Review: Ten Minutes to Midnight

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2021
Images from the Internet

Ten Minutes to Midnight
Directed by Erik Bloomquist
Mainframe Pictures; Jingai Films; Danse Macabre; MVD Visual
72 minutes, 2021
www.facebook.com/TenMinutesToMidnight
www.jingaifilms.com
www.MVDVisual.com

While zombie and body horror films are flooding the market right now, it’s nice to see another vampire flick pop up. And what better location than in West Central Connecticut, about 30 miles west of Hartford? Connecticut has some of the richest people in the Tri-State Area, so blood-sucking comes natural to the vicinity. Well, once again, and early on, I digress…

Caroline Williams

In the late night, just in time for her Midnight shift at a local radio station – and during a hurricane – retiring disc jockey Amy Marlowe (Caroline Williams, who has a history of horror films such as Rob Zombie’s Halloween II in 2009, 1986’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre II where she also played a DJ, and at least three films I have reviewed on this blog, Hanukkah, Verotika, and Abolition) has been bitten on the neck by a bat on her way to the studio. Oops! Perhaps another good name for this could have been Undead Air, I suppose.  

Her super-scuzzy boss, Robert (William Youmans) who was once her lover when she first started at that station thirty years before, has a new DJ and potential lover in Sienna (Nicole Kang, who is now Mary Hamilton on the series “Batwoman), who is to “shadow” the seasoned music spinner. Amy is not impressed, especially when Sienna chimes, “I grew up listening to you!” An aging Amy is a core feature of the storyline.

Also in the building is Amy’s multiple-pierced engineer, Aaron (Adam Weppler) and security, Ernie (Nicholas Tucci, d. 2020), who seems to be the comic relief – and rabies takes a week or more for symptoms to express themselves, not a couple of hours – but let us move on.

Nicholas Tucci and Nicole Kang

Being the last show before “retirement” from the studio to be replaced by the new, young thing (I mean that as an expression, not a comment on Sienna as a woman), what does an aging DJ have to lose as her anger explodes on-air, especially when transforming into a biter (man, I love the wide mouth chestnut that, if I remember correctly, started with Fright Night (1985).

As the vamp fever makes its way through Amy’s body, the story gets more interesting as she starts to hallucinate, along with doing something incredibly gross for the viewer (i.e., me). That’s a good thing, of course, to keep the – er – flow going. As time goes on, what is real and what is in Amy’s head becomes more and more questionable, which leads to a super interesting third act that I did not see coming, and is phenomenally imaginative.

This film is a fine mixture of ‘80s style and modern sensibilities, with a focus on the beginning and the end of careers in the arts. Some of it is quite accurate, but then again, some of it obviously is not (unless you believe in vampires, of course).

The flick is beautifully shot by Thomson Nguyen, with a lot of primary light coloring (red and blue, especially) to depict mood and process. There is no question the acting is actually quite fine considering the pedigree of the cast, and that’s always a bonus. But let it be known, this is solidly Williams’ film.

What is also nice is that the major cast is relatively small at about five, and the space is very tight and almost claustrophobic (the lighting helps with that). The station reminds me of the one with Wolfman Jack in American Graffiti (1975), with the relatively remote location and small area to cover.

There is a fine mix of SFX and CGI, with neither of them being overly dominant. The blood flows well without being excessive, as this is more story based (hence the occasionally longer than necessary dialogues in a couple of spots). However, the sporadic moments of violence come quite unexpectedly, so there are nice jump scares in that direction. And as I said before, there are a few skeevy scenes that may make one wince or turn away.

 

As for the specials on this Blu-ray, there are an abundant amount, starting with the full audio commentary with the director, the co-writer Carson Bloomquist, and the star, Caroline Williams, the latter of whom has some nice insights to the meaning of the film and especially her character, Amy. Nicely, they never talk over each other, and they tell the story of the filming, with ideas behind some of the action and anecdotes (such as William’s role was first offered to Barbara Crampton, who suggested Williams for the role). This is an ideal commentary, with everything that keeps it interesting.

Zoom interviews at the online Grimmfest 2020 Festival (29 minutes), with the cast and crew, is a bit crowded, but still fun and informative for those who are interested about the film on a deeper level, but with lots of good stories and humor. “CT Style Live,” Connecticut’s feel-good program, has a light “Go Connecticut” interview with the director and Williams (5 minutes) before the official release of the film. The world premiere introduction welcoming and request for reviews on IMB by the director is shown for The Popcorn Frights Film Festival (1 minute), from Southeast United States. Others include two Ten to Midnight trailers (teaser and regular), plus additional MVD coming attractions.

There was a glitch on my disc, so I could not watch the following Behind the Scenes featurettes: “Take One,” “ “Immortality,” “Love Stories,” “Memory Play,” and finally footage from the TMTM at Grimmoire Academy Halloween Carnival.

The film itself is a solid entry into the vampire genre, and the reliance on story more than gore – even with the gross-out moments – makes this worth the watch.