Few actors have been typecast to the extent Charles Bronson has. He was moviedom's knight in shining (but dented) armor; a pseudo-chivalric gunslinger who killed for sport, and was the personification of noble cause corruption, all under the guise of protecting womanhood. From Paul Kersey (the Death Wish films) and Charlie Congers (Love and Bullets) to Jack Murphy (Murphy's Law), Bronson's squinty-eyed machismo was second only to that of Clint Eastwood.In 10 to Midnight Bronson plays the same ol' vigilante (Leo Kessler), who this time must protect his daughter and her college coed friends from a serial killer. This film, however, does not feature an avalanche of killing and is deeper on plot than any of his later Death Wish films.At best, 10 to Midnight is a guilty pleasure. At worst, it is a cinematic cliché that men never grow tired of.

"10 to Midnight" is my favorite Bronson film - next to "Death Wish". I often think of how this movie scared me when it came out - I was 11 years old at the time. Why did "10 to Midnight" horrify me so much? I was just starting to "look a boys" at 11 years old (coming-of-age era) and thought about being hurt or worse by the person I may date one day.This movie is very thrilling and may frighten women more than men to watch due to the nature of the film. Although the scenario in the movie has been rehashed several times over each of this type has it's on uniqueness about it - and "10 to Midnight" is no exception.If you like crime-thrillers and have not seen this movie - try it one night you may like it! 8/10

Paul McAnn teams up with Detective Leo Kessler to investigate the murder of Betty Johnson and her boyfriend, by a naked killer in a park. Kessler recognises the victim, as they lived in the same neighbourhood many years ago. The killer, Warren Stacey, goes to the funeral and overhears Betty's father telling Kessler that his daughter had a diary. He breaks in Betty's apartment and kills her roommate trying to find the diary. But Karen had already delivered the journal to Kessler, who is sure that Warren is the killer and her plants evidence in his apartment.Now Warren is stalking his daughter to revenge against her father....In the eighties, The Cannon group made some really good films, the kind you would watch on a Friday night with your dad. And Bronson was the king of Cannon movies.This has to be one of his best, because its not just straightforward action, in fact, Thompson pulls a double whammy, cashing in on the Death Wish movies, and cashing in on the slasher movies of the early eighties.Other than that, its Bronson being Bronson, staring at people from bridges and nosing through people's bathrooms.The rest of the support are good, particularly Elibacher as his daughter. But unfortunately he same cannot be said for the guy who played Stacey. I'm sure he thought his motivation was 'robots' because he moves like one, and seems to think that he should approach his victims in the slowest way possible.But he's my only gripe, its a brilliant thriller, and it must have threw audiences back in 1983, as its so ungeneric, compared to other cop thrillers around his time.Its obviously influenced by Bundy, but if you like Bronson and Cannon, this is for you.

Tough and cynical L.A. detective Leo Kessler (the almighty Charles Bronson in peak hard-nosed form) decides to bend the rules in order to apprehend the unhinged Warren Stacy (a creepy and convincing performance by the handsome and muscular Gene Davis), a cunning depraved misogynistic psychopath who enjoys killing lovely young women while stark naked. Director J. Lee Thompson, working from a scuzzy script by William Roberts, relates the engrossingly sordid story at a steady pace, maintains an unflinchingly dark and seamy tone throughout, generates a good deal of tension, and delivers oodles of grisly violence and tasty gratuitous female nudity (ladies will be happy to know that Davis shows off a lot of his buff body, too). This film further benefits from sound acting by a fine cast: Andrew Stevens as Kessler's studious by-the-book partner Paul McCann, Lisa Eilbacher as Kessler's spunky estranged daughter Laurie, Geoffrey Lewis as slimy lawyer Dave Dante, Wilford Brimley as the crusty Captain Malone, and Robert F. Lyons as shrewd district attorney Nathan Zager. "Playboy" Playmates Ola Ray and Jeana Tomasina both appear as two of Stacy's victims while Kelly Preston has a small role as a nurse. Moreover, this picture not only boasts a few nifty deviant touches (Kessler finds a masturbatory device in Stacy's apartment that looks downright painful), but also addresses a few interesting moral issues concerning the law and people's rights. Stacy sizes up as a memorably reprehensible combination of hateful real-life sickos Richard Speck and Ted Bundy. The ending is a doozy. Adam Greenberg's glossy cinematography gives the movie an impressive slick look. Robert O. Ragland's pulsating score does the rousing trick. A prime slice of vintage 80's trash.