A serial killer on the loose in Los Angeles murdered a couple having sex in the back of a van. Detective Leo Kessler, along with his young new clean-cut partner Paul McCann investigate the murders, to stumble onto the girls diary, which leads them to a very suspicious suspect Warren Stacey. The girl actually worked with Warren, and seemed to be creep out by him. Kessler starts to realise that they have their man, but there's no real evidence to connect him. However Kessler fabricates evidence, but when it's found out. Warren is released, and Kessler is sacked, but Kessler makes it his own business to catch him when his daughter gets caught up in it.
This creaky, low-budget Charles Bronson and J. Lee Thompson item from the 80's is probably my favourite (just ahead of "Murphy's Law (1986)" of their collaborations with Cannon productions. By the way the title itself is quite useless. At this time of his career Bronson was set-up to walk the all-familiar vigilante character, which started of in his semi-classic "Death Wish (1974)". Actually William Roberts' compact, harsh screenplay has plenty in common with the brilliant Clint Eastwood masterpiece "Dirty Harry (1971). Both shared their right-wing frustration of the flimsy excuse they call the justice system, where the main protagonist (a cynical cop in both) takes the law into their own hands. The themes are incidental, but because of its leering callousness and sordidly crude mindset amongst the political matter, it comes off looking more like a basic, routine crime/slasher/exploitation hybrid that lacks character. When it's trying for that cynical exploration on the rights of the criminal, it does feel half-baked as it doesn't seem to go out on an emotional bang and it was achieved much better in William Friedkin's captivating "Rampage (1987)".
What Thompson's slick, razor-sharp direction has done is created an airtight and highly authentic atmosphere. Along the way he stages some intense, and quite jarring attack and voyeuristic scenes, which are plain nasty and has the killer going around in the buff. Thrusting in is a scorchingly draining, if at times experimental sounding music score by Robert O. Ragland. The editing by Peter Lee-Thompson is ably done, and everything about it is well paced. Photographer Adam Greenberg accordingly shapes it. Charles Bronson might be the headliner, but it's an extremely effective and dynamic performance by Gene Davis. He brought the right temperament to his unsettlingly homemade, calculating character whose emotions played out like a unstable twitch. Bronson does what he does best, and here it's no exception with his comfortable turn of total conviction and yes, liveliness when things get drastic. Andrew Stevens and the lovely Lisa Eilbacher are fine support. Also there are amusing small roles for Kelly Preston and Geoffrey Lewis (a real favourite of mine) as a slimy defence lawyer.
"10 to Midnight" can be spotty and outlandish in its intentions, and turn off people due to its malevolent nature, but what we get is a solid offering in b-grade territory.
This creaky, low-budget Charles Bronson and J. Lee Thompson item from the 80's is probably my favourite (just ahead of "Murphy's Law (1986)" of their collaborations with Cannon productions. By the way the title itself is quite useless. At this time of his career Bronson was set-up to walk the all-familiar vigilante character, which started of in his semi-classic "Death Wish (1974)". Actually William Roberts' compact, harsh screenplay has plenty in common with the brilliant Clint Eastwood masterpiece "Dirty Harry (1971). Both shared their right-wing frustration of the flimsy excuse they call the justice system, where the main protagonist (a cynical cop in both) takes the law into their own hands. The themes are incidental, but because of its leering callousness and sordidly crude mindset amongst the political matter, it comes off looking more like a basic, routine crime/slasher/exploitation hybrid that lacks character. When it's trying for that cynical exploration on the rights of the criminal, it does feel half-baked as it doesn't seem to go out on an emotional bang and it was achieved much better in William Friedkin's captivating "Rampage (1987)".
What Thompson's slick, razor-sharp direction has done is created an airtight and highly authentic atmosphere. Along the way he stages some intense, and quite jarring attack and voyeuristic scenes, which are plain nasty and has the killer going around in the buff. Thrusting in is a scorchingly draining, if at times experimental sounding music score by Robert O. Ragland. The editing by Peter Lee-Thompson is ably done, and everything about it is well paced. Photographer Adam Greenberg accordingly shapes it. Charles Bronson might be the headliner, but it's an extremely effective and dynamic performance by Gene Davis. He brought the right temperament to his unsettlingly homemade, calculating character whose emotions played out like a unstable twitch. Bronson does what he does best, and here it's no exception with his comfortable turn of total conviction and yes, liveliness when things get drastic. Andrew Stevens and the lovely Lisa Eilbacher are fine support. Also there are amusing small roles for Kelly Preston and Geoffrey Lewis (a real favourite of mine) as a slimy defence lawyer.
"10 to Midnight" can be spotty and outlandish in its intentions, and turn off people due to its malevolent nature, but what we get is a solid offering in b-grade territory.