horror-slasher feel to it, is when Warren much later on, pays a "little visit" to a nursery home, and well, I am not gonna spoil too much, but I think that is very well done, and is just a incredible nasty piece of work.
Again, I guess I keep on mentioning words such as sleazy, creepy and chilling, but yeah, this one really fits all those things, and I think even among some Bronson die hard fans, there is a bit of "hostility" towards it, not sure why, but I guess it was maybe not really what they usally "expected" it to be, back then, or much later on when they thought it was gonna be, just another Death Wish movie.
Back to the movie, and there is several hilarious moments in this one, some I did not take notice of the first few times, but still, classic 80s Bronson b-movie cheese.
However, I think the leading actors did a great job here, specially the chemistry between the beautiful Lisa Eilbacher, who played the daughter of Leo Kessler and Andrew Stevens.
I recently saw her in the classic 80 action film,
Beverly Hills Cop (1984), I thought she looked stunning in that one, and makes me wonder what the hell happened to this cutie?
Such a total 80s babe, with those big eyes, hair and smile.
In some of the smaller main parts, you have the always reliable Wilford Brimley and Geoffrey Lewis as the sleazy attorney Dante, and a very young Kelly Preston as one of the nurses.
Sadly, it do get a bit too "over-the-top" with some of the lesser minor parts, who just overacts and it feels almost like a parody, in the way some of the characters delivers their lines or expressions.
The father, of one of the murdered girls, right after her funeral, says something like:
"There were so many boys, TOOOOO MANYYYY, just soooo many!" or something like that, and I felt bad for finding it "funny", but it was just delivered in a way that, yeah, I kind of wished they had gotten maybe some better actor for a couple of the more dramatic parts, but, then again, the movie might not be as memorable and enjoyable in the first place.
Then later on, at Warrens workplace, his lady boss gets a sad phone call, and then just take one long dramatic look at the telephone like it was some kind of a huge monstrous rat or snake, and then burst out a big loud:
"OOOOOH, GOD, NOOOOOOOOO!" and, again, total overacting and more funny than ever being serious.
When I am bringing up the more cheesy or comedic parts, I just cannot forget to mention how Leo uses his very special interrogation techniques, and where during a meeting between him and Warren, he decides to rattle his cage a little by taking out one of Stacy's little personal "toys":
"It's for JACKING OFF, isn't it!"You just dont see that kind of cinematic movie scenes much longer, it just classic 80s sleaze and few did that better than Charles Bronson, specially with such a straight face and, it always cracks me up.
Not just that one, but the way Leo actually goes through all of Warren's more personal stuff, and then picks out this "thing" out of his toilet closet, and for those who carefully looks at what kind of magazines Warren has lying around in the bathroom, there is a hilarious huge picture of a naked man's behind, and the look on that man's face, is just priceless, I had somehow not seen it before, until last night, and I just burst out laughing.
Such a short moment of pure sleaze and cheese, but that face, damn, it will haunt me forever.
Anyway, I guess I will have to stop now, but I think this film deserves a bit of a recognition, as it sure is not a great movie by any means, but it is very entertaining and a rather memorable ones as well.
Just to finish it all "off", as with several of Bronson's 80s movies, this one also come with a very "exploding" way of ending things, and I guess the hint of what to come, is clearly delivered very early on, when Leo chats with his new partner Paul McAnn (Stevens) about this old neighborhood they are driving through, and a little tale of what happened with a butcher (or something) who killed his wife, then claimed for insanity, got 6 months inside a loony bin, then was back out, then went on to kill again, and yeah, Leo is not gonna let that happen once again.
