Visiting Hours

source: Visiting Hours

I'll start by saying that the slasher film genre is one of my least favourites. This is generally because, after a few excellent movies, the films that flooded the 1980s all became derivative, repetitive, and downright boring. The only thing you could look forward to in these movies were the gory special effects, where the oh-so-annoying teenage victims finally got their just desserts. But just occasionally you'll find a slasher flick that transcends the genre and becomes more than just a routine bloodbath; I'm pleased to say that VISITING HOURS is such a film. Instead of a faceless monster stalking young girls, instead we get a psychological slasher film which explores the character of its antagonist – the stalker/murderer who hates women, thanks to a childhood incident – and the protagonist, an outspoken reporter trapped in a hospital and waiting to be attacked. The film is leisurely paced and takes a while to get going, and there are a lot of sub-plots getting in the way before we get to the conclusion. Despite this, the production values are good and the script realistic. Although the film does contain its fair share of clichés and predictable moments, it always feels more realistic and more horrible than most in the genre. In some ways it feels like a less-weird David Cronenberg movie, with the almost clinical detachment from the action; maybe it's just some vibe that Canadian horror movies possess. The film's success is mainly a result of the casting. Without Michael Ironside, I can't imagine this film being half as good. In a mostly silent performance, Ironside creates a totally cold, ruthless, and downright frightening personality, a maladjusted killer who has great intelligence but a corrupted mind. Ironside is fantastic. I always admire the actor and his performances but here he just goes off the board with his subdued portrayal. Far better than hammy Anthony Hopkins and his Hannibal Lector and Kevin Spacey and his clever-clever killer. In fact I would consider this Ironside's finest moment. The rest of the cast are adequate but can't match Ironside. Lee Grant is an unusual choice as the female lead but she makes a pretty good job of it and at least proves to be something more than the blonde bimbo. William Shatner lurks around the sidelines but doesn't get to do anything, worse luck. The various stalking sequences are very atmospheric and suspenseful and the final cat-and-mouse chase in the hospital is up there with the best of them. It's just a shame that the cold subject matter and horrific images (Ironside photographing the slowly dying old woman) are too much to handle for some viewers. Get past them and you have a great little film in your hands.

There's nothing spectacular about this Canadian-made slasher flick, but it still provides a few jolts, a bit of the creeps and a few unintentional laughs. Grant plays a strong-willed TV host who's crusading for the rights of a woman accused of murdering her husband (following years of abuse from him.) Unfortunately, this ticks off loose cannon Ironside and he decides to shut Grant up...permanently. His first try doesn't quite do the trick, so he has to infiltrate her hospital to finish her off, hence the title. Purl plays a Florence Nightingale in waiting who's devotion to Grant makes her another target of Ironside. Shatner has a thankless role as Grant's producer/lover. Grant turns in her usual committed, thought-out performance, but it's for naught in a routine thriller like this. Ironside is convincingly slimy and treacherous. His almost wordless performance is effectively creepy. Purl is likable and solid in an impossibly idealized role (the lady works overtime at the hospital and volunteers at the free clinic while trying to raise two kids all with a smile on her face!) Shatner fans will be pleased to see him looking rather handsome and tan, but he doesn't get to do very much. The film has a very unsettling tone throughout, aided by an eerie score and claustrophobic settings. It also features many cliches of the genre (absence of logic in the characters, unrealistically deserted settings, sluts being punished for their sexuality, etc...) Still, it's creative enough and occasionally unpredictable enough to hold interest. Some of the acting in minor roles (notably the nurses) is weak, but Zann does a pretty decent job as a slutty date of Ironside's and the leads hold the film together (as much as they can with the somewhat contrived script.) Grant's conviction to her role and Ironside's steely determination go a long way to saving the movie.

"Visiting Hours" is a forgotten slasher film which stars Michael Ironside as a murderer stalking TV journalist Lee Grant.The film is pretty slow,but there is enough violence to satisfy fans of horror cinema.Ironside is pretty believable as a misogynistic serial killer,the rest of the cast is also impressive.The film is pretty scary and suspenseful,so fans of slasher movies won't be disappointed.It was made the same year as similar "Halloween 2".Overall,I enjoyed this one and you should too,especially if you like slasher movies.My rating:8 out of 10.

I remember seeing this playing at a number of cheapy schlock houses in the early '80s and thinking the premise had to be a bore. After finally getting around to streaming this 30 years later, I find I'm right, and that makes me sad. Michael Ironside lends the only bit of variety to this otherwise by-the-body-count slasher. It's not completely abysmal since there are scenes early on in the picture that evoke genuine suspense. The problem is that none of the characters except the villain come off as plausible or interesting. I usually like Lee Grant but I found her performance here to be so wooden, strident, and annoying that I was actually hoping for Ironside to finish her off in the end. And as interesting as Ironside's character is he is given little to work with in terms of back story and NOTHING in terms of dialog (are all psychos mute or illiterate....apparently). Linda Purl is out of her league on film (as usual) and Bill Shatner is just there, as pretty much usual --- this is way before they were allowing him to have a personality....too bad. Visiting Hours could use a big dose of just that. To cap the misery off, this film runs about 30 minutes longer than it should. Yes, it is similar in that regard to Halloween II, which I also believe is a massive misfire and no way in the same category as its precursor. It's a template for a badly-made Canadian cheapy...doesn't even merit as a time-waster, in my book.

The basic premise of Visiting Hours is that an unsuccessful serial killer decides to finish off the job at the hospital where his victim is being treated. There is about enough plot there to make a good TV episode or short film, but somehow Jean-Claude Lord's film has been stretched to an hour and forty five minutes. As you might expect, this leaves the film overlong and more than a little tedious as the majority of it is merely filler. Furthermore, neither the psychopath nor any of his victims are elevated above the very basic level of characterisation needed for this sort of film, and since this plot was done to (slightly) better effect a year earlier with Halloween 2, there really isn't a lot of reason to bother with this hospital slasher. Of course, the film did feature on the DPP 'Video Nasty' list back in the eighties, so it will always have something of a fan base as well as a list of people wanting to see it; but even as a Video Nasty, it isn't all that good as the scenes of gore mostly feel rushed and in true Halloween style, the murders aren't exactly imaginative. The hospital setting ensures that the film stands out as hospitals are traditionally 'safe' places where the sick get better; whereas here we've got someone bumping off the patients. The setting isn't very well used, however, as the rooms mostly look like offices and the director doesn't do a very good job of building up the location. The acting isn't very good either, as while Michael Ironside may have a look of Jack Nicholson - he certainly doesn't have his talent, as his performance isn't charismatic or even interesting, and he's a lot like Michael Myers without the mask. Linda Purl and Lee Grant both give typical performances as typical female victims (although the film features no nudity) and William Shatner also has a small role. Basically, the problem with this film is that it uses up all of its energy in the first sequence. The first scene has suspense and terror (best shown in the laundry shoot), but after that it just fizzles out into an overlong boring mess. I'm not the biggest fan of slashers anyway, but there's far better one around than this; the Video Nasty list itself even has some better ones.

Senseless and totally ordinary slasher thriller that seems to "pay homage" to "Halloween II", which was made one year earlier. It has all the customary elements down pat: the hospital setting, the maniac on the loose, terrified victims-to-be, knives that get bloody....But it shows such shameless disregard for logic and motivation that it's really hard for a viewer to stay interested for the whole (overly long) duration of the film. Michael Ironside was physically a right choice for his role, but because he is given no personality and no special traits, he becomes one of the least interesting villains of slasher films that you'll ever see. (*1/2)

It's hard to understand how HALLOWEEN and Friday THE 13TH managed to spawn so many knock-offs because most were pointless garbage and never made any cash at the box office, anyway. This Canadian-lensed slasher, set in a hospital, is so slight and slow it's barely a horror movie. Michael Ironside, fresh off SCANNERS, is a troubled nutbag who finds a reason to hate and hurt Lee Grant. When he fails to close her down permanently, he heads for the hospital where she is recovering to finish the job he started. Director Jean-Claude Lord presents every scene from the most boring perspective possible. Ironside takes forever to spring into action and Grant's character is too stupid to realize what's going on. The film does have its creepy moments, but they are so occasional you'll have to wake up to watch them. Ironside is pretty decent.

Vicious misogynistic psycho par excellence Colt Hawker (a truly chilling and convincing portrayal of seething brutality by the always intense and effective Michael Ironside, who's positively terrifying in a substantial full-blown villain role) assaults feisty and outspoken feminist TV reporter Deborah Ballin (a fine Lee Grant) in her home after she delivers a scathing put-down of male chauvinism on live television. The badly wounded Ballin barely survives the attack and gets taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for her injuries. Hawker follows Ballin there so he can continue his relentless campaign of terror against her. Director Jean-Claude ("The Vindicator") Lord keeps the film mostly tight and suspenseful throughout, delivering one jolting shock after another until the movie culminates in a harrowing showdown between the two bitter adversaries. Lord strives for gritty realism and generally succeeds with this goal, adeptly creating a hard, rough and above all pretty plausible edge which in turn makes the unflinchingly ugly and sadistic violence that much more potent and disturbing. Moreover, Linda Purl offers strong support as a sympathetic nurse (the sequence where Ironside assaults Purl in her house is genuinely bloodcurdling) while both Harvey ("Meatballs") Atkin and Helen ("Incubus," "Blue Monkey") Hughes pop up as two of Hawker's unfortunate victims. On the debit side the rather drawn-out 105 minute running time causes the picture to drag in spots and the usually more manic William Shatner is strangely subdued and soporific as Ballin's insufferably insipid stuffed shirt of a boss. Unjustly ridiculed by a majority of critics when it was first released and often erroneously tagged as just another mindless hack 'em up slasher item (which it most certainly isn't), "Visiting Hours" rates highly as a smart, gripping and overall superior thriller that's much better than its unfairly lousy reputation would suggest.

Michael Ironside certainly wasn't the type of guy you wanted to add to your list of enemies back in the early 80's! He spontaneously caused people's heads to explode in "Scanners" and he's an even bigger monster here in "Visiting Hours", as he gives image to a reticent yet malevolent & misogynistic killer who can't accept that one of his target victims survives in the hospital. The victim we're referring to is Deborah Ballin; TV-show hostess and strong activist for women's rights everywhere. Following another one of her much talked-about shows, Colt Hawker perpetrates the house and assaults her, but he doesn't finish the job properly. Then, despite of the huge police and media attention given to the case, he goes to the hospital and kills everyone who stands between him and Deborah, including nurses and unfortunate patients. "Visiting Hours" is a peculiar 80's slasher that doesn't get much appreciation from either critics or regular horror fans. Personally, I have no idea why because this movie is extremely creepy and director Jean-Claude Lord professionally spreads the suspense throughout the entire film even though we instantly know about the maniac's identity and what his motivations are. The screenplay spends quite a lot of time enlightening us about Hawker's private life and childhood traumas through brief flashback-sequences, making "Visiting Hours" some sort of crossover between John Carpenter's "Halloween" (with a knife-wielding maniac butchering innocent people) and no less than Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" (with the complex sociopath background of the culprit). This combination isn't always successful or 100% plausible, but at least it provides a more or less original slasher setting since these flicks usually just involve high school teenagers or summer campers. J.C. Lord creates tension through eerie POV-shots and bone-chilling music (courtesy of Jonathon Goldsmith) and the murders are pleasingly bloody, albeit a bit mundane. "Visiting Hours" is probably one of the ONLY 80's slashers that is occasionally able to really scare you, so I'm more than willing to look past most of the flaws. And yes, there undeniably are some obvious flaws. Like some other reviewers righteously pointed out already, there's a problem with both the editing and continuity. The killer – as well as the other characters – seems to move from one place to another very fast. One moment he's observing a nurse in her backyard and the next he's walking around the hospital fully disguised in a doctor's coat. Also, the cops guarding the hospital aren't very useful since Hawker hasn't got the least problem of walking in and out of there without having to show identification. Finally, I'm not entirely sure what Sheila's (Linda Purl) profession is. Is she just a nurse covering night shifts or a fully degreed doctor? If she's a nurse, then where are all the doctors? Most of the film takes place inside a hospital – duh – yet there seem to be only two nurses working there. Then again, the acting performances are another good aspect. Ironside is excellent and genuinely petrifying as the silent psychopath and the two female leads (Lee Grant & Linda Purl) are very convincing in their roles of hunted preys. Oh, Captain Kirk also stars, but his character is about as useful as non-alcoholic beverages at a graduation party. "Visiting Hours" is a good horror film, check it out!