BADass SINema Unearthed - Blu-ray 4K UHD Review

It is a film that Roger Ebert eviscerated with his review, taking the moral high ground and shaming 10 to Midnight for its portrayal of sex, violence, and the female condition.  He also took to the review to suggest that Charles Bronson was just showing up for a paycheck.  And, ironically enough, he had an issue with the choice to NOT show how Bronson as LAPD Detective Leo Kessler explained the tragic murder of a friend’s daughter to the couple; a brave decision if ever there was one for a movie about a psycho killer who kills in the nude.

And, yes, Virginia there are a whole lot of flapping buttcheeks on display in this movie.  After all, the killer, played by The Hitcher’s Gene Davis, does a lot of running after his victims and, as the victims are often in the nude, so, too, does the prey.  Bounce, bounce, bounce. Jiggle, jiggle, jiggle. And so on. But, the hunt for this psycho is an involved one and, as it eventually lands on the whereabouts of Laurie Kessler (Lisa Eilbacher), it hits Bronson’s character hard.

10 to Midnight, directed by J. Lee Thompson (Conquest of the Planet of the Apes), is bloody and gratuitous when it comes to its killings and its handling of nudity.  The sex scenes are fairly graphic for the time period, too, offering tons of views of the human body.  Released by Cannon Films in the early 1980s, this should come as no surprise.  Lots of women are stabbed. And Davis, looking all sorts of Pinocchio-like, is a damn good choice for the strip nude killer. {googleads}

Co-starring Andrew Stevens as Kessler’s partner and Wilford Brimley as Captain Malone, the film tightens the noose around Davis’ character thanks to planted evidence, a false charge, and a subsequent admission of police wrongdoing by Bronson’s character before righting itself, releasing the suspect, and putting a bullet right where it belongs – thanks to a midnight run down National Boulevard in Los Angeles.

But, for all those super special filth hounds out there, one of the best moments in the movie comes when Bronson is flip-flapping a massive sex toy, with a motorized vagina attached to it, in front of Davis’ face during an interrogation scene.  The moment is an odd one, thanks to its ultra-serious tone, that will have some people in stitches.  I still smile at the sight of Bronson waving it around.  Add to this the fact that the killer often harasses his victims with explicit phone calls about anal and oral sex, often with a Hispanic accent, and you have the recipe for a film that earns its cult following.

The best scene in the film comes toward the ending.  It is a dorm room thrashing that involves a whole bunch of screaming and slashing as Davis searches for Kessler’s daughter.  She’s hiding and they are all covering for her and they pay for it with their lives.  Blood flows everywhere.  It is a scene, as the killer keeps his victim trapped in the bathroom until she is able to burn herself free of his trap, that still terrifies.

Shout! Factory, recognizing that this grisly movie does indeed have a cult following, has now remastered 10 to Midnight in 4K and slapped it with a bunch of new interviews for this NEW release. Let the smut shaming begin again!

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 101 mins
Director: J. Lee Thompson
Writer: William Roberts
Cast: Charles Bronson, Lisa Eilbacher, Andrew Stevens
Genre: Crime | Drama
Tagline: Bronson is back on the streets.
Memorable Movie Quote: "You go in that courtroom and forget what's legal and do what's right."
Theatrical Distributor: Cannon Films
Official Site:
Release Date: March 11, 1983
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: January 22, 2019
Synopsis: Charles Bronson is "a hero all the way" (Variety) as a rogue cop pursuing a deranged killer in this action-packed suspense/thriller. Serving up vigilante justice as only he can, Bronson delivers one of his most riveting performances in this exceedingly well-made film.

Bronson plays Leo Kessler, a cynical Los Angeles cop on the trail of Warren Stacy (Gene Davis), a homicidal maniac who turns rejection from beautiful women into the ultimate revenge. When the legal system sets Stacy free, Kessler plants evidence to put him behind bars for good. But Kessler's plan backfires, leaving him with only one option: to hunt down Stacy on his own ... before the crazed killer can strike again!

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - January 22, 2019
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Shout! Factory’s brand new 4K scan of the film’s original elements looks damn crisp!  The detail here is damned impressive.  Colors are bold, bright, and shadows are thick with lines and deep blacks.  The night scenes – and there are a lot of them – are detailed and heavy with edges, so too is the massive amount of nudity, including testicles and pubic hair.  The colors are bold enough.  Saturation levels are on point and so too is the restored audio, appearing here in a DTS-HD master audio HD track.  Presented with a widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio, Cobra has never looked as good as it does here.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• There are two: Audio Commentary With Writer/Historian Paul Talbot (Author Of Bronson’s Loose! And Bronson’s Loose Again!) and another commentary With Producer Pancho Kohner, Casting Director John Crowther, And Film Historian David Del Valle.

Special Features:

Jam-packed with NEW interviews, Shout! Factory’s new 4K handling of this cult film is a treat for trashy film fanatics.  We get Andrew Stevens, Producer Lance Hool, Robert F. Lyons, Jeana Tomasina Keough, and new audio commentaries. 

• Charlie’s Partner – An Interview With Actor Andrew Stevens
• Producing Bronson – An Interview With Producer Lance Hool
• Remembering Bronson – An Interview With Actor Robert F. Lyons
• Undressed To Kill – An Interview With Actress Jeana Tomasina Keough
• Audio Commentary With Writer/Historian Paul Talbot (Author Of Bronson’s Loose! And Bronson’s Loose Again!)
• Audio Commentary With Producer Pancho Kohner, Casting Director John Crowther, And Film Historian David Del Valle
• Theatrical Trailer
• Radio Spots
• Still Gallery