VISITING HOURS
Creepier than real hospitals!
Chalk up another winner for Canadian horror. This is a creepy, creepy movie. Creepy! I mean, not scary the way we usually think about it (although some may well find it quite frightening), but...you got it... creepy.
The plot isn't too far removed from the "plot" of Halloween II - an unhappy camper decides to focus his homicidal energies on an unlucky lass in a hospital...and whoever gets in his way.
Except here, we're given a chance to really get to know the killer. He doesn't get much dialogue, but Michael Ironside nonetheless creates a very real-seeming menace in his role as a man who just won't accept the notion that women should have the right to protect themselves from violent men.
The women in question, however, aren't developed much. That's kind of too bad, and more development of them could have made better use of the 105-minute running time.
Yet again, this inexplicably takes place in the States. I mean, I don't mind when they try to "hide" the Canadianness of a film by not bringing location up, but flagrantly denying it is another thing altogether. William Shatner plays a TV exec, although he's not onscreen much, probably for the best.
I never caught the name of the babysitter character though - she's played by a hottie, and I'd like to see what else she's in. Preferably naked. Did I mention this movie is creepy?