User Reviews

Mean head nurse Jane Reynolds (well played to cold-hearted bitchy perfection by Margot Kidder) runs the night shift at a retirement home with an iron fist and makes some extra cash selling valuable jewelry owned by the elderly residents to local pawnshops. Jane and her no-count aspiring singer boyfriend Johnny (the always excellent Stephen McHattie) meet their match in the form of a mysterious new old man patient (a creepy mute portrayal by Darren McGavin of "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" fame), who exacts a harsh revenge on the pair when they try to steal his sparkling gold diamond ring. Director Phillip Noyce ably creates a supremely spooky atmosphere and makes the most out of the uncanny supernatural vampire central element that becomes more increasingly scary and unnerving as it culminates in one of the show's trademark grisly and uncompromisingly downbeat shock endings. Kidder, McGavin, and McHattie all do sterling work in the lead roles; they receive fine support from Kenneth Gordon as the browbeaten Mr. Loring and Enid Saunders as doddery wheelchair-bound cripple Mrs. MacDonald. William Darrid's script delivers a relevant message about how you reap what you sow. Michel Rubini's spine-tingling score and the shadowy cinematography by Reginald H. Morris further enhance the overall flesh-crawling ooga-booga mood of this genuinely frightening episode.