Patrick - Evil Awakens

"Patrick" was actually a rather interesting movie. Having read the synopsis and seen that Charles Dance was in this movie, then it just seemed like the type of horror movie that you need to watch.

The storyline in the movie is what makes "Patrick" interesting, because it does have some nice aspects to it. Now, the movie wasn't particularly scary as per se, but there was a fulfilling storyline that was coherent and well-thought through.

There was something dark and brooding to the entire movie, perhaps it was the atmosphere of the old house that the movie was shot it. I don't know. But it worked out quite nicely.

The story in "Patrick" is about nurse Kathy (played by Sharni Vinson) who comes to work for Dr. Roget (played by Charles Dance) and his daughter Cassidy (played by Rachel Griffiths) at a secluded house where the doctor is running unauthorized and experimental treatments on comatose and braindead patients, trying to bring life back into their minds. The patient Patrick turns out to harbor a dark secret that quickly puts Kathy in a life or death situation.

I will say that the people on the cast list were doing good jobs, and the characters were really nicely portrayed and detailed, which really helped the movie along quite nicely.

However, I was missing more scares and generally a more spooky movie, and as such then I am rating "Patrick" a 5 out of 10 stars.

I never saw the original one so I can only review this one without comparison. I see that the first one gets much more stars so I might watch that one as well in the future because I already liked this remake. The whole movie was not boring at all like many other horror movies. Instead I thought the storyline was well intriguing and it keeps the audience interested during the whole movie. All the actors were fine to me, nobody bothered me at all. Charles Dances as doctor Roget gave a good performance as usual. The music and sound was perfect for the suspense. Definitely a good horror/thriller to watch on a cold dark evening.

I watched the original 1978 Patrick for the first time the other day to prepare for the remake. It was rather boring, but had that certain vague 1970s creepy charm that kept me from turning it off. I watched the 2013 remake today and was equally bored. Production values are higher this time, but this version is full of stupid CGI and annoying false scares punctuated by a shrill, awful soundtrack.

The cast are OK, although the original 1978 actor who played Patrick was far superior than the new guy who looks like a gay male model. Charles Dance is normally a wonderful actor but given nothing to do beyond a bland rehash of every other villain he's ever played. Rachel Griffiths is horribly boring as the Matron (as with Patrick himself, the 1978 original actor was much better and creepier).

The script is the main problem, just like the threadbare original. The idea of a comatose telekinetic pervert possessed by erotomania for his nurse is an interesting idea, but it's never fully developed. There's too much else going on that takes away from that relationship.

To be honest, I saw the 1980 Italian pseudo-sequel, Patrick Still Lives (aka Patrick Vive Ancora), a few years ago, and I found that ridiculous gorefest much more fun than either the original or remake. It's worth a watch just for the levitating fireplace poker scene! Another Italian film that rips off Patrick (and is full of gore) is Lucio Fulci's Aenigma.

The nurse Kathy Jacquard (Sharni Vinson) travels to an isolated psychiatric clinic seeking a new job to forget her former boyfriend Ed Penhaligon (Damon Gameau). She is interviewed by the chief of the nurses Matron Cassidy (Rachel Griffiths) and by Doctor Roget (Charles Dance) and he asks Cassidy to hire her. Kathy befriends Nurse Williams (Peta Sergeant) that introduces her friend Brian Wright (Martin Crewes) to her.

Kathy feels attracted by the comatose patient Patrick (Jackson Gallagher), who is the guinea pig in cruel and unethical experiments of Dr. Roget. She also learns that Patrick actually feels the external stimulus inflicted by Dr. Roget. Further she finds a means to communicate with Patrick and soon she discovers that he has the power of telekinesis. Kathy decides to help Patrick that becomes obsessed for her. Patrick uses his ability to harm and kill everyone close to Kathy and she realizes that he is an evil threat that must be destroyed. Will it be possible?

"Patrick" is an average horror movie with a story that entwines a mad scientist in a hospital with telekinesis. The plot recalls those movies from the 70's and 80's and I found that it is a remake of an unknown 1978 Australian flick. This movie entertains but is absolutely forgettable. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Patrick, O Despertar do Mal" ("Patrick, The Awakening of the Evil")

I don't know why so many filmmakers fail to grasp the concept that sometimes less is more.

This remake of "Patrick" is a good example. The whole movie has an amateurish look, simply due to the use of a color filter to give it a 'dark', 'greyish' atmosphere. It just looked ridiculously fake. As did the rain filter, the CGI lift shaft shot, the car headlights and so on.

Editing was terrible too. As a matter of fact, everything about this movie was bad, the exception being Pino Donaggio's score (which was not great either, but at least acceptable).

As for the cast, Charles Dance does what he can, but the poorly written screenplay does not help things much.

And don't even get me started on the final jump 'scares'...