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10 to Midnight

 10 to Midnight
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 10 to Midnight
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10 to Midnight
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TenToMidnight
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10 to Midnight is a 1983 American crime thriller film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Charles Bronson.Leo Kessler (Bronson) is an LAPD homicide detective who is investigating serial killings committed by a man named Warren Stacy (Gene Davis). Unfortunately, Stacy is able to worm his way through any charges. However, Kessler gets a breakthrough when he learns that his daughter, Laurie (Lisa Eilbacher), is in possession of the diary of one of the victims, which details Stacy's stalking of her. Now that the madman is plotting against own his daughter, Kessler grows increasingly more desperate and ruthless about stopping the killings once and for all.Produced by The Cannon Group, the film has been distributed mostly by MGM, but also got an Australian theatrical run from Columbia Pictures and a collector's edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory.
 10 to Midnight
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2023-05-02T09:43:25Z
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2023-05-02T09:43:25Z
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 10 to Midnight / int_18ce8f1d
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Full-Frontal Assault
 10 to Midnight / int_18ce8f1d
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Full-Frontal Assault: Stacy kills all his victims while naked.
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 10 to Midnight / int_19851b86
type
The Sociopath
 10 to Midnight / int_19851b86
comment
The Sociopath: Warren Stacy, a guy who murders women that reject him. He's creepy when doing normal interactions, but manipulative in court, perfectly willing to claim a Split Personality to get off. Stacy shows little emotion most of the time, lies quite well, and has zero empathy toward others.
 10 to Midnight / int_19851b86
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 10 to Midnight / int_1c6ded94
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Wicked Cultured
 10 to Midnight / int_1c6ded94
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Wicked Cultured: Stacy is shown to be a huge film buff on the side, as well as a fan of Mexican bullfights.
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 10 to Midnight / int_1dfd19f9
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Papa Wolf
 10 to Midnight / int_1dfd19f9
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Papa Wolf: After his daughter Laurie is targeted by Warren Stacy, Kessler pulls out all the stops while protecting her from him. Including murder.
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 10 to Midnight / int_216dab44
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Framing the Guilty Party
 10 to Midnight / int_216dab44
comment
Framing the Guilty Party: Kessler plants blood on Stacy's clothes in a desperate attempt to get him put away for good. He confesses before the pretrial hearing begins, due to it being discovered. He later plants the evidence he stole from Stacy's apartment onto the latter's office door, which causes Warren to lose his job.
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 10 to Midnight / int_22cf536c
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Chekhov's Gun
 10 to Midnight / int_22cf536c
comment
Chekhov's Gun: Several. The morbid photographs Kessler steals from Stacy's apartment early in the film come back following Stacy's botched trial, when Kessler plants them on the door of the latter's workplace and costs him his office job. The police radio McAnn given to Laurie early in the film becomes relevant again in the end, when Stacy hears it and consequently reveals Laurie's location to him.
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 10 to Midnight / int_2d4fa515
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Ax-Crazy
 10 to Midnight / int_2d4fa515
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Ax-Crazy: Stacy, who stabs women to death violently simply for being rejected by them.
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 10 to Midnight / int_2f913008
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Insanity Defense
 10 to Midnight / int_2f913008
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Insanity Defense: Dante suggests this if the trial doesn't go well; Stacy has to be coaxed into it for self-preservation purposes since he isn't actually insane and doesn't want to be labeled as such. He finally gives in and tries to invoke this to prevent his death at the end of the movie, but Kessler knows he's full of it and is far beyond caring.
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 10 to Midnight / int_34a49b02
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Vaporwear
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Vaporwear: In a flashback scene, when Warren unzips Betty's dress by the Xerox machine without asking, she isn't wearing a bra.
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 10 to Midnight / int_3dd3951e
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Cowboy Cop
 10 to Midnight / int_3dd3951e
comment
Cowboy Cop: Kessler, who is more than willing to break a few rules just to get his culprit behind bars, including taking evidence from the culprit's house without a warrant and planting false evidence against Stacy. It helps that he's played by Charles Bronson, who is known for playing several of these in his career. Deconstructed Trope however, as his willingness to break rules helps to prevent Stacy from being locked up.
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10 to Midnight / int_3dd3951e
 10 to Midnight / int_40cc0c7e
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Bittersweet Ending
 10 to Midnight / int_40cc0c7e
comment
Bittersweet Ending: Stacy is finally caught out in the open by Kessler and the police, and the latter shoots the former dead to ensure he can never hurt anyone else. This would likely end up with him serving a few years in prison for summarily executing a suspect. In addition, Laurie is likely traumatized by the deaths of her closest friends and her own near-death experience, but it's also heavily implied that she'll end up with McAnn.
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10 to Midnight / int_40cc0c7e
 10 to Midnight / int_4db42cf3
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Male Frontal Nudity
 10 to Midnight / int_4db42cf3
comment
Male Frontal Nudity: Stacy always kills while nude, and his genitals are seen briefly when he runs during the climax. Mostly however this is avoided through shooting from a high angle or using obstructions.
 10 to Midnight / int_4db42cf3
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10 to Midnight / int_4db42cf3
 10 to Midnight / int_50b05d30
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Disproportionate Retribution
 10 to Midnight / int_50b05d30
comment
Disproportionate Retribution: After being rejected by a woman, Stacy stalks and murders them violently in return.
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 10 to Midnight / int_6774150c
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If I Can't Have You…
 10 to Midnight / int_6774150c
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If I Can't Have You…: Stacy sexually harasses random women, and kills them when they say no.
 10 to Midnight / int_6774150c
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10 to Midnight / int_6774150c
 10 to Midnight / int_6b05b601
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Jerkass Has a Point
 10 to Midnight / int_6b05b601
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Jerkass Has a Point: Yes, Dante is a slimeball, but he had every reason to suspect the planted evidence used against his client and the consequences and charges of such actions.
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 10 to Midnight / int_71329e49
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Turn in Your Badge
 10 to Midnight / int_71329e49
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Turn in Your Badge: After he admits he'd planted evidence against Stacy, Kessler's fired the same day.
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 10 to Midnight / int_723be11b
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Villain Has a Point
 10 to Midnight / int_723be11b
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Villain Has a Point: Yes, Stacy is a murderous and violent thug, but he was right to call out Kessler's Cowboy Cop actions during the former's police interrogation, and later, his Framing the Guilty Party actions just prior to Stacy's trial.
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 10 to Midnight / int_729c69f3
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Politically Incorrect Villain
 10 to Midnight / int_729c69f3
comment
Politically Incorrect Villain: Warren Stacy, a misogynistic Serial Killer who also makes a homophobic comment.
 10 to Midnight / int_729c69f3
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10 to Midnight / int_729c69f3
 10 to Midnight / int_7301ae04
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Serial Killer
 10 to Midnight / int_7301ae04
comment
Serial Killer: Stacy. He specifically goes after women who have romantically rejected him and kills them by stabbing them multiple times while nude.
 10 to Midnight / int_7301ae04
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10 to Midnight / int_7301ae04
 10 to Midnight / int_775a1af6
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Married to the Job
 10 to Midnight / int_775a1af6
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Married to the Job: Leo Kessler is mentioned by his daughter to have been mostly absent from her life, earning commendations as a civil servant and commended police officer during that time.
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 10 to Midnight / int_77b009ea
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Phrase Catcher
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Phrase Catcher: Whenever someone sees McAnn for the first time, they'll always take note that he doesn't look like a cop.
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 10 to Midnight / int_798a9e41
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Auto Erotica
 10 to Midnight / int_798a9e41
comment
Auto Erotica: Stacy's first onscreen victim was having sex with her boyfriend in the back of his van, before both of them were stabbed to death by the former.
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 10 to Midnight / int_7fbb2a3
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Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!
 10 to Midnight / int_7fbb2a3
comment
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Kessler's Framing the Guilty Party actions cause Stacy to get out of jail scot-free, and consequently for Kessler to be demoted. This indirectly causes the death of three more young women, and nearly the death of his own daughter, when Stacy tries one last time to retrieve the diary of his first onscreen victim.
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 10 to Midnight / int_8cb4ea46
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By-the-Book Cop
 10 to Midnight / int_8cb4ea46
comment
By-the-Book Cop: Paul McAnn, in contrast to Kessler, chooses to follow the rules and uphold the truth. This gets him coaxed by Stacy's attorney into finding out the truth and eventually leads him to find out that his partner was Framing the Guilty Party midway into the film.
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 10 to Midnight / int_90e31482
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Laser-Guided Karma
 10 to Midnight / int_90e31482
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Laser-Guided Karma: Just after Stacy wins the botched hearing and rubs it in Kessler's face, the latter decides to get revenge by posting the morbid pictures he stole from Stacy's apartment at his workplace, causing him to lose his job.
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 10 to Midnight / int_970c790a
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Big Bad
 10 to Midnight / int_970c790a
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Big Bad: Warren Stacy, the Serial Killer Kessler is pursuing.
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 10 to Midnight / int_9830549e
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He-Man Woman Hater
 10 to Midnight / int_9830549e
comment
He-Man Woman Hater: Stacy is an especially horrifying example, as he's a Serial Killer who goes after women who reject him.
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 10 to Midnight / int_9a3b7208
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The Needs of the Many
 10 to Midnight / int_9a3b7208
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The Needs of the Many: Kessler argues this to his partner when the frameup he did on Stacy is uncovered, saying it's to prevent Stacy's murdering more women.
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 10 to Midnight / int_a0db7803
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It's Personal
 10 to Midnight / int_a0db7803
comment
It's Personal: Kessler initially saw the murders as another job until his daughter's best friend is axed. He maintains a professional veneer at first, but it slowly goes away over the course of the film.
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 10 to Midnight / int_a6123b72
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Enfant Terrible
 10 to Midnight / int_a6123b72
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Enfant Terrible: When Stacy was twelve, he cut a girl with a knife and then threw a dead cat through her parents' window. He's only gotten worse since then.
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 10 to Midnight / int_a696c783
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Event Title
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Event Title
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 10 to Midnight / int_a6c69bd
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MacGuffin
 10 to Midnight / int_a6c69bd
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MacGuffin: The diary of Stacy's first seen victim, which he's hunting for because it incriminates him.
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 10 to Midnight / int_acf33d00
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Nice Job Fixing It, Villain
 10 to Midnight / int_acf33d00
comment
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Following the botched hearing, Stacy threateningly taunts Kessler over the phone that he'll kill his daughter next. This serves as the final straw for Paul, who decides to make the matter personal, and gets his revenge by planting the morbid photographs he retrieved from Stacy's house at Stacy's workplace, costing him his job.
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 10 to Midnight / int_b17f6a27
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I Did What I Had to Do
 10 to Midnight / int_b17f6a27
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I Did What I Had to Do: Kessler asserts this with regards to framing Stacy, never apologizing in the least as he thinks it was right to put him away no matter what.
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 10 to Midnight / int_b39d5719
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Sadist
 10 to Midnight / int_b39d5719
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Sadist: Warren Stacy, a Serial Killer of women, is so sadistic that Kessler considers his knife equivalent to his penis.
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 10 to Midnight / int_b5b3599d
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Amoral Attorney
 10 to Midnight / int_b5b3599d
comment
Amoral Attorney: Stacy's lawyer, David Dante, is a slimeball who explicitly states that his client might be guilty, and he'll find an angle to spin regardless.
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 10 to Midnight / int_bf1255fa
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Really Gets Around
 10 to Midnight / int_bf1255fa
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Really Gets Around: Betty, Stacy's first victim onscreen, is described as having a guy over every night or so.
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 10 to Midnight / int_bf609406
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New Meat
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New Meat: Paul McAnn, Kessler's new partner, is established early on as a rookie detective.
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 10 to Midnight / int_c660bc15
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Fan Disservice
 10 to Midnight / int_c660bc15
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Fan Disservice: Lots, ranging from Stacy nude...while killing his victims, to said victims with several stab wounds lying in pools of blood, sometimes nude as well.
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 10 to Midnight / int_c75df49a
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Shout-Out
 10 to Midnight / int_c75df49a
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Shout-Out: We first meet Stacy at a screening of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
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 10 to Midnight / int_c972d624
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Slut-Shaming
 10 to Midnight / int_c972d624
comment
Slut-Shaming: Stacy calls Betty immoral for her promiscuous lifestyle.
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 10 to Midnight / int_ce389717
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Harassing Phone Call
 10 to Midnight / int_ce389717
comment
Harassing Phone Call: Stacy made obscene phone calls to his first onscreen victim, Betty and Detective Kessler's daughter, Laura.
 10 to Midnight / int_ce389717
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 10 to Midnight / int_d39e327f
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What the Hell, Hero?
 10 to Midnight / int_d39e327f
comment
What the Hell, Hero?: When McAnn finds out Kessler planted bloodstains on Stacy's clothes, he calls him out on it. This causes Leo to eventually confess his questionable actions right before the hearing.
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 10 to Midnight / int_f6698528
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Vigilante Execution
 10 to Midnight / int_f6698528
comment
Vigilante Execution: When Kessler finally confronts Stacy, he's so disgruntled at the system that he simply shoots the madman in the head.
 10 to Midnight / int_f6698528
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 10 to Midnight / int_f6c3d469
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Fanservice Extra
 10 to Midnight / int_f6c3d469
comment
Fanservice Extra: Several minor female characters are shown topless, which in some cases veers into fan disservice if it's while they're attacked by Stacy.
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 10 to Midnight / int_f76842b1
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The Fundamentalist
 10 to Midnight / int_f76842b1
comment
The Fundamentalist: A homeless man tries to take credit for Stacy's killings by claiming that he kills them for sinning.
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10 to Midnight

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 10 to Midnight
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Event Title / int_a051292e
 10 to Midnight
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Nice Job Fixing It, Villain / int_a051292e
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 10 to Midnight
hasFeature
Thriller / int_a051292e
 10 to Midnight
hasFeature
Virgin-Shaming / int_a051292e