Charming and brutal

Absolutely brilliant

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The first must-see film of the year.

The cute and appealing Susan Penhaligon ("The Land That Time Forgot") plays Kathy Jacquard, a young woman returning to work as a nurse. She comes to a private hospital where the title character (Robert Thompson, "Thirst") has been in a coma for three years. (He'd murdered his trampy mother and a lover of hers, before lapsing into his current state.) Despite misgivings from her boss (Robert Helpmann, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang") and supervisor (Julia Blake, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"), she finds herself attached to Patrick, and reaching out to him. Soon it becomes apparent that he CAN sense her presence, and has fallen in love with her. However, he has incredibly powerful psychokinetic powers that constantly manifest themselves in and outside the hospital."Patrick" isn't without some flaws, but overall it emerges as an interesting and largely absorbing story with some bonkers moments. Obviously it's done on some sort of budget, keeping special effects to a minimum and mostly concentrating on plot and performance. Since it runs an hour and 53 minutes in its most complete version, it's too drawn out to be totally effective, not always staying on point. Some viewers can describe it as "cheesy" or "tacky", but it does succeed at being creepy often enough to overlook its lesser aspects. One element that stuck in this viewers' head for years is the way that Patrick makes spitting sounds - once for yes, twice for no - when acknowledging Kathy's questions.Much effectiveness is due to Thompson, in his film debut. He has the hardest job among the cast, having to lie there for most of the films' duration and not react to other actors in the room. He certainly has a look that helps to make him quite memorable.But the whole cast is fine: Ms. Penhaligon, Mr. Helpmann, Ms. Blake, Rod Mullinar as Kathy's amiable estranged husband Ed, Bruce Barry as inquisitive doctor Brian Wright, Helen Hemingway as Kathy's co-worker Sister Williams, Maria Mercedes as a high strung nurse, Walter Pym as aged and senile Captain Fraser, and Frank Wilson as a detective.The film further benefits from impressive camera work and capable direction by Hitchcock protege Richard Franklin, who as we all know went on to make the surprisingly worthy first sequel to "Psycho". And it can boast another lovely music score by that great Aussie composer Brian May.Even if you're not overly impressed with the film in general, you will want to stick it out for THAT ending.Seven out of 10.

After the phenomenal success of Brian DePalma's Carrie (1976), telekinesis was used as a device for the horror genre in a number of films, including The Spell (1977), The Fury and The Medusa Touch (both 1978). Also released in 1978, this little-known Australian inclusion to the genre, Patrick, uses the titular character in a totally unique way than all others. Patrick (Robert Thompson) spends the entire film static in a hospital bed, his eyes wide open, starring consistently forward - very creepy. In the opening, we see Patrick's mother cavorting with a man she just met in her bath. Patrick walks in with an electric fire and throws it into the water. three years since this event, Patrick has been in a coma.Set in a contemporary hospital setting, the ward for catatonic patients has its sisters and matron, Matron Cassidy (Julia Blake) hires English girl, Kathy (Susan Penhaligon), who becomes Patrick's personal nurse. As she spends more time with him, he begins to communicate, first through spitting, then, he speaks through a type-writer. As Kathy's personal life becomes intertwined with Patrick's emotions, he begins hurting the people around her that have upset her, including her ex-husband and the Matron.It's an interesting, if slightly ludicrous idea, that has been well executed by first-time horror director, Richard Franklin, who went on to direct firstly in Hollywood, with Psycho II (1983), and then in the United Kingdom with Link (1986). The relationship between Kathy and Patrick do also display some charming moments of pathos, but the film also has its moments of humour (some unintentional), particularly with Doctor Roget. Played by Robert Helpmann (many will remember him as the horrific Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), he seems to be possessed at moments by the madness of Kinski, with his wild obsession with the titular patient. Worth it for Helpmann alone, but nevertheless a genuinely exciting film, raising subtly issues around euthanasia.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Patrick is one of a rare breed- the psychological horror film. It's said that this was meant as a tribute to Richard Franklin's favorite director, Alfred Hitchcock. Some of Hitchcock's movies were boring to me personally, but none of them were as absurd as this. Partly focusing on the suspense of the plot, but mainly meant to be an interesting character study, this is a misguided and confused film. I can't be the only person on Earth who went into this movie with one expectation from the characters, only to find things spin around at their own whim.Patrick is about a young man who kills people with his psychic abilities. Not many though, because this wasn't intended to be a brutal slasher film with creative deaths. It's more about the fate of the victims in relationship to their killer. Patrick is an ominous figure who is unbelievably creepy (credit the movie there) and takes advantage of his power to move objects, causing major chaos in many ways. That makes him an antagonist. Yet, the film will then switch its' loyalty and try and paint Patrick as a victim. That the people he is attacking in the last 35-40 minutes of the film are only people who are a threat to him, physically. I can't be the only person who is annoyed by that.Another example is the character of Matron Cassidy. She performs her own patented "shock test" on Kathy by listing types of social outcasts whom she claims are attracted to working in a hospital. The moment she added "lesbians" to her list of evil or mentally sick people, I had no sympathy for her and she was on my hate list. Another antagonist in the movie. She's a troubled woman, no doubt in my mind. Then halfway through the movie, suddenly she challenges Kathy on the subject of euthanasia. A subject I strongly support because I believe people are the only "God" we'll ever see during our time on Earth. Who agrees with me? The homophobic Matron agrees with me, suddenly Kathy is the religious one with the foolish point of view (in my mind).Is there any explanation for this film's obsession with lying about characters? Why does it make one statement about a person, then completely backtrack over it like it can be easily erased? It's not as though they hid something. What it is is that they switched it. That's basically hypocrisy. This is a pointless, infuriating film. Maybe there was a point to it that I missed. Somewhere between Patrick's erection being a point of interest to the filmmakers, and his jealousy over his nurses and their lovers first being something spiteful, then turning into something supposedly beautiful and poetic by the final scene. If you can figure this out, best of luck to you!Looking at the film on a much more superficial level, it's a good piece of art. The music score is very pretty. The cast is incredible, everyone does a marvelous job. Susan Penhaligon is an insanely beautiful woman, with (excluding Patrick) amazing taste in men. Julia Blake as Matron Cassidy turns in an astounding performance, one of the reasons I really hated her was how powerful she was. Very intimidating, a good choice to play an authoritative character. Visually, the film is very attractive. It takes place in what I have to assume is the late spring into early summer. Cool winds, breezes, warm locations. My favorite scene of the film involves an incredibly awesome strobe effect (can never have too much of that in movies). Looking at it in a more strict capacity- it's not dignified enough as a drama. It's not dangerous enough as a horror film. It's too crude and frankly, too lame to be legitimately psychological. It's not compelling. Plenty suggestive. But not compelling.In many ways, this movie is a perfect enigma. So much of it doesn't make sense. My advice: just don't expect or assume anything. Play it by ear. I enjoyed certain scenes, others fascinated me (only to have the movie twist the characters and anger me in doing that). Some scenes were utterly laughable, unintentionally. One outright sent a chill down my spine.

"Patrick" of 1978 is a slow-paced yet effective and weird little Austalian Horror film, that often seems like a drama more than a supernatural thriller. It is not an easy film to rate, but it sure was something completely different than I had expected before I first saw this. While I had expected to see a blood-soaked slasher, "Patrick" turned out to be a quite calm and slow-paced, but nonetheless eerie Thriller with a surprisingly elaborate plot...Kathy (Susan Penhaligon), a young nurse who lives separated from her husband, finds a job in a mental hospital. As usual for new nurses, Kathy is assigned to care for Patrick (Robert Thompson), a sinister young comatose patient with an unholy past. While Patrick's only activity is his occasional spitting, the comatose man seems strangely alive...While the film will probably not keep you on the edge of your chair in fear from the beginning to the end, it certainly delivers a certain tense and eerie atmosphere. This is not your film if you're looking for tons of blood and gore. To my surprise, "Patrick" was almost gore-less. Nevertheless, this film is definitely worth watching, both for its original storyline, and its eerie mood. The acting performances are good, though in no way outstanding. While Susan Penhaligon fits well in her role, I can't say that her performance impressed me. Robert Halperman and Julie Blake are very convincing in their roles, and even though the role may not call for the greatest acting skills, I must say that Robert Thompson was genuinely creepy as the eponymous character. There are two different scores for this version, one by Brian May for the Australian version, and one by Goblin for the European version. Even though European, my DVD (unfortunately) contains the Brian May score. Unfortunately, since as a hardcore fan of Italian Horror, Goblin-scores have become some of my favorite film soundtracks (and some of my favorite music to listen to). I will happily watch the movie again with the Goblin score, however. "Patrick" may be a bit too slow-paced at times. Especially the strong focus on Kathy's private troubles is a bit superfluous. Nevertheless, this is an interesting little Horror film that true genre-fans will not regret watching. Especially recommendable for the eerie atmosphere! 6/10