Quite a fantastic little film, which revolves around the brutal killings of seemingly random victims, mainly prostitutes. It's hardly believable that a well to do, caring older brother would let his sister get into this much trouble, but in the end it becomes obvious why things turned out that way. Is it believable that the brother, a famous pianist, would fall in love with an exotic dancer from skid row? Maybe not, but it's portrayed with the necessary integrity. The nasty kill scenes and many gratuitous striptease scenes should clash with the serious themes, but they hardly do. The film maintains a certain amount of integrity, though I don't think it's for everyone - my love for gore and nudity admittedly helps a lot...The story (stories) evolves rather slowly, which leaves room for a believable way of Eric and Louise becoming more and more involved with each other. The ending may be a little far fetched (though I did have a feeling Uni-Save might have something to do with it), but it works well enough, even if the finale is a rather by the book way of concluding a thriller. It helps that Neil Dainard delivers a fine performance as the high and mighty baddie who believes he is just setting things right. The rest of the acting is rather okay, but nothing special.If a mix of gritty thriller and a good dose of exploitation elements might be your thing, check this one out! A good 7 out of 10 from yours truly.

The fact that this one isn't easy to catch over here I was able to find me a copy. I thought it would be so creepy as Visiting Hours 'cause Ironside was involved, but he just plays a copper and nothing more. Is it scary, sometimes it has his moments but overall it's more about naked girls. But here the girls are in it for the nakedness and nothing more. Both main actresses have their strip act (eat your heart out Demi Moore) and that's the reason most viewers want to see this one. I watched it and after a few days i was already forgotten the plot of this movie, watchable, yes, gore or bloody, not that many. And don't do it for the sake of Ironside, you will be disappointed.

Most of the other reviews of this are pretty much spot on. This movie does have elements of the Italian giallo, but it is much more gritty and realistic than the garish and stylized gialli. It also resembles America slasher movies (many of which, like this movie, were actually Canadian tax shelter productions). It's not a TEEN slasher movie, however, with rutting adolescents being almost metaphorically bumped off by an unreal murderous "boogey man"; this is a more realistic movie, as much crime thriller as horror flick. It resembles gritty, urban films like "Maniac", "Nightmares in a Damaged Brain", or "The New York Ripper" but, for better or worse, doesn't quite attain that level of sordidness. It's more of a downbeat and sleazy but less harrowing film, like "Too Scared to Scream" or "Windows".In a nod to "Hardcore" (as another reviewer noted) this movie is about a brother looking for his younger sister in the red light district of strippers and prostitutes. In a noirish touch the audience knows from the opening sequence that the sister is already dead, but the brother's search will bring him face-to-face with her killer, a vicious modern-day "Jack the Ripper" who is carving up wayward women with a straight razor.A young Michael Ironside has a supporting role as police detective, and the murdered sister is played by a young Alexandra Paul. The latter has a long topless scene--and this might be the main reason this film is still sought out by anyone today. As for me though, I have a soft spot in my heart (or perhaps my brain-pan) for this kind of early 80's sleaze. If you feel the same way, you might want to check this one out.

Wealthy pianist Eric Blade (Lawrence Day) tries to locate his missing runaway sister in an unnamed (and presumably US) metropolis. His journey takes him to seedy sex shops and strip joints. Of course, the police (include a detective played by one "Mike" Ironside) aren't really interested in a missing hooker until they find out she is the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Even then they spend their time following the "obvious he didn't do it" guy while the quick audience members have already correctly guessed the real culprit 10 minutes in. Despite being a tad predictable, this is still worth watching for the the sleaze factor. This ranks right up there with films like MANIAC and NEVER PICK UP A STRANGER in terms of on screen skank. I'm just saddened that my Northern neighbors think so lowly of us that they called this American NIGHTMARE. I guess Canadian NIGHTMARE didn't have that ring to it.