THE KILLING HOUR is an American movie made in the same vein as an Italian Giallo.<br /><br />Whilst many may assume by the director's Italian name that this movie is a giallo, I can most assure them that it is not.<br /><br />The director of this movie also directed HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE. Having liked that movie and also being tempted by the attractive DVD cover depicting a gloved hand over a woman's face, I had high hopes for THE KILLING HOUR.<br /><br />How wrong I was.<br /><br />The plot of this movie is actually very interesting. A police detective and a TV show host form an unlikely alliance in tracking down the "handcuff killer". Also entering the scene is a young clairvoyant with the ability to draw pictures based on her premonitions.<br /><br />But the interesting aspect of the movie finishes here. The plot is really all that it has going for it.<br /><br />In the hands of an experienced Italian director - Dario Argento, Mario Bava or Lucio Fulci - this movie could have made a great giallo.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the movie was placed in the wrong hands and the superb concept on paper degenerates to a crashing bore on the screen.<br /><br />The director of this movie obviously failed to understand that there is more to making a giallo than just the mere presence of a glove-wearing killer, a few arrogant cops, and occasional nudity and sleaze.<br /><br />The movie is severely hampered by Mr Mastroianni's pedestrian direction that is without suspense, tension or the ability to invoke emotion.<br /><br />The few killing scenes to be found are nothing to write home about and most last too short a time to have sufficient impact upon the viewer - or even the plot for that matter!<br /><br />Without revealing spoilers, I can reveal that there is a killer in this movie - mostly unseen. But the killer shows very little threat or menace and as such it is almost impossible for the viewer to attach themselves to situations that should be tense, frightening and horrific.<br /><br />Without revealing spoilers, I can also mention the presence of another scene in this movie outside of the killings but was clearly meant to be disturbing. But even this scene lacked any impact.<br /><br />The two lead actors are incredibly bland with one-dimensional characters that can be found in any random American movie of this period.<br /><br />Kenneth McMillan basically "phones in" his performance as a police lieutenant. Believe me, he was more interesting to watch in the infinitely superior SALEM'S LOT, a movie in which he had several great scenes.<br /><br />On a positive note, Elizabeth Kemp delivers a good performance as the clairvoyant. But she is clearly restrained by a script lacking inspiration and a director lacking a coherent vision for the character.<br /><br />Overall, I do not recommend this movie at all. I would, however, advise people to see HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE because I believe the director did a much better job on this earlier effort. Or even better, check out some genuine giallos such as DEEP RED, THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE, TORSO and DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING just to name a few.