Patchwork

A simple trip to a local bar for three women turns into a nightmarish scenario for three young women in the new Frankenstein-esque new film Patchwork.

Jennifer, Ellie and Madeleine couldn't be more different from each other. Jennifer is the straight laced business woman who wears pantsuits. Ellie is the blonde bombshell whose naivety often gets her in trouble. And Madeleine is a quiet freakish kind of girl. But on one night the three find themselves in the same drinking establishment and before morning they will be hacked, sewn and strung together to make a single character out of the best body parts each subject had to offer.

Upon awakening on the operating table the creature that has been Frankensteined attempts to gain control of their individual joints and body parts allowing them movement. The process is harder than can be expected as each personality of each girl controls parts of the new body. But escape it does and alone with the three voices in its head, the creature attempts to put the pieces together as to how, why and most importantly, who is responsible for their horrid creation.

Directed by Tyler MacIntyre based on a script by MacIntyre and Chris Lee Hill, Patchwork is a wonderfully deviant film that is rooted in Frankenstein mythology but tips its hat to cult classics such as Re-Animator and Darkman. Actresses Tory Stolper (Jennifer), Tracey Fairaway (Ellie) and Marie Blasucci (Madeleine) are perfectly cast with spellbinding chemistry resulting in many of the film's laugh out loud moments. Stolper particularly shines and is able to transform into the patchwork creature with B-movie exuberance twitching like Vincent D'Onofrio's Edgar in Men in Black as she learns how to work her new body.

The film is equally dark and humorous. The violence is almost cartoon-like but detailed enough to ensure an R-rating. And the humor is spot on as the three girls struggle to learn about each other and work together in the same consciousness. Think of Patchwork as the horror version of Pixar's Inside Out.

Cut into various chapters which take a non-linear approach to the story the film flips back and forward in time as they introduce the characters while progressing the narrative. It's a perfect device for a film whose main character is a cut and paste creation itself.

And we could not conclude any review without commenting on the stellar make-up effects in the film. The patched female creation looked as good as any make-up effect on an Oscar winning film and should be applauded to its attention to detail.

Patchwork in playing this week and the Toronto After Dark Film Festival and I can't imagine how it will not be a fan favorite at the conclusion of its screening. It was a smart, snarky funny film and should be screened by anyone who appreciates the genre.

You will love this. It has the irreverent and gleeful bloodshed and the same joyous ignorance of science fact that makes all the classic horror comedies, like the Basket Case series, work, as well as the grind-house style "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" sensibilities. Not a laugh out loud style of horror comedy, but well loaded with chuckles and appreciative groans.

Fun, and full of grue. NOT a date movie, unless your date is a fan of gallons of blood and black market medical experiments, in which case, watch away!

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.

"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.

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.

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