Visiting Hours (1982)

Why so much hype?

Very disappointing...

Good concept, poorly executed.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Kinky, sweaty psychotic (who grew up in a dysfunctional home!) terrorizes a controversial TV journalist in her condo, later stalking her at the hospital where she's recuperating from her wounds. Lee Grant adds a modicum of class to this sleazy slasher, which is not only derivative and illogical but mean-spirited in the extreme. Thriller comes laden with subjective camera-tracking to heighten the suspense--even when the killer isn't around!--but it rarely works since the screenplay is so preposterous. Good supporting cast wasted, including Linda Purl as a sympathetic nurse and William Shatner (with a thick, glossy head of hair) as Grant's confidant. Shatner plays the kind of friend who tells Lee he'll stick by her through the night, but quickly takes off with the police once they get a lead. Not a big hit in 1982, the film has now become a cult item. *1/2 from ****

"Visiting Hours" has Lee Grant as an outspoken and controversial feminist journalist who becomes the prime target of women-hating serial killer Colt Hawker (Michael Ironside). After being viciously attacked by Hawker in her home, she is taken to the hospital where she learns she will have to undergo surgery for her wounds. Unfortunately, that's the least of her worries, because Hawker hasn't let her go as prey, and she can't leave the hospital.Underrated as a thriller and overblown as a "slasher," "Visiting Hours" is one of the stronger and lesser-seen killer thrillers of the 1980s, but there is plenty in it to be admired. Although it's often classified as a slasher film, it's really more of a psychothriller under the guise of a slasher, laboriously meditating on the killer's disturbed, misogynistic psyche, and taking more stock in sequence buildups and moments of true suspense than actual splatter. The real kicker in this film is the setup in which Grant's character finds herself quite frankly trapped in the hospital; not only is she injured, but the hospital staff cannot legally let her leave, rendering her (and the rest of the hospital) a sitting duck for the malicious Hawker.For being filmed in 1981, the film has a surprisingly fresh and considerably modern look to it. Whereas many horror films of this era suffer from poor aging, this is one of a rare few that seems to have retained a contemporary edge. Slick cinematography and impressive acting from Lee Grant and Michael Ironside help maintain an unusually classy standard. Linda Purl is great as the likable nurse who falls prey to the madman, and William Shatner's presence is welcome as Grant's stubborn boss. Thrown into the mix is a confused albeit interesting social commentary angle on non-violence, and Grant's moxie-filled character punctuates the film's time period and the social landscape of second wave feminism.Overall, "Visiting Hours" is one of the classier horror films of the early '80s, and has a much more mature feel to it. With the contemporary edge it possesses, it's still surprisingly accessible to a modern audience, and the performances and elaborate sequence buildups really make it stand out among its peers. It is at times admittedly plodding at some points, but it's a small misgiving in an otherwise above-average thriller. 7/10.

A crazed, women-hating killer (Michael Ironside) attacks journalist Deborah Ballin (Lee Grant). When he discovers that his attack did not kill Deborah, he comes to the hospital to finish what he started.Is this a good film? Is it a good slasher? Is it a good Canadian slasher? Many people would say no to these, but I think this is a good one just for existing. Of course, I am a pro-slasher horror fan, so it may not take much... but throw in Michael Ironside and William Shatner and how can you go wrong? Director Jean-Claude Lord may not be well known, especially in the world of horror. Not only is he not a horror director primarily, but he is from Quebec, so much of his work is in French! Honestly, I am not even sure if I ever saw anything else he did.

After a vicious knife attack by misogynistic psycho Colt Hawker (Michael Ironside), feminist TV reporter Deborah Ballin (Lee Grant) is taken to hospital where the maniac repeatedly tries to finish the job by posing as members of staff.I vividly remember this film's cinematic release back in '82; the advert was on TV at the same time as I was in hospital with a broken leg and, rather unsurprisingly, it struck a nerve. The film clearly struck a nerve with the BBFC as well, the censors later adding it to the UK official video nasty list thanks to the killer's disturbing brand of misogyny and sadistic violence: as slasher villains go, Ironside's Hawker is particularly cruel, the character primarily targeting females, delighting in their fear and pain, teasing them with his switchblade and taking photos of them as they die.However, as memorably nasty as Ironside's psycho undoubtedly is, the film doesn't quite live up to its potential; there is a notable lack of gore (a mainstay of the genre), and the pacing is rather weak, with matters tending to drag after Hawker's initial assault on Ballin. At 105 min long, this means a lot of boring padding, Ironside skulking around corridors and failing to get near his intended victim until the inevitable final showdown in the now surprisingly deserted hospital. We also get pointless filler in the form of William Shatner's concerned TV producer, who does nothing to further the plot, Linda Purl's single parent nurse, whose primary job is to look cute in her uniform, and lots of cheap scares (including one from a parrot!).With more grisly killings and tighter pacing, this could have been one of the genuinely great slashers of the 80s, especially given the intensity of Ironside's performance; sadly, it only qualifies as essential viewing to those determined to see all of the video nasties.