by Gia Doxey,
If you’re looking to add a modern bite to your horror movie collection this Halloween, Ten Minutes to Midnight is an impressive display of terror more frightening than 2020 itself.
Caroline Williams returns to the DJ booth for the first time since her star-making turn as Stretch in 1986’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Williams plays Amy Marlowe, a veteran late-night radio host on the eve of forced retirement trapped inside the station by a violent storm after being bitten by a rabid bat. Is this on the nose or what?
In an interview with Berks Weekly at the Reading Film Festival in Pennsylvania, co-writer and director Erik Bloomquist said the film “feels like a Twilight Zone/Stephen King night terror or an extended horror anthology you would watch growing up.” On the surface, of course, that’s true, but Erik and Carson Bloomquist wrote more layers of societal commentary necessary to captivate younger audiences.
It’s about a hard-working woman ambushed, sexual harassment in the workplace, the possibility of losing your reputation in an instant, and that retirement equals death.
We meet Amy Marlowe who walks into work at the WLST radio station just like she has every night with a smile for the past 30 years. It’s a dark and stormy night (duh), and she gets a nasty bite on her neck on the way in. The security guard Ernie — played by the late independent movie star Nicholas Tucci — brings a hilariously cryptic Phil of the Future Craig Antion dad vibe, isolating Amy for a night to remember.
Normally, radio shows start at the top of the hour, but Amy Marlowe loves being with people during a time of transition — Ten Minutes to Midnight. Amy sees that her boss Bob (William Youmans) may or may not be sleeping with a young master’s student Sienna (Nicole Kang) who will co-host the show for the evening. Her closest co-worker Aaron (Adam Weppler) knows that Amy will have one final broadcast and Sienna will take over, but he doesn’t care to warn her.
In the first 10 minutes of any independent movie, critics can be anything but open-minded — “Eh, I’m not sure about the acting here.” “I’d pace this differently.” “This seems predictable.” Then, Amy has her long-overdue meltdown in the most captivating scene in a horror film in decades. I completely forgot where I was, and I leaned into my screen with excitement.
Amy goes off on callers, and all that is left are the remnants of loyalty to a craft.
We see generational differences as Sienna sees Amy as tired and boring. She accuses Amy of digging her own grave in the broadcast business. It’s textbook irony — Sometimes, the younger we are, the more pretentious we act when we critique the quality of entertainment around us. As we start to learn the ropes, we tend to de-humanize public figures in order to push ourselves ahead and belittle the value of hard work and career longevity. Little did Sienna know that Amy Marlowe’s tireless work would leave a legacy. Although Amy’s career may be over, listeners relied on her, and they did not take her dedication to them for granted.
The world is also quick to cancel these days, but the truth is, change happens slowly. If Amy does turn into a vampire at the end, the joke’s on the bat (whoever it may be)— because vampires and pure goodness live on forever.
I’ve been following Erik Bloomquist’s work since 2015, and he raises the bar every new project — tighter scripts, tighter shots, and higher stakes. From television series and short thrillers to this feature film, there is nothing he can’t do. And the best part in Ten Minutes to Midnight? No jump scares.
I’d gladly throw my money at this movie, and you should too. Ten Minutes to Midnight is no cheap thrill.
The Verdict