"The Killing Hour" is a surprisingly solid (if not overly surprising) entry in the sparsely-populated annals of American jabs at the "giallo" (a genre rooted in Italian pulp mystery novels, and popularized by the films of Dario Argento, among many others). Armand Mastroianni, who also directed the "Halloween" cash-in "He Knows You're Alone," shows considerable directorial skill with a story that's not nearly as convoluted (or as garishly stylish) as an Argento pic, but builds a fine aura of mystery and suspense nonetheless. When a woman's nude, handcuffed corpse is fished out of the Hudson River and two seemingly random men are murdered soon after (including a very effective sequence in an empty gym swimming pool), an NYC cop (Norman Parker) and a talk-show host (Perry King) become involved with a psychic art student (Elizabeth Kemp) who has a "sixth sense" about the murders. While the pace sometimes slackens due to the "suspicion building" middle act (a necessary evil in most gialli), and the film suffers from offering us only two potential killers (there are a few red herrings so transparent they don't merit mention), "The Killing Hour" is still a satisfying whodunit, complete with a chilling climax that doesn't over-explain things. Recommended.
Review of The Clairvoyant
