Video Nasty #39
Visiting Hours
1982
So Frightening You'll Never Recover
NTSC Running Time: 105:04
Also Known As: Get Well Soon, The Fright
Directed and Edited by Jean-Claude Lord
Written by Brian Taggert
Starring: Lee Grant, Michael Ironside, Linda Purl, William Shatner, Lenore Zann
Body Count: 5
Region A Blu-Ray available from Shout! Factory
BBFC Status
Why It's A Nasty: Violence against women.
What Was Cut: One minute of footage comprising a knife being run along a woman's body and another scene of a woman being kicked while stabbed.
Current UK Status: Given an X for cinema with the above cuts in 1982, this was the version released on video that gained status as a Video Nasty. Shorter cuts were given 18 certs in 1986 and 2017, which are currently available for home media and streaming.
Visiting Hours was seized, but not prosecuted.
Well, well, well, look who's not dead. That's right, it's me. I took six years off from this project and a lot changed: I moved from the west coast to western Pennsylvania, I nearly lost all my marbles, and I totally lost track of all of my documentation for VCR Rebellion. But just a couple days ago, I found my file of notes and my notebook. Turns out I watched not one but two Nasties I never wrote up, and I realized how sad it would be to get more than halfway through this list of films and just give up. Fuck that noise, I am going to finish this thing. So last night I rewatched this Nasty piece of business, and not only did I have the body count wrong on my first viewing, I think I appreciated it more the second time through as well. The trailer compilation up there doesn't give away much, early 1980s exploitation teases that show off little. So allow me to set the scene:
Deborah Ballin (Lee Grant) is a television personality on a crusade. A staunch advocate for victims of domestic violence, we meet Ms. Ballin as she films an interview with a lawyer about a woman recently jailed for killing her husband. She did it in self-defense, but was found guilty because her public defender was an inexperienced clown. She hammers the prosecutor responsible for her conviction, surprising him with the news that she will be starting a legal defense fund to get the wrongfully convicted woman out of prison. Her producer (and wannabe suitor) Gary Baylor (William Shatner) isn't sure they'll be able to air the interview; studio maintenance man Colt Hawker (Michael Ironside) has an even bigger problem: he doesn't like women who fight back. When he was a boy, his mother disfigured his father and disappeared. Colt has never forgiven her. He hates women, especially strong women like Deborah Ballin. So he breaks into her house, murders her housekeeper, and tries to kill her, stabbing her multiple times, but must flee when a good samaritan comes to the house. Deborah finds herself at County General Hospital, where nurse Sheila Munroe (Linda Purl) cares for her...and herself becomes target for Hawker's misogynistic hate.
Taking place mostly in the hospital, Visiting Hours was the first English-language film from Quebecois filmmaker Jean-Claude Lord (and one of only two Canadian Nasties (see Video Nasty #33 for the other)). The violence here is almost all suggested, with very little gore shown. There is an upsetting attempted rape scene between Hawker and young prostitute Lisa (Lenore Zann) which is where this film ran afoul of the UK censors as Hawker runs his overlarge and decidedly phallic switchblade from her feet to her chest, exactly the kind of thing the Nasty panic was all about. And while there isn't much here for the gorehound, and the film has no nudity in it, gratuitous or otherwise, it's a decent thriller with a great cast.
Lee Grant is solid as the lead/final girl. With over one hundred acting credits and nearly thirty directing credits, her career has spanned over seventy years, from the 1950s to her most recent credit as a voice actress in 2020's Killian & The Comeback Kids. Linda Purl has worked mostly on television since 1973, and is still doing so today. Her turn as Nurse Munroe gives her the most to work with of all the actors, with the largest emotional range of all the characters, and she holds her own easily. William Shatner has very little to do, being a mostly cardboard character who seems to be there just to say "Hey, look! We got Bill Shatner over here!" Lenore Zann appeared the year before in another (and much better) Canadian slasher, Happy Birthday To Me, and handles her material here with aplomb. Ms. Zann has recently returned to acting after a stint as an MP in Canadian parliament.
But the one to watch in Visiting Hours is absolutely the wonderfully talented Michael Ironside, who won the role fresh from his success in David Cronenberg's Scanners the year before. His turn as Colt Hawker is hampered by a somewhat weak script, but he's so good at playing a demented bastard that it doesn't really matter. From the first time we get a good look at him - shirtless, wielding a knife, and wearing all the clip-on jewelry he could find in Deborah's house - he is terrifying, relentless, and vicious. Hawker is never fleshed out much as a character, but Ironside is so fun to watch that it doesn't really matter. Why does he take photos of his victims? Why is he always wearing a small bell that gives his presence away? Who cares! His insane protrayal of a genuine misogynistic piece of shit is so good that the flaws of the film can be mostly overlooked.
Do I recommend this one? Yeah, I think I do. Since it was shot as modern-day in 1982, it captures the period very well. The cars, the styles, the toys Nurse Munroe's kids play with, it's a great snapshot of the early 1980s, so early in the decade that the 70s were still sounding off in the background. And it's worth watching for the performances and presence of Ironside and Linda Purl, who both do more to elevate this film than all the other performers combined. It's more serious thriller than slasher film, so don't be fooled by the exploitation marketing, this is more psychological than anything else.
Until next time, be sure to keep your ears open for the sound of small bells. It might mean that a killer is near. I'm gonna make sure I stay out of the hospital. Because my name's Justin. JustinCase.
