Patchwork

This movie is surprisingly decent. I was honestly expecting the worst (I really enjoy watching bad movies) but it wasn't as bad as I initially anticipated. The first act is not super promising, basically coming off as any other slasher/body horror film, but the tone almost immediately shifts with the reveal of the three being stitched together. The story is told in a sort of anthology or flashback type of way, going back to explain the lives of the three girls and how they ended up in the situation. The middle act begins to really pick up as the three girls begin to work together and go on a murder spree to find the person behind it all. Some of the jokes are spot on, and the majority of the performances are awesome considering the type of movie this is supposed to be. I was not expecting the twist, and the final act is awesome and fun. This may not be a top-tier movie by any means, but it is magnificently fun with some awesome gore, quips, and jokes.

"Patchwork" immediately caught my attention with its interesting and alluring movie cover/poster. I continued on to read the synopsis, and the movie still seemed to sound interesting still.

The movie starts out quite good and does prove to be quite interesting and entertaining. Well at least up until around midway or so, then the movie starts to lose its momentum and becomes somewhat of a more confusing and messy act. And it didn't really recover its former momentum and gained pacing again. And I must admit that from about halfway and to the end then my interest in the movie was fast dwindling, but I stuck with it to the end.

The concept of "Patchwork" was quite interesting, and it was a nice approach on a classic Frankenstein-story. However, the movie just didn't really stand out as being memorable. This is the type of movie that you will watch once, then am unlikely to return to it and watch a second time around.

I will say that the special effects in "Patchwork" was quite good, and there was some interesting make-up on the three young women whom were stitched together into one woman.

Tory Stolper (playing Jennifer), Tracey Fairaway (playing Ellie) and Maria Blasucci (playing Madeleine) were doing good jobs individually and together with their given roles, and they carried the movie quite nicely.

"Patchwork" is listed as a horror comedy, but there is very little elements of horror to be found in the movie, so it is more of a comedy with a pinch of horror spice added to it.

I must admit that I had somewhat higher hopes and expectations for "Patchwork" than what director and writer Tyler MacIntyre managed to deliver. As such, my rating of "Patchwork" ends on a very mediocre 5 out of 10 stars.

Before getting into the review, here are my ratings for this movie.

I give the story, 0.75 out of 2: The direction, 1.25: The pace, 0.75: The acting, 1.25: And, the enjoyment level, 0.75. These give Patchwork 4.75 out of 10.

There are two bad things about the movie. The first is that they are calling it a horror. The second is the many links to Reanimator. These are intentional as the director thanks Stuart Gordon in the credits. It wouldn't have been so bad if the correlations weren't there to sell the film. It's good to pay homage but do it more subtly.

I was okay with the glowing green reanimator fluid, which was understated in its appearance. However, the more prominent character of the surgeon is in your face. He is loud, brash, and completely ignorant, and an idiot to boot. But, you can see Herbert West just under the skin. Regrettably, the actor Corey Sorenson is not Jeffrey Coombs, and the surgeon is not Herbert West. The writer, Chris Lee Hill, along with the director, Tyler MacIntyre, should have created their own character here. Somebody more believable and less the village fool.

The story goes a step further than Reanimator in the respect that science can now recreate people as they wish... by using spare body parts. And, with the reanimation agent, there's no longer any time limit to how long a limb can last... or even if it comes from a cadaver.

So, shades of Frankenhooker here, though Frank Henenlotter doesn't receive a thank you. And, Patchwork does walk like and look like an up-to-date Frankenhooker.

It's here the story gets too clever for its own good. It would appear that the flesh holds the soul and the memories and the feelings of the owner, and not the brain. Because when the three ladies get stitched together, each of their psyches and personas remains. So now the host body has two more people to contend with. Oh, the joys of hearing these women grumble, whine, and moan about their lives. This belly-aching becomes nerve grating fast. And, for me, it lost all the humour it possessed. These segments needed to be wittier and funnier. Maybe the writers should have gone down to their local comedy club and asked an expert for help. Though looking at the trash the movie industry calls humour nowadays, all this film needed were more severed phallic members. There's one guy who enjoys his food. But, wait... What's that in his hot dog? It doesn't look like a sausage to me.

Don't get me wrong, there are some humorous moments throughout the film, but not many. The slapstick comedy segments suffer from timing and direction issues. Both of which needed reviewing and tightening.

I do have to give MacIntyre credit as there are a few scenes that work brilliantly. The first time we realise that Patchwork is three people and not one is a brilliant well thought out segue, and it's carried out in a blink of an eye. Patchwork enters her house and walks through the door into her kitchen and finds her two new personas waiting. This is a fluid transition that you may not even notice. But it is great in its simplicity and effect.

The special effects are haphazard. Sometimes the fake limbs are too floppy, and you wonder if the team had forgotten to slip the bone in, to give it stability. Then you have the great fx of the stitched face. When we first see Patchwork you can differentiate between her skin doners. Each lady has different skin tones and textures. The reveal in the mirror is shocking and beautiful. I loved this scene and effect. It's a pity that in the later scenes you know the actress is wearing a second-rate mask. The women's skin tones and textures vanish.

The acting is above average, though I would have prefered one of the other actresses to take the lead as Jennifer. Both possess better acting skills and on-screen presence. Especially, Tracey Fairaway, who plays Elle. Elle is the only character who has depth. And I believe most of her richness is due to Fairaway,

Even Corey Sorenson isn't too bad. It's a shame they took the character in the direction they did. I would have liked to have seen what he could have done with a better role.

Patchwork is more Dark Fantasy than a horror. And, I can't bring myself to call it a comedy, either...

So if you like Dark Fantasies about stitched up women with some humour thrown in, then this may be for you. I can say I'll not watch this again; I'll stick with the original Gordon films as they're all superior. The film did make me laugh... and that's always good. And, I'm glad I saw Patchworks crazy stitched face, which will stay with me for a while.

Now speed on over to my Obsidian Dreams to find out where Patchwork tripped and fell in my ratings.

Take Care & Stay Well.

Really surprising gem that I wasn't expecting! It isn't the best comedy-horror out there, but it was still pretty hilarious. It does take a little bit before it gets good, but it does get there so be patient with the beginning!

It does come in parts a little like an anthology, but it all ties together. Basically three women get sewn together using different parts of them to make a "Frankenstein-type" woman. You see segments of the final product and the hunt for the people who did this to them, but you also have segments where you see each individual woman's lives beforehand leading up to. It bounces around a bit, which is a little different. But not anything you can't keep up with.

What's great about it is all three woman are so opposite of each other, so seeing all three as one is pretty hilarious!

Definitely not over the top great, but it was a pleasant surprise with decent acting, bits of horror and lots of funny moments.

Also - Owlcat is the pet everyone needs!

It's dumb and it starts slow...but if you stick with it you'll probably be somewhere between mildly entertained and generally entertained.

Can't see anyone honestly saying this is the greatest thing they've ever seen, but I can honestly say that it's a decent time killer. You'll cringe at the stupidity. You'll roll your eyes at some of the scenes (ahem frat boys). You'll also laugh along the way, especially at the proposterousness and absurdities. And if you make it to the end, you'll probably kinda like it in an odd kind of way.

It's a strange, cheesy, corny kind of movie that never takes itself to seriously and neither should you. Watch it, enjoy it, and just let it be a dumb movie that you may in fact like.