What starts out as a potentially disturbing thriller about the vulnerability of women to disturbed and violent men - even in a public place - ends up becoming almost comical as the police blunder about like the Keystone Kops in pursuit of a villain who puts more effort into looking sinister than developing any proficiency as a serial killer. TV producer Gary Baylor (William Shatner) actually has a short speech breathlessly detailing to journalist Deborah Ballin (Lee Grant) how tip-top the security is in the hospital in which she's a patient; to which she moans: "There's NO security! He's in, he's out!" And she's right!Michael Ironside as Colt Hawker might as well be stomping about wearing a T-shirt with "PSYCHOTIC LONER" printed in capitals on it, but throughout the film has the run of the place without ever attracting attention despite making no attempt to put those around him off their guard by at least attempting to behave like a normal human being.More and more police pile into the building, but Hawker is never short of deserted corridors down which to skulk; and the only time the cops ever seem to stir themselves out of their torpor is to obstruct people who are genuinely trying to help. Fortunately Hawker is as inept as they are at his chosen vocation of psycho-killer, and proves easily distracted into pursuing other potential victims who attract his attention rather than killing his original intended victims when he has the chance.

Unsuccessful in killing an outspoken television reporter, a cleaner continues to stalk his victim in hospital in this thriller from Canada. The film begins well, full of voyeuristic hand-held camera-work that places us in his shoes, eerily sharp sounding record and moody music. The attack at lead actress Lee Grant's house is effectively drawn out too as we experience her terror for minutes on end. Subsequent scenes also come with bite as he pretends to be a hospital orderly and even a surgeon, yet the film derails in its final hour as focus awkwardly shifts away from Grant's overwhelming fear and paranoia. Michael Ironside as her stalker ultimately gets more screen time. He is sinister enough, but it is not a juicy enough character to sustain the film alone. Linda Purl as Grant's nurse gets more screen time than her too. Again, this seems great since she is fantastic and has quite a complex character in between raising two kids while in a lesbian relationship. The fact that Ironside suddenly takes to stalking her rather than Grant never makes sense though; same goes for all the others he kills since he actually has a reason for wanting Grant! That said, everything culminates in a fantastic silent, protracted face-off between Grant and Ironside and the film remains atmospheric even when the plot derails. This is, however, a film for which the promotional poster is arguably better than the movie itself.

Having survived an attack by a vicious madman, a journalist tries to recuperate at the local hospital but finds herself continually stalked by the psycho intent on finishing her off and must rely on her friends to stop him from doing so.This is an incredibly bland and really overly boring slasher/psycho thriller that really doesn't have all that much going for it. The constant ability of the psycho to get in and out of the hospital without being caught stretches logic and believability in the worst ways with the constant ability to escape unnoticed and menace couples outside, taking away from the suspense of the situation where it takes time out of the main storyline to focus on another, nearly making the entire section of the film just utterly endless. It never really manages to be as suspenseful as it thinks it is by not really engaging in that much of a body count either, as there's hardly all that many in here to get worked up over and the deaths are very bland anyway. The main stalking through the inner workings of the building do manage to get some good stuff in, and the investigative build-up of the identity to the police is rather fine, but overall this one wasn't all that great.Rated R: Violence and Language.

*Minor spoilers*I've always found a hospital setting in a Slasher movie to be ideal. It's one of the creepiest places in the world for me, and to have a killer stalking you makes it all that more effective. It worked like a charm in Halloween II, and it worked here as well to a bit of a lesser degree. Visiting Hours is a Canadian production which seems to have a love and hate affair among fellow Horror fans. Whilst it didn't blow me away, and it's not something I plan on going out of my way to see again, I actually had an OK time with it. It certainly has some effective atmosphere at times. I enjoyed the slow stalk scenes and how Michael Ironside would toy with the people he was after. There is no special gimmicks with him, he doesn't wear a mask; he's an unadulterated psychopath. He gave me the willies, and I would not want this man after me in the Hospital. He was responsible for a lot of the suspense. He was excellent. Lee Grant is a very solid actress, and did just fine here, but she over does the hysterics big time. Her whiny performance got on my nerves, despite that she was technically solid. Linda Purl is as vital as a heroine as Lee Grant was. She had a sense of innocence that I loved, and she was probably my favorite female performer in this one. William Shatner cashes in a paycheck and pays his bills like we all have too. That's the only reason he was probably here. He did what he had to do adequately. Gore hounds will most likely be disappointed. There is blood, but not much of it. We get some stabbings, and one nasty scene where someone breaks a glass bottle and purposely smashes the arm into the broken pieces. I cringed at that one. Oh; yeah. I almost forgot… We get a flashback scene where a Father tickles his kid and forcefully pours booze down the kid's throat. I personally count that as a gore… Just for the sheer WTF factor.Final Thoughts: It's forgettable when all is said and done, but I actually didn't mind it for what it was. It has some good stalk scenes, and the atmosphere was pretty creepy at times. Aside from a slow middle where it dragged a little bit, and some questionable plot holes, you could do a hell of a lot worse when it comes to 80's slashers. It's better than a lot of them 5.5/10