10 to Midnight

10 to Midnight is a 1983 American neo noir-thriller-horror film directed by J. Lee Thompson from a screenplay originally written by William Roberts. The film stars Charles Bronson in the lead role with a supporting cast that includes Lisa Eilbacher, Andrew Stevens, Gene Davis, Geoffrey Lewis, and Wilford Brimley. 10 to Midnight was released by City Films, a subsidiary of Cannon Films, to American cinemas on March 11, 1983. Plot Warren Stacey (Gene Davis) is a young office equipment repairman who kills women after they reject his sexual advances. His attempts at flirting are always seen as creepy by women, resulting in frequent rejections. One night, Stacey attends a showing of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid at a theatre and deliberately accosts the women sitting next to him, so they will recall him. As the movie plays, he heads for the theatre's bathroom, strips naked, puts on gloves and slips out though a window. He tracks Betty, a co-worker who had rejected his advances, down to a wooded area, and observes her having sex with her boyfriend in the back of a van. He ambushes the couple, kills the boyfriend and chases her into the forest, eventually catching up to her and stabbing her to death. Afterwards, he returns to the theatre and exits with the other attendees, giving him a solid alibi. Detective Leo Kessler (Charles Bronson) and his partner Paul McAnn (Andrew Stevens) are investigating the murders. Kessler is a seasoned veteran of the force, while McAnn is considerably younger. Meanwhile, Laurie Kessler (Lisa Eilbacher), Leo's daughter and a nursing student, is struggling to reconcile her relationship with her father. Stacey attends Betty's funeral and hears her father mention to Kessler, a family friend, that Betty kept a diary about her encounters with other men. Fearing he might be mentioned in the diary, Stacey searches Betty's bedroom in her apartment, but is interrupted when Karen Smalley (Jeana Tomasina), Betty's roommate and co-worker, returns from the funeral. Stacey stabs her to death in the kitchen and resumes searching for the diary, only to find it missing; Kessler had already acquired it from Karen during his questioning.