WARNING SPOILERS
That’s right, tonight’s Live Movie Friday pick is Time of Death (2013)—a made-for-TV Canadian thriller from Incendo, starring Kathleen Robertson.
This one has all the hallmarks of a Friday night watch: a string of corporate murders happening at the exact same time—10:44PM — a determined FBI agent trying to crack the pattern, and a lot of melodramatic boardroom backstabbing. Think Law & Order: SVU if it had less grit and more “Montreal shot-for-TV lighting.”
We’re watching this one because of its bonkers premise. This is either going to be gripping or laugh-out-loud ridiculous. Could be good. Could be bad. We don’t know. But that’s the whole point—we’re running a live reaction thread and finding out together.
🕘 We’re watching LIVE tonight at 9PM PST / 4AM GMT
Join the chaos, bring your takes, and get ready for a disco-fueled descent into madness.
🧵 Live reactions will be happening right here in this thread.
Yes, here on !movies@piefed.social, so don’t miss out.
ℹ️ More info:
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2759976/
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/film/time-of-death/
📽️ Watch links:
YouTube (Free): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T16Agky3he4
Tubi (Free with ads): https://tubitv.com/movies/653727/time-of-death
Prime Video: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0R5N2IQ8V21IOJD8LNN9BKJIXZ/
Let’s see if you can figure out the killer before 10:44PM strikes again.
Yeah! 😎
Time of Death is starting in five minutes!
And it goes without saying that I have not seen this movie yet. It might be great. It might be awful. But either way, I’m updating this thread live as I watch it.
All right. We’re starting. We’re starting off with a business man saying that one of the things you learn in business is you can’t dwell on the past. Mistakes are inevitably going to be made. And we learn here that a gun is being pointed at him.
Oh, we got the perpetrator looking at his watch.
Now businessman is offering him $10M. At right as the watch goes off, he gets shot.
Fun little monologue here before the businessman meets his demise.
Now we cut to Kathleen Robertson, playing as Jordan Price, looking all fashionable in her overcoat and scarf with her blonde hair tied back. She’s icy, cold, and efficient. And what’s this? She’s being assigned a new partner who just became a detective last week. She doesn’t want to train the new guy. She’s all about the business.
But resigned she wants to look at the body.
So she’s asking about all the details. Finds out the very precise death of 10:44PM—known only because the victim called 911 at that time.
Jordan is a bit of a harass. Suffers no fools.
But now the dead man’s son walks in to see the body. FBI agent Price interrogates him, checks if he might be the killer. Son swears he is not.
Now the detective asks for stuff to be done. But then the cop gets all bullying, says she looks more comfortable with numbers than dead bodies. But FBI agent Price ain’t having an of it. Doubles down on what she wants done.
Now FBI agent and her rookie detective are talking about the details. What’s this? Some conflict? Some sexual tension?
Our intrepid partners are now interviewing the businessmen who worked with the murdered businessman—who we find out was a CEO. They’re trying to find a motive.
Now they find out that the company doesn’t want to look at something connected to the Department of Defence. She might not have clearance to look into that.
But FBI agent Price wants to know more, and she’s being forthright about that.
They found out that one of the former employees sold a whole lot of stock before the CEO was murdered. That means motive.
So they interview that former employee. And they decide to do that right as he’s getting a shave at a barbershop.
They find out that this employee wasn’t so happy about DOD work.
Apparently, he couldn’t be the murderer because he was seeing strippers that night.
So now that they find out the CEO’s son didn’t like the company’s DOD work either. Which makes him a suspect yet again.
Well, my daughter wants to watch this move now… so I have to pause for a moment while I get her up to speed. Give me a sec…
So they interview the son and we found out that he’s now going to run the company.
They find out he’s going through with the DOD contract because if they don’t, the company goes bankrupt.
Price and her partner (his name is Elliot Larken) prod him to find out more about the company’s inner workings, trying to find out who might have motive to murder the CEO.
In the car, Price and Larkin start gabbing. They try to find out more about each other. Price is offended by the very notion of being social. But then she finds out that Larkin worked on a big case, so she’s impressed enough with him to let him buy her a beer.
They’re flirting and the bar, and both of them are trying to seize each other up—find out if they’re single or might be into each other.
You know, Price isn’t just cold, she’s kind o mean. First she says girls would be into him. Then she says she’s a woman, not a girl—so she’s not into him.
God damn. These cops are having public sex in a car. Wouldn’t it be shitty if they got arrested?
But they won’t because the movie must go on.
Larkin asks if the sex is a one time thing. Dude, this movie is for middle-aged wine-swilling moms. Of course it’s not a one time thing.
Larkin briefs his boss on the murder. Finds out he was assigned to this case because his boss hates the FBI. Okay…
So now they’re talking about why the murderer looked at his watch.
And now they’re supposing he did so because he worked on a team.
More flirting happens.
So they’re briefing the boss on their theory—how the lack of evidence leads them to believe the killer was a professional. And this somehow allows them to conjure up a list of suspects.
Wait… what kind of voodoo is this?
Even the boss thinks this is nuts. Because it is.
Cue a scene where the son hugs his business colleagues, and they’re asking how they’re going to get out of this mess.
And now they’re saying the FBI and cops are sniffing around. They’ll check their phone calls and emails!
Oh, you think? A murder brought the attention of the police? That’s just crazy talk!
This movie moves very fast.
They have suspicions on a suspect. So now they’re doing surveillance.
Surveillance is just a chance for these two to flirt, poke and prod each other, get close in the car again.
So Larkin is like, “We should make out strictly to kill the time…”
And just as he says this, the CEO’s sun falls from an office building onto the car in front of them. HE’S DEAD!
Serves them right for almost having sex during the surveillance.
Now that the CEO’s son died, Larkin is feeling guilty for flirting during a stakeout.
Price reminds him that he was a suspect, they didn’t even see him as a victim.
Now they’re back to square one. And the boss tells Price it’s hard enough to solve one murder, never mind two.
Larkin finds surveillance. Shows the murder as it happens. The time stamp says 10:44PM.
Ha! Boss has doubts about 10:44PM. He says the identical time stamps might be coincidence. Terrible cop!
But this puts a damper on strictly professional theory. They now think it’s a serial killer.
They’re working overtime, alone in the office, and now Larkin is offering Price the opportunity to sleep at his house.
More sex. These two keep trying to not do the deed. Yet they keep at it.
You know, this could get them fired.
Well, we find out that the boss sleeps upstairs to Larkin.
And he’s Larkin’s dad. WTF.
He could have heard them having sex. And even if he didn’t hear, he knows. Talk about awkward.
So back to the case. But I feel like the murder mystery is going to be sidetracked by more bow-chicka-wow-wow.
But these poor partners. They try to focus. Trying to get into details.
Now Larkin asks Price is she wants to kiss him.
Back to the disgruntled employee, the one they interviewed at the barbershop. This time, they interview him at a strip joint. Why do they keep interviewing him at strange locales?
Well, he just lied about where he was during the time of murder. And what’s more, he’s doing some shady investment shit. So as they try to get him to cooperate, he makes a break for it—runs for it. They make a chase on foot.
Just as Larkin catches up to him, a car hits him and he dies. Talk about bad luck!
With the disgruntled employee dead, they wonder if he’s the murderer. Probably not—because we know how these stories go.
Two employees are at the company are freaking out because they think the killer might come after them next. One of them implies he might be next.
And then the time of 10:44PM is mentioned. Does it mean anything?!
Well, well, well. Price arrives back at Larkins place. She could have gone home. But she just can’t help getting her fill of some Larkin.
Oh, it’s 10:44PM! Next executive at that company dies! Killer is still loose!
It’s morning. Post-coitus. Price tries to establish sexual ground rules. Says that can keep boinking for as long as the investigation goes. But afterwards, they got to stop.
Wait, Price. You got it all wrong. You’re supposed to date after the investigation not while it’s going on.
Now they’re at the scene of the next murder.
Somehow, I don’t know how, they suspect the killer is an expert climber who climbed into the building. Wait. Wouldn’t there be more surveillance footage of that?
The partners find out that all businessmen were all college friends. A fourth college friend was an aspect climber…
Could he be the perpetrator?!
They ask the last college buddy if he wants protection, and he says no because if he does, the company will go bankrupt.
Now they’re at the college where all the businessmen went to.
They found out all college buddies when on an extended leave together. This offends the college president gets offended. He says when you donate as much as you do, which their families did, they can do whatever they want.
But Price finds it suspicious they took off an entire half semester. That’s way too unreasonable.
They prod further. They weren’t on a ski trip. There was a girl who died. And they’re “ski trip” has something to do with that…
They find out the girl who died, it wasn’t because of an accident.
So they interview the girl’s foster mother to get more details.
They find out that she was raped. And now the college, the town—everyone—is keeping silent about it because the son’s father was a big shot with money.
There was an investigation, but it was “forgotten”.
Foster mother shares newspaper clippings of when the girl died. And they found out she wore a watch when it happened. The time: 10:44.
They visit where the girl died. Her name is Sharon, by the way. It was near a cliff with white rapids. They stare at the whole thing.
Larkin asks if Price is okay. She’s getting all teary-eyed but is trying to fight it back.
So now they’re discussing next moves.
Now they’re interviewing the fourth college buddy, the one who doesn’t work at the business (remember, he’s an expert climber).
They warn him that he could be the target for murder.
He’s shocked his other buddies are dead. But why would anyone come after him?!
He also says that the foster mother, they one they previously interviewed, is only in it for the money—can’t be trusted.
So they ask more questions. Did he or any of his buddies have sex with Sharon? No, nobody did—but apparently Sharon liked to have sex. This just makes the cops even more suspicious about why all four took half the semester off. Price stares daggers at him.
We find out that Price doesn’t want to investigate Sharon’s murder. She doesn’t see how it is related to her current case. She’s hear to find out about something to do with the DOD.
Larkin says she’s cold-hearted, no different from the cops who buried Sharon’s case.
This irks her.
Pensive moment with Price by herself… a moment to tell us that she’s not the hard ass she pretends to be.
Price is off the case. If the murders have nothing to do with the DOD, FBI doesn’t want her to work on it.
But she’s going to stick around as a courtesy.
So Larkin is now on his own. He apologizes for what he said the night previously.
And now they’ve decided to do some extracurricular investigating.
Well, what do we have here! They pop up by Sharon sister! And she’s doing some rock climbing!
Could she be the murderer?!
She doesn’t seem to know anything about the four college buddies. Doesn’t care.
But Larkin notices she has a tattoo that shows she’s an Army Ranger.
Just as Sharon’s sister leaves, she thanks the cops for looking into her sister’s case.
Even though Price is off the case, she wants to investigate the sister (her name is Megan). Just as they’re discussing with the boss, Price receives a call from Megan.
Apparently, she saw her sister’s murder! All four college buddies raped her sister—and she watched the whole thing! She did nothing to stop it! Didn’t even cry out or try to distract them!
Price asks Megan to come to the station to make a statement. But no—Megan ain’t interested.
She tells Price she’s the murderer! And she’s going to finish the job! She’s got to do two more murderers.
The two remaining college buddies meet by a lake. They know they’re next. They’re feeling remorse for the rape. But the police have no evidence.
But they’re getting really antsy because they’re being picked off one by one.
One of them wonders if he can prevent being killed if he turns himself into the police. Other buddy gets angry because if he does that, he’ll destroy his career. So he knifes him right by the lake of the shore.
Man, this guy’s really stupid. Whacking his friend ain’t going to prevent him from getting whacked.
Well, as they’re investigating that death, Megan calls Price to tell her she did not kill the last college buddy. And for this reason, she has to work faster to kill the last guy.
So now the cops really, really got to protect him.
Price confronts the last guy standing. Tells him they know he and his buddies raped Sharon. And that Sharon’s sister is coming for him.
They try to protect him. But he decides, no—his freedom is more important than living.
How did this guy succeed in business? Business requires at least some foresight.
The partners are eating together at a driveway. We find out that Price is working this case on her days off. I guess this is personal for him?
Megan is outside. She’s picking off the college buddies guards one by one with a sniper rifle. The cops rush over because shots are heard.
The partners arrive. They see all the guards tranquilized the guards—which means the last guy is still alive. You see, it’s not 10:44PM yet. And she has to kill him right at that precise time.
Now the hunt is for Megan. Price thinks she knows where she is.
We now see Megan move the last guy out of her SUV near the cliff where her sister’s death happened. She’s got a gun and a knife, orders him to walk right over to the cliff.
This fool asks what she’s going to do to him. You idiot, you know.
Right as she’s about to kill the last guy, Price shows up. But then Megan takes him hostage. Says if they take one step closer, she’ll kill 'em.
Price does a whole spiel about how none of this will fix anything. Megan says it’s all over. And just as she tries to make for the cliff with the college buddy, Price shoots her in the head.
Well, the last guy is still alive, at least.
Price is done. She’s heading back to DC. Boss says he appreciates her work.
Does that mean her romance with Larkin is dead?
As she walks out of the department, there Larkin is with his puppy dog eyes. They get closer, do a little bit of flintiness. Price tells him she’s thinking of leaving the bureau—and she wants to become a detective like Larkin.
Some more flirting. Now some kissing. Looks like these two lovebirds can’t keep their hands off each other.
And the movie ends.
—-
Not a terrible film. Probably a good film if you’re a middle-aged mom looking for a little bit of sex and violence.
I enjoyed this. Production quality, of course, is TV level. But the idea is neat. The performances were fine.
There was some ridiculousness. A few moments things were over the top. But at least it entertained.
I say this is slightly above average.
—-
Final thought: I watched this with my 12-year-old daughter. She thought it was really fun. The movie offered her plenty of thrills.
I think I’ll do a separate review of this one in another thread.