Visiting Hours (1982) - Just don't think too hard about it

There are some films where it just doesn't pay to think too deeply into what's happening in front of you.  Sure, you could nit-pick every last little detail and all you'd be left with is a deeply flawed movie with a hundred and one plot holes (like 'Visiting Hours').  Or you could simply roll your eyes and enjoy it for what it is - a nicely-creepy little horror/slasher film of the early eighties.

It's not one of those films where you have to guess who the killer is, or even one where the psycho in question wears a mask to hide his identity.  Michael Ironside is shown to us right from the start as a nutter who likes to generally break into women's houses, stab them to death and then take photos of their dying moments.  Now, Ironside may never have attained A-list status in his long career, but that doesn't mean that he turns in a bad performance.  In fact, I can't think of any less-than-stellar inclusions to his various film and TV credits.  And here is no different - he's excellent as the - typically for him - strong and silent maniac with the knife.

Here he breaks into a news anchor woman's house, but doesn't quite manage to finish her off.  Ever the perfectionist, he tracks her down to the hospital she's recovering in and sets his sights on getting the job done properly, despite Captain Kirk's best efforts.  Oh, did I mention William Shatner was in this?  Well, he is.  But not too much.  Whether that's a positive or a negative will depend on how much you love 'Star Trek' I guess.

You might think that if a celebrity was attacked like this in her own home and the suspect wasn't caught, full security would be afforded her during her recouperation.  Not here.  Or maybe it does - again, depending on how you look at it.  The security at the hospital is either non existent, or comprising of the most incompetent law enforcement officers ever to walk the beat - seriously, Frank Drebin from 'Police Squad' would be a more competent protector of the poor woman.

Like I say, the film has numerous flaws and plot holes, but, after a while, I decided to just concentrate on all the positive aspects and ignore the fact how Michael Ironside is a 'master of disguise.' By this I mean that no matter how many people see his face, all he has to do is change his clothes and turn up at the hospital on another day and he's effectively invisible to everyone who has previously seen him.

If you like your eighties slasher films (apparently this one is like 'Halloween II' as it's mostly set in a hospital, but I haven't seen that, so I couldn't say) then this is definitely worth a watch.  I even hear it was one of those recognised 'video nasties' we had here in England in the early eighties, but if that makes you think it's going to be wall to wall violence and gore then you may be disappointed.  It's actually pretty tame by today's standards, but still worth checking out.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that