Patient Seven

I sat down to watch "Patient Seven" for two reasons; the first was because this is a horror movie, and the second was because Michael Ironside was in it. And I had no idea what the movie was actually about prior to sitting down to watch it, so I had no expectations.

And as the movie came to an end, I must admit that I was genuinely entertained by what directors Danny Draven, Paul Davis, Ómar Örn Hauksson, Dean Hewison, Joel Morgan, Johannes Persson, Nicholas Peterson, Erlingur Thoroddsen and Rasmus Wassberg managed to piece together.

Each of the eight segments ("The Body", "Undying Love", "The Sleeping Plot", "Death Scenes", "Evaded", "The Visitant", "Banishing" and "Evaded") were actually equally entertaining in each their own distinct way. And that was quite some accomplishment in my opinion. And they were spun together nicely enough by a good narrative.

The acting in the segments was good, and people were really doing good jobs with their individual roles, both during the segments and also in the narrative lead up to the segments. It was nice to see an ensemble of cast putting so much effort and energy into their roles.

The special effects in the segments were good. And having good and believable special effects and CGI effects is crucial to a horror movie, as it is usually a make or break outcome. So thumbs up to the effects team for their effort on "Patient Seven".

"Patient Seven" does have some nice enough surprises and plot twists along the way. I will not reveal any of them here, because I honestly think that you should take the time to sit down and watch the movie, because it is well worth the effort.

All in all, "Patient Seven" lands a solid six out of ten stars rating from me. This is a movie that I can warmly recommend that you watch, especially if you enjoy a good horror movie that is driven by proper story lines.

Be ready to sit through 7 different stories all about monsters and the unnatural. I only liked story 4 but even that one was hard to hear due to the strong accent and no captions. I mean , if nothing else is on then I would watch this but it would not be my first pick. You might get what you want as far as being entertained elsewhere.

And why wouldn't I? Sure, it wasn't the most original out there, and it went the multiple story type, but hey, it was well executed, decent effect and quite lovely actors.

Ironside is one of the oldies actors I really appreciate and apparently the man still has it, can perform just right, make you believe, if you give him a decent enough script he will play his part just right. The plot itself is good, I loved the way the stories were told, I think some of the monsters looked quite nicely and some tension made its appearance here and there.

Patient Seven will most likely remain an unknown horror, but those of you which will find it, go for it, it's far better than most productions nowadays, and it surely made the best of its budget. I for one will recommend it!

Cheers!

With the inclusion of an absolutely stellar performance by Alfie Allen, Michael Ironside knocks it out of the park. This is a very solid 8/10 and impressive for featuring other actors and directors I have never heard of before - and it works. Alfie Allen is mesmerizing in his role and if they decide to expand on his story-line I am sure they will have a solid hit on their hands. Michael Ironside is quintessentially a good actor. You can't take your eyes off of him for each subtle eyebrow twitch speaks volumes. Well done, folks. I don't want to give away any of the story-lines, but the way the plot weaves in and out of context to suddenly be brought hard back into focus is astounding. If you get a chance to see this take it.

The movie starts out like a cool story: we have a big shot doctor who is tackling every patient in this run-down mental institution. We have good actors, some more known than others, but even the lesser known actors do a good job here. The visuals and SFX are very good. The colors, lights, grading, sound effects, special effects, gore. It's all there. So why the 4/10 score?

The movie lacks everything else. It lacks the SSS: Sense, substance and scares.

This review is chaotic, I know, but still not as chaotic and rushed as this film was. The movie doesn't know if it wants to be a comedy, horror, sci-fi, drama. It just goes in circles and never seems to fit anywhere.

I honestly wanted it to end halfway through, but once it ended I was even more like "seriously.....?" Nope. That's not how you end a (boring) movie.

Don't watch it. Just let it be.

If you want scares, turn off the lights, put your headphones on and rent The Babadook.