Patrick

Patrick (1978) is a unique horror film from Australia, written by Everett De Roche who brought us three of Australia's most unusual and imaginative "exploitation" era horror films, The Long Weekend (1978) and its superb 2008 remake Nature's Grave (formerly reviewed here), Harlequin (1980), and Razorback (1984). In the 1978 film, bug-eyed Patrick is a catatonic mental hospital patient with a disturbing countenance and an even more disturbed psyche.

Through telekinesis, Patrick embarks on a one-sided romance with his pert, sympathetic caregiver, Nurse Kathy after she determines that he's not brain dead despite her administrators' claims to the contrary. How does Kathy figure this out? You must watch the movie to see it for yourself. Her strategy is surely lifted from a twisted scene in Dalton Trumbo's horrifying and controversial 1971 anti-war drama, Johnny Got His Gun.

Jealous of Kathy's paramours, and threatened by the hospital's director who has designs on him for sick experimentation, Patrick wreaks havoc by maliciously employing his special abilities. The idea isn't new; we saw it in the 1953 sci-fi movie, Donovan's Brain, based on Curt Siodmak's classic horror novel, about the possession of a scientific researcher by a willful tycoon, who exists as a brain kept alive in a laboratory tank.

In Patrick, Richard Franklin, who went on to direct Jamie Lee Curtis and Stacey Keach in the eerie Aussie, two-lane blacktop odyssey, Road Games (1981), and then brought us Psycho II (1983), does a pretty good job with this offbeat psychic concept by crafting Patrick into a straight- forward, memorable horror movie. The film was well-produced on a small budget, and despite a few flaws, withstands the test of time. Thirty six years later it's still a tensely compelling, watchable horror flick.

So why remake it?

With some exceptions, horror-movie re-dos often leave something to be desired. There have been a few good ones though. Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978) and The Thing (1982) come to mind. Without losing any of the charm of the originals, these subsequent shoots effectively capture the essences of their predecessors. New technology allowed graphic, frightening special effects. But importantly, the new versions of these films don't rely on showcasing new technology. They were made to better communicate their respective stories, and the improved production techniques enhanced, rather than replaced, solid literary devices.

Sometimes however, horror movies lose something in translation when they're updated to a modern context and to our contemporary values. To skirt the problem of predictability, filmmakers frequently alter the endings. This can be a bad idea, because the scriptwriters usually got it right the first time. Changes tend to either miss the point entirely, or lose the impact of the original.

The remake of Planet Of The Apes (1968) is a good example of a movie with a second-rate, amended climax. It simply can't compare to one of the most dramatic endings ever in American cinema, when in the 1968 film, astronaut Taylor (Charleton Heston) rounds a bend on a desolate beach and comes face to face with the wreckage of a famous idol from his past. That one, now iconic, chilling frame instantly and powerfully communicates the ironic, emotional thrust of the entire film.

Wonderfully, documentarian Mark Hartley's 2013 revamping of Patrick, entitled Patrick: Evil Awakens, is a positive departure from the trend of lame remakes. The new version is faithful to the original, but subtly tightens up the script, introducing credible character motivations, and tweaking the timing to build additional suspense. With a bigger budget and modern cinematic tools, the new Patrick is sleek, tight, and appropriately much darker and creepy. Italian horror composer Pino Donaggio whose credits include Brian de Palma's Carrie (1976) and Nic Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973) contributes a sharp, sassy score.

The refinements do Patrick justice in a way which demonstrates that Hartley is a true aficionado of the first version, and not merely going through the motions to execute a more marketable update. While this 2013 edition succumbs to a few stock conventions such as the use of dramatic orchestrations to inflate non-crucial surprises, the movie is a top- notch, general consumption chiller. Patrick: Evil Awakens is genuinely scary, rich with gloomy atmosphere and eerie tension, but free of camp, and doesn't insult your intelligence.

"Patrick" is a remake of the classic 1978 film of the same name. This updated telling of the somber, clinical horror is directed by Mark Hartley and stars Charles Dance, Rachel Griffiths, Sharni Vinson, Peta Sergeant, Damon Gameau, Martin Crewes. "Patrick" is the story of a young man in a coma who is the subject of a mad scientist's cruel and unusual experiments. When Kathy Jacquard, a young nurse, begins working at the isolated psychiatric facility under Dr. Roget, she becomes fascinated with Patrick and soon the comatose man begins showing signs of supernatural abilities.

The story in "Patrick" is a really dark, nefarious tale of mad science and extreme circumstance. "Patrick" takes on the most colorful of urban myths where cold, calculative doctors explore scientific discovery and notoriety at the behest of the helpless patient. It is the core of most nightmares surrounding hospitals, clinics and mental institutions. So "Patrick" is a story that should please any horror fan. This film offers the same evenly-paced melancholy with a bit of unease as the classic version, but the updated look and feel give more edge to the film. There isn't a big change to the story or situations in this remake generally speaking which normally would make a remake pointless and boring but with "Patrick" there is still that creepy, since of dread and chilling coldness that the original film held.

The acting in "Patrick" is pretty standard for a film with a nice enough budget. The actors are all well known from various other ventures and their ability to give life to the characters shows on screen. This film doesn't demand to much depth or complexity of character and the director doesn't offer anymore than what the original story called for which works but at times kind of gives the film that whole "going through the motions" sort of vibe. Still the actors offer believable, solid performances and the dramatic overture to their interactions presents a traditional macabre performance.

The special effects and soundtrack used in "Patrick" is tight, much like the acting, with plenty of creative gruesomeness. The kill scenes aren't as visceral as most modern horror films tend to be but they work and offer enough blood-n-guts goodness to satisfy. The suspense isn't really as strong as I would have like, especially considering it is a remake of such a notable cult classic. Maybe cause I saw the original more than once this film just seemed like a "basic" update which isn't saying anything bad about it, it just would have been nice to see the extra effort made to shock and thrill those of us who where familiar with the original-offer a modern, fresh atmosphere of fright. The soundtrack is eerie enough but still much like the shock factor it doesn't really heighten the suspenseful nature or chilling overcast of the film. That being said "Patrick" is an entertaining, creepy film that manages to breathe new life in a horror story classic.

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'...

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.

Saw this in it's limited run in Melbourne. The movie is quite strange and has just the right amount of creepy to keep you entertained for the entire running time, but I feel this should've added a prequel element to make the obsessiveness work better.

The acting was great, and the film is pretty average, but if you are into these psychological films than you'd probably enjoy it more than I did.

Sharni Vinson is great as the leading lady and new nurse at the hospital, and she always has this believability about her which is great. Rachel Griffiths was also fantastic as the head nurse and every time she popped up you wanted to find out what the deal is with her being so cold and black hearted.