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When one thinks of 80's slasher flicks, one doesn't usually think of middle aged women like Lee Grant running around and screaming while a crazed madman chases her with a knife, but that's what Visiting Hours amounts to. Because of the age switch, it manages to keep the audience on its toes a bit and it's nice to see a slasher film with a more mature cast and a little character development here and there.

Even Linda Purl (who's easily the youngest one in the cast) plays a single mother struggling to make ends meet as a nurse. There's a level of maturity to everyone in the cast. These aren't people who talk about homework, prom, and boyfriends. They've got their own dreams and goals and that makes it far more terrifying when they are stalked and attacked by said madman.

The madman in question here is Michael Ironside (and no, that's not a spoiler) who lurks, sneers, and sweats with delirious abandon. It's something to see. Even William Shatner gets in on the action, but he only has a few scenes and doesn't really add much to the proceedings.

Visiting Hours might not be full of nubile coeds or buckets of gore, but it knows how to build suspense and there are a number of hair raising shocks and jump-out-of-your-seat moments.