''88 Minutes'' is a 2007

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by Jon Avnet and starring

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino ( ; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Known for his intense performances on stage and screen, Pacino is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. His career spans more than five decades, duri ...

, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, William Forsythe, Deborah Kara Unger,

Amy Brenneman Amy Frederica Brenneman (born June 22, 1964) is an American actress and producer. She worked extensively in television, coming to prominence as Detective Janice Licalsi in the ABC police drama series ''NYPD Blue'' (1993–1994). Brenneman ...

Neal McDonough Neal McDonough (born February 13, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Lynn Compton, Lynn "Buck" Compton in the HBO miniseries ''Band of Brothers (miniseries), Band of Brothers'' (2001), Deputy District Attorney ...

and

Benjamin McKenzie Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan (born September 12, 1978) is an American actor, author and commentator. He is best known for his starring television roles as Ryan Atwood on the teen drama '' The O.C.'' (2003–2007), Ben Sherman on the crime drama '' ...

. In the film, famed forensic psychiatrist Dr. Jack Gramm (Pacino) is one of the most sought-after profilers in the world. His expert testimony resulted in the conviction of serial killer Jon Forster (McDonough). However, on the eve of Forster's execution, one of Gramm's students is murdered in a vicious copycat crime, and Gramm receives an ominous message informing him that he has 88 minutes to live. Released on March 2, 2007, in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, and in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on April 18, 2008, ''88 Minutes'' underperformed at the box office, grossing $32.6 million against a $30 million budget, and was panned by critics.

Plot

In 1997, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Jack Gramm testifies at the trial of suspected serial killer Jon Forster, dubbed "The

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Slayer" by police. Gramm's testimony and expert psychiatric opinion are crucial in the conviction of Forster for the attempted killing of Janie Cates and the murder of her sister Joanie, who was drugged, hanged upside down, and killed after the killer invaded the sisters' apartment. After receiving a guilty verdict from the jury, Forster taunts Gramm, saying, "Tick-tock, Doc". Nine years later, as Forster's execution date approaches, several similar torture murders occur. Gramm, now teaching at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, is questioned by a lawyer from the Attorney General's office, as well as

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

Special Agent Frank Parks. The latest victim, Dale Morris, is revealed to be a former psychology student of Gramm's; they attended the same party on the previous night. On the way to his class, Gramm receives a phone call from someone using a voice changer, informing him that he has 88 minutes to live. He reports the call to his secretary Shelly, asking for a risk assessment profile of suspects. Gramm receives another phone threat while teaching and becomes suspicious of his students, particularly Mike Stempt. The dean of students, Carol Johnson, interrupts the class to report a bomb threat. While evacuating, Gramm finds threats written on both the classroom's overhead projector and his car, which has been vandalized in the parking garage. Gramm is met by his teaching assistant Kim Cummings, who offers to help find the perpetrator. In the stairwell, Gramm encounters one of his students, Lauren Douglas, attacked by an unknown assailant, and he reports the assault to campus security. Gramm and Kim go to his condo, where a package has been delivered. The package contains an audiotape of Gramm's sister Kate many years earlier, crying for help before being murdered. Gramm concludes that someone accessed his secure files to obtain the tape. Kim's ex-husband Guy LaForge appears with a gun at the apartment door but is shot and killed from behind by an assailant masked by a motorcycle helmet. A sudden onset of smoke triggers the fire alarm, and the shooter flees through the crowd outside. Shortly after, Gramm's car explodes, having been rigged with a bomb. Renting a cab, Gramm explains to Kim that his sister was killed decades earlier when he left her alone in his apartment; the crime took exactly 88 minutes. Next, Gramm and Kim visit Sara Pollard, a woman with whom Gramm slept the night before, but find her murdered in her apartment, with evidence incriminating Gramm. Carol calls Gramm and makes comments suggesting that she is the killer, demanding that Gramm meet her at his office. Shelly arrives at Sara's apartment and advises Gramm that she suspects that Lauren was the one who stole the audiotape of Kate's death. Kim disappears from the apartment and calls Gramm with a threat similar to Carol's, also demanding that he meet her at the office. Through prison visitation records, Gramm deduces that Forster's appeals attorney, "Lydia Doherty", is a pseudonym for Lauren, surmising that she arranged the frame with orders from Forster. Kim calls again, instructing Gramm to come to another nearby location on campus, where he finds Carol bleeding and hanging by one leg over a seventh-floor balcony; Kim is tied up and gagged nearby, held at gunpoint by Lauren. Lauren forces Gramm to "confess" on tape that he gave false testimony at Forster's trial. Special Agent Parks arrives and shoots Lauren, causing both Carol and Lauren to partially fall from the balcony. Gramm saves Carol from completing the fall, but Lauren comes loose and plummets to her death. When Forster calls asking to speak with Lauren, Gramm informs him of Lauren's death. He quips, "Tick-tock, tick-tock, you got 12 hours to live", before throwing the phone, smashing it. Gramm flashes back to interactions with Kate and Janie Cates, and pockets the device that recorded his "confession". He shares knowing glances with Parks and Kim before walking away.

Cast

as Dr. Jack Gramm * Alicia Witt as Kim Cummings * Leelee Sobieski as Lauren Douglas / Lydia Doherty *

as Shelly Barnes * William Forsythe as FBI Special Agent Frank Parks * Deborah Kara Unger as Carol Johnson *

as Mike Stempt *

as Jon Forster * Leah Cairns as Sara Pollard * Stephen Moyer as Guy LaForge * Christopher Redman as Jeremy Guber * Brendan Fletcher as Johnny D'Franco *

Michael Eklund Michael Eklund is a Canadian television and film actor who is known for playing the role of the villain or antihero. His characters are often described as being "creepy". His roles include a kidnapping, kidnapper who terrorizes characters playe ...

as J.T. Rycker * Trilby Glover as Defense Attorney Bennett * Carrie Genzel as Stephanie Parkman * Kristina Copeland as Dale Morris * Tammy Hui as Janie Cates * Vicky Huang as Joanie Cates * Victoria Tennant II as Kate * Michal Yannai as Leeza Pearson * Paul Campbell as Albert Jackson

Production

Filming began in the

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

area on October 8, 2005, and completed in December 2005. In 2007, the film was released in various European countries. In May 2007, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group paid $6 million to acquire North American and select international distribution rights of ''88 Minutes''. The group theatrically released the film in the United States on April 18, 2008, through

TriStar Pictures TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is part of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, which is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The compan ...

Reception

Box office

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $7 million in 2,168 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking fourth at the box office, averaging $3,209 per theater. In its second weekend, the film grossed $3.6 million and fell to number eight at the box office. The film grossed $17.2 million at the US and Canadian box office, and $15.4 million internationally, for a worldwide gross of $32.6 million.

Critical response

Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "B–" on a scale of A+ to F. The film was nominated for two Razzie Awards, Worst Actor for

(and for '' Righteous Kill'', also directed by Jon Avnet) and Worst Supporting Actress for Leelee Sobieski (and for ''

In the Name of the King ''In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale'' (also known as ''Dungeon Siege: In the Name of the King'' or simply ''In the Name of the King'') is a 2007 English-language fantasy action film directed by Uwe Boll and starring Jason Statham, C ...

''), but lost to

Mike Myers Michael John Myers, (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. His accolades include seven MTV Movie & TV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood W ...

for '' The Love Guru'' and

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, and socialite. Hilton was born in New York City and raised there partially; shuttling between Los Angeles and New York City; she is a great-grandda ...

for '' Repo! The Genetic Opera'', respectively.

Home media

''88 Minutes'' was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on September 16, 2008, and sold 220,965 in the opening weekend. After seven weeks, it had sold 574,041 units, with a gathered revenue of $11,150,056, or more than one-third of the budget.

Remake

In May 2013, Original Entertainment confirmed that it sealed a five-picture deal with Millennium Films to produce

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

remakes of '' Rambo'', '' The Expendables'', '' 16 Blocks'', ''88 Minutes'' and ''

Brooklyn's Finest ''Brooklyn's Finest'' is a 2009 American crime film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by Michael C. Martin. The film stars Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, and Wesley Snipes in his first widely released film since 2004. ''Brookly ...

'', with the productions for ''Rambo'' and ''The Expendables'' expected to start at the end of that year.

References

External links

* * * * {{Jon Avnet 2007 LGBTQ-related films 2007 films 2007 psychological thriller films 2000s American films 2000s Canadian films 2000s English-language films 2000s German films 2000s serial killer films American LGBTQ-related films American psychological thriller films American serial killer films Canadian psychological thriller films Canadian serial killer films Canadian LGBTQ-related films English-language Canadian films English-language German films German LGBTQ-related films German psychological thriller films German serial killer films Lesbian-related films Films about capital punishment Films directed by Jon Avnet Films produced by Randall Emmett Films scored by Edward Shearmur Films set in 1997 Films set in 2006 Films set in Seattle Films shot in Vancouver Films with screenplays by Gary Scott Thompson Nu Image films TriStar Pictures films English-language crime films English-language thriller films