Michael Ironside(well cast;intense, cold and calculating,scary)wishes to silence talk show host Lee Grant, whose voice inspires women and others because she stands for non-violence(this has a hint of irony when the ending comes)among other politically charged subjects. He slices her repeatedly with a knife he carries around, but isn't able to kill her. As she stays in County General Hospital to recover, Ironside will try to get to her by any means possible. This film just doesn't follow Grant's recuperation and the inner(and outward)fear her traumatizing occurrence has caused, but also Ironside as we see what has led him down his violent path and how he goes about in planning to get his target. William Shatner portrays Grant's lover and producer/boss and Linda Purl is a divorcée nurse who is a fan of Grant's and future target of Ironside as well.
We see the dogged pursuit of Ironside in the film, how he tends to his facially scarred father during visits to a ward where he stays, his collection of photographed pictures of those he murders, and those he victimizes along the way who might offer conflict in his goal of killing Grant. He is mentally traumatized by a childhood where his father abused his mother and may've sexually molested him. He ultimately wants Grant to hear his opinions(we see letters he writes to all kinds of organizations expressing his hate towards everyone)because she doesn't answer the hate mail she receives.
The film isn't perfect, but there are enough intense moments to keep slasher fans satisfied. Ironside is good and creepy as the killer which is what a slasher film really needs to work, but Grant does seem to stretch the hysteria bit too much at times. Purl is quite good in what seems to be just as much a vital role as the one Grant has.
We see the dogged pursuit of Ironside in the film, how he tends to his facially scarred father during visits to a ward where he stays, his collection of photographed pictures of those he murders, and those he victimizes along the way who might offer conflict in his goal of killing Grant. He is mentally traumatized by a childhood where his father abused his mother and may've sexually molested him. He ultimately wants Grant to hear his opinions(we see letters he writes to all kinds of organizations expressing his hate towards everyone)because she doesn't answer the hate mail she receives.
The film isn't perfect, but there are enough intense moments to keep slasher fans satisfied. Ironside is good and creepy as the killer which is what a slasher film really needs to work, but Grant does seem to stretch the hysteria bit too much at times. Purl is quite good in what seems to be just as much a vital role as the one Grant has.