The Killing Hour

Rating:
Summary: Serial Killing that is not serious at all
Review: A thriller that is fascinating from the very start. A serial killer is handcuffing his victims and then killing them ruthlessly. But a girl has a sixth sense and she sees the killings, the murders, the victims in their ordeals. The murderer is the final surprise of course, especially since the police goes the wrong way and covers him for us. The problems touched in this film are simple. the role of the media and particularly TV as a discloser of investigation details, and then the development of a debate about such serial killings with only one objective : to make a lot of audience and hence a lot of money. To be famous first of all and above all. The second question is that of prescience : is it possible, acceptable, believable, etc ? It is convincing in the film, but not much more. The third problem is the motivation of a serial killer and the famous profiling of the FBI. It is both rejected by the older cop who is responsible for the investigation, and by the film because the motivation of the killer is totally antagonistic with the profiling technique. All the victims have handcuffs but apart from that there is no other connection between the various victims or murders and the motivation has nothing to do with standard and even substandard serial killing motivations. It is something completely different. I can't reveal it here of course. But this very « plot » makes the film very trite. It is dynamic, entertaining but it is not very enlightening on the subject it deals with. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Paris Universities II and IX.

Rating:
Summary: SURPRISINGLY GOOD MOVIE
Review: At first glance, you might think this is an exploitation movie that thrives on T and A and extreme violence, but the Killing Hour, aka the Clairvoyant, is a surprisingly well produced, well directed, and well acted movie. Good perfomances by Elizabeth Kemp (especially Liz Kemp) and Perry King.

Rating:
Summary: Murder Mystery at its Best
Review: Once called "The Clairvoyant", The Killing Hour is a suspense/thriller/murder mystery rolled into one. Personally, I prefer the original title, since it better captures a key element of the story. Our protagonist (played by Elizabeth Kemp) has two unique gifts. She is an artist and has a sixth sense. But she doesn't see dead people, instead she can foresee who will be the next victim in a series of seemingly unrelated murders. Unrelated that is, except for the handcuffs found on each victim. Her clairvoyance strikes her when she is drawing and usually, she draws the next victim. She begins to panic, when during one of her episodes, she draws herself.

When she finally goes to the police, she manages to convince the skeptical officers assigned to the murders that their may be some validity to her story. More willing to believe her, a TV talk show host/reporter (played by Perry King) tries to befriend her and interview her on his show.

Slowly, the killer moves in on her. The clairvoyant knows he (or she) is near, but her power doesn't reveal the face to her. Nor does the director give this one away. We have to wait until he is ready to reveal the killer, but once he does, it all makes perfect sense.

Overall, I found this movie to be a pleasant surprise. Suspenseful, cleverly written, well acted, it will keep you guessing until the end, when the killer finally and unexpectedly, is revealed.

Rating:
Summary: Murder Mystery at its Best
Review: Once called "The Clairvoyant", The Killing Hour is a suspense/thriller/murder mystery rolled into one. Personally, I prefer the original title, since it better captures a key element of the story. Our protagonist (played by Elizabeth Kemp) has two unique gifts. She is an artist and has a sixth sense. But she doesn't see dead people, instead she can foresee who will be the next victim in a series of seemingly unrelated murders. Unrelated that is, except for the handcuffs found on each victim. Her clairvoyance strikes her when she is drawing and usually, she draws the next victim. She begins to panic, when during one of her episodes, she draws herself.

When she finally goes to the police, she manages to convince the skeptical officers assigned to the murders that their may be some validity to her story. More willing to believe her, a TV talk show host/reporter (played by Perry King) tries to befriend her and interview her on his show.

Slowly, the killer moves in on her. The clairvoyant knows he (or she) is near, but her power doesn't reveal the face to her. Nor does the director give this one away. We have to wait until he is ready to reveal the killer, but once he does, it all makes perfect sense.

Overall, I found this movie to be a pleasant surprise. Suspenseful, cleverly written, well acted, it will keep you guessing until the end, when the killer finally and unexpectedly, is revealed.

Rating:
Summary: Murder Mystery at its Best
Review: Once called "The Clairvoyant", The Killing Hour is a suspense/thriller/murder mystery rolled into one. Personally, I prefer the original title, since it better captures a key element of the story. Our protagonist (played by Elizabeth Kemp) has two unique gifts. She is an artist and has a sixth sense. But she doesn't see dead people, instead she can foresee who will be the next victim in a series of seemingly unrelated murders. Unrelated that is, except for the handcuffs found on each victim. Her clairvoyance strikes her when she is drawing and usually, she draws the next victim. She begins to panic, when during one of her episodes, she draws herself.

When she finally goes to the police, she manages to convince the skeptical officers assigned to the murders that their may be some validity to her story. More willing to believe her, a TV talk show host/reporter (played by Perry King) tries to befriend her and interview her on his show.

Slowly, the killer moves in on her. The clairvoyant knows he (or she) is near, but her power doesn't reveal the face to her. Nor does the director give this one away. We have to wait until he is ready to reveal the killer, but once he does, it all makes perfect sense.

Overall, I found this movie to be a pleasant surprise. Suspenseful, cleverly written, well acted, it will keep you guessing until the end, when the killer finally and unexpectedly, is revealed.