Visiting Hours

Visiting Hours centres on Deborah Ballin, a television journalist in Boston who takes a public stand on a case involving a woman accused of attacking her husband, arguing that the woman acted in self-defence. Her remarks catch the attention of Colt Hawker, a disturbed and violent man who sees her views as a personal provocation. He breaks into her home and assaults her, but she survives and is taken to a hospital to recover. Learning that she is still alive, Hawker sets out to track her down and finish what he started, turning her stay in the hospital into a drawn-out ordeal.

The Canadian horror-thriller was directed by Jean-Claude Lord from a screenplay by Brian Taggert, with Claude Héroux producing. Lee Grant plays Deborah, Michael Ironside plays Hawker, and Linda Purl, William Shatner, Lenore Zann and Harvey Atkin appear among the credited cast of 55. Made for about 6 million dollars, it returned roughly 13 million worldwide, a solid multiple of its cost for a genre release of its era. Audience response has been modest: on IMDb it holds 5.7 out of 10 from around 5,400 votes, and on TMDB 5.5 out of 10 from about 119 votes, figures that suggest a small but settled following rather than wide acclaim.