Patrick (1979)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Excellent adaptation.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Australia isn't exactly a country well known for its horror cinema – yet during a period running from the late '70s to the early '80s, it was responsible for a fair few unusual and atypical gems that are mostly forgotten about today. The likes of PATRICK, DEATH WARMED UP, RAZORBACK, THE SURVIVOR, THIRST, and ROAD GAMES were all not-bad movies with a distinctive look and feel to them – the Australian vibe, perhaps. PATRICK is one of the best-known of these movies, a comatose variant on CARRIE or perhaps THE FURY. It's a slow burner film that's far more about mood and atmosphere rather than gory effects, so British customers who find this release on the 'Hard Gore' label are likely to be disappointed by the complete lack of gruesomeness on display. The false advertising is a shame, because this is actually a very effective film that works through subtlety alone.I watched THE STEPFORD WIVES around the same time as this and I was impressed by the similarity between the two films. Both are matter-of-fact, detailing the daily lives of the lead characters and yet incorporating elements of the bizarre that keep the reader hooked. Of the two, I think PATRICK has the edge. It's a deeply unsettling film that works through the power of suggestion, and the way the filmmakers hold back on the set-pieces rather than going over the top somehow makes them all the more effective. In fact, this is more a romance film than a horror, as for the most part it details the telekinetic bloke's obsession with lovely nurse Susan Penhaligon. Penhaligon is fine in a fairly simple role to play – it's easy to get us on side sympathetically – and it's great to see her as the lead for once. However, the film really belongs to Robert Thompson, who plays the titular character. For 99% of the film he's consigned to a bed, comatose and unblinking, and very effective he is too, performing through his wide, unseeing eyes alone .A supporting cast adds to the fun, with both Rod Mullinar and Bruce Barry good value as the macho guys competing for Penhaligon's attention. Dancer Robert Helpmann steals his scenes as the chief doctor whose experiments with electro-shock therapy lead to disaster. Director Richard Franklin deserves kudos for creating such a suspenseful, enthralling movie, chiefly on just a single set. Plus this has one of the greatest 'jump' moments at the climax that I've ever witnessed in a film, even more jumpy than the one at the end of CARRIE. Good stuff!

Another cult classic from the land of Australia. This is a good one to have on the shelf of your movie collection, but it'll probably collect a fair bit of dust. It is good but a bit boring. It seems to drag on for too long until the ultimate climax. Patrick proves to be interesting and new but fails a few too many times along it's way for the quest. Good enough for a one watch trick, but anything after that might as well just skip to the last 20 or so minutes. Interesting and surprisingly original with its concepts and also relatively well made considering its budget. Not Australia's best, but a good cult classic to have in your ultimate, but not essential, collection of movies.

This movie is very slow burner, it's take time to build up creepy feel to the movie,Patrick sure did look really creepy and very scary at times even without moving! I loved all the strange things he was doing to the others people in the movie, I thought was really good effect for the time. I loved the way the movie ended, in one of the last scenes of the movie, I didn't see that coming but it did make Jump from my Chair. Great story, Great effects and great acting from the whole castLooked at trailer for remake, Guy who playing Pat dose not look as scary and looks two young that this part.!

I finally had the chance to watch PATRICK and I'm glad I did. I had heard about it a few times, in a way that got me interested. I knew it had a certain cult-status, so I made sure I didn't know too much about it before seeing it. I recommend everybody who hasn't seen it yet to do the same, that way the movie will have its maximum impact. So, you guessed it, I liked it a lot and think it's an effective creepy little horror/thriller. The only thing you need to know about the story is that it's about a young man, Patrick, who's in a coma for several years and for reasons unexplained. Also bare in mind that before he slipped into a coma, Patrick viciously killed his mother and her lover... just in case you start feeling sorry for the poor lad at one point or another. You might wanna stop reading now, 'cause you do not need to know more.I think that when you consider PATRICK was released in 1978, it truly was a suspenseful little shocker. I can understand that some may find it too slow or even boring, but I personally don't mind slowly building up tension in this type of movies. I simply loved the fact that this movie carefully gives hints to the viewer about the fact that Patrick has acquired all sorts of psychokinetic powers throughout his comatose-years. And you sometimes can see him as a helpless child, then again as a cunning psychopath. This movie at one point, also raises some thoughts about the moral issues concerning euthanasia. But then leaves those questions behind when you start wondering whether it are the machines who keep Patrick alive, or it is Patrick who controls the machines. Also, the tension throughout this movie is sharp as a knife, 'cause you're constantly waiting for Patrick to move, and when he does, it truly is a terrifying sight.You can tell this was shot on a low budget but it still looks okay. The acting was even pretty decent (thanks to a good, unknown cast, 'cause otherwise this movie would have failed miserably). I especially liked Susan Penhaligon as Kathy and of course Robert Thompson as creepy Patrick. Robert Helpmann was very unlikeable as the sadistic Dr. Roget. The same goes for Helen Hemingway as the hateful head-nurse Williams. There isn't really any gore in this movie and the few make-up effects are not so well-done. However this movie does something that's simply unthinkable in nowadays cinema and will make several animal-rights activists go foaming at the mouth. At one point Dr. Roget actually pierces a real living frog's brains, hereby killing it. Then he joyfully runs electricity through its carcass to see it jump again (but he eventually gets what he deserves when he is seen eating those same frogs under the mental influence of... Patrick). Pretty sick, if you ask me.On a curious note, I suspect no-one less than Quentin Tarantino having seen and liking PATRICK. Because in KILL BILL Uma Thurman's character's also in a coma AND spits at unsuspecting bystanders. It might be far-fetched, but those are the only two movies I've seen that have such a character, and considering Tarantino is such a real movie-buff...PATRICK is an Australian movie that wasn't too successful after all and highly under-appreciated if you ask me, so the bigger surprise it was that, all of the sudden two years later, an unofficial sequel was made in Italy, PATRICK VIVE ANCORA, which differs immensely from the original. But that, my friends, is a completely different story, and you may not wanna go there...