User reviews

After killing his mother and her lover by electrocution. Patrick is now in a coma, where he has been bed-ridden for the past three years in a private hospital. The reason for him being kept on life support is that the doctor in charge; Dr. Roget is using him in the experiment into exploring the territory between life and death. Kathy a new nurse arrives and the first job she is given is to look after Patrick. While, the other staff might not see it, Kathy starts to realize that Patrick has psychokinetic powers, which he uses to manipulate things to his likings.

This is one film I've always been pushing aside, but I finally took the chance and seeing a couple of favourable reviews also helped. "Patrick" I found to be an interesting genre piece that was above-average compared to most low-budget and knock-off horror flicks. But again it didn't entirely wow me altogether, but still the film really does string you along with it's slow grinding suspense and slick execution. There are some effective scenes that are illustrated with great skill, but the suspense comes mostly from the thoroughly, taut script. Which, it does comes rather thick in. If you're looking for any blood, you'll be highly disappointed as this centres around the psychological nature than anything psychical. There are some minor acts of violence with the most damaging sight being done to a frog, but it focus more so on the aftermath and rallying the suspense through the surprising developments. The subtle plot has some unique details where little hints and suggestiveness are build up in key areas. The back-story surrounding Patrick is interestingly, involving and we're given time with most of the characters. But it might be too slow for some tastes. I actually thought they could've tighten the film down from its two hour running time, because at times it did kind of linger. Director Richard Franklin also brings to the table influences from Hitchcock, but also he adds some masterstrokes to his self-assured and patient handling of the picture. The professional cinematography plays around with some sharp moving shots and on show is a multi-layered score that plunges you into the deep end. The unknown cast are more than adequate with a strong lead performance by Susan Penhaligon as Kathy and Robert Thompson's appearance is creepy when they cut to him laying in bed as the vegetable Patrick. Robert Helpmann also is decent enough as Dr. Roget and rest of the supporting cast deliver fine performances.

Overall, "Patrick" follows a familiar pattern, but its done quite well.

"Patrick" of 1978 is a slow-paced yet effective and weird little Austalian Horror film, that often seems like a drama more than a supernatural thriller. It is not an easy film to rate, but it sure was something completely different than I had expected before I first saw this. While I had expected to see a blood-soaked slasher, "Patrick" turned out to be a quite calm and slow-paced, but nonetheless eerie Thriller with a surprisingly elaborate plot...

Kathy (Susan Penhaligon), a young nurse who lives separated from her husband, finds a job in a mental hospital. As usual for new nurses, Kathy is assigned to care for Patrick (Robert Thompson), a sinister young comatose patient with an unholy past. While Patrick's only activity is his occasional spitting, the comatose man seems strangely alive...

While the film will probably not keep you on the edge of your chair in fear from the beginning to the end, it certainly delivers a certain tense and eerie atmosphere. This is not your film if you're looking for tons of blood and gore. To my surprise, "Patrick" was almost gore-less. Nevertheless, this film is definitely worth watching, both for its original storyline, and its eerie mood. The acting performances are good, though in no way outstanding. While Susan Penhaligon fits well in her role, I can't say that her performance impressed me. Robert Halperman and Julie Blake are very convincing in their roles, and even though the role may not call for the greatest acting skills, I must say that Robert Thompson was genuinely creepy as the eponymous character. There are two different scores for this version, one by Brian May for the Australian version, and one by Goblin for the European version. Even though European, my DVD (unfortunately) contains the Brian May score. Unfortunately, since as a hardcore fan of Italian Horror, Goblin-scores have become some of my favorite film soundtracks (and some of my favorite music to listen to). I will happily watch the movie again with the Goblin score, however.

"Patrick" may be a bit too slow-paced at times. Especially the strong focus on Kathy's private troubles is a bit superfluous. Nevertheless, this is an interesting little Horror film that true genre-fans will not regret watching. Especially recommendable for the eerie atmosphere! 6/10

Another cult classic from the land of Australia. This is a good one to have on the shelf of your movie collection, but it'll probably collect a fair bit of dust. It is good but a bit boring. It seems to drag on for too long until the ultimate climax. Patrick proves to be interesting and new but fails a few too many times along it's way for the quest.

Good enough for a one watch trick, but anything after that might as well just skip to the last 20 or so minutes. Interesting and surprisingly original with its concepts and also relatively well made considering its budget. Not Australia's best, but a good cult classic to have in your ultimate, but not essential, collection of movies.

I didn't know Aussies were making horror films like this in the late 70s, full of visual imagination and inventive direction. Aussie horror flicks are rare enough as it is, but genuinely good ones are a rarity, I am sad to say.

Patrick is one of the rare good ones, and it is a seriously underappreciated film. The titular character is a young man in a coma, shocked into inactivity by the death of his mother. He is, according to all medical tests, clinically dead, kept alive only by machines. The new nurse, however, thinks otherwise. Is there something going on behind that vacant face? Something evil? ...and powerful?

The first thing that struck me, mere seconds into the film, was the wonderful camera work and direction. Richard Franklin, who later went on to direct the also-underappreciated Psycho II, did an amazing job. On the topic of Psycho, it is obvious that he was a fan of Hitchcock - there are many visual tributes to Psycho and other Hitchcock films.

Made on a shoestring, as all Aussie films are, but especially horror films, it features only the most basic of optical, on-set, and make-up effects, but the way in which the cast takes them seriously lends them far more weight than they would otherwise carry.

Speaking of the cast, they are uniformly excellent, especially the sublime and sadly missed Sir Robert Helpmann - more famous for his dancing than his acting, he was never the less a greatly-respected cornerstone of 70s and 80s Australian cinema. While the rest of the cast are very good, it is Helpmann who really carries the film, exuding class and professionalism even while being flung about on strings and wrestling with a rubber axe.

Patrick is an effective thriller, which transcends its miniscule budget and makes good on its rather lofty ambitions. If you don't mind Aussie accents in your cheaply-made supernatural thrillers, I recommend it highly.

There's no area of science fiction or horror more nebulous than stories that involve "the power of the mind," and making things happen by force of will alone. It takes a delicate hand and a keen mind to shape such notions into a convincing and compelling story, and more so the less grandiose the manifestations are. As Robert Thompson's portrayal of the title character in 'Patrick' means barely moving a muscle, this movie has its work cut out for it. Between screenwriter Everett De Roche and director Richard Franklin, however, and the fine work of all others on hand, I think this becomes a fairly enjoyable viewing experience.

In and of itself the narrative isn't especially remarkable; for all Patrick's malevolence and violence, the casualties, destruction, or basic thrills we would expect of a genre flick are not so great in number. It's an enticing concept, however, one that has been borne out to terrific results elsewhere (see fellow 1978 release 'The Medusa touch') - and in my mind there's just enough subtlety and hard work shining through in this rendition that the result is commendable and worthwhile. Whether the supporting cast is given the task of fighting against an unseen force, or sharp editing and simple (but good-looking) effects are employed to depict the more easily visualized instances of Patrick's powers, the earnestness of the production is admirable. Simpler still but more clever is the instance in which Patrick's machinations mean slyly writing a character out of a fair portion of the movie. Sometimes the smallest of facets can be twisted around into something more fun.

With that said, it strikes me that both in writing and in execution it's probably individual scenes that do the most to carry the feature as it progresses. From one to the next there's sufficient variety between protagonist Kathie, other characters, and Patrick, as events progress from exposition to increasing aberrance, to keep the movie suitably interesting and fresh. From one scene to the next we see more of how Kathie is interacting with Patrick and still trying to go on with her life while the patient's ill-doings spread out, and such piecemeal focus lets both De Roche and Franklin concentrate their efforts into enriching each beat as it comes. And on that note - while the cast at large perform admirably, Susan Penhaligon has the most time on-screen and the most lines as nurse Kathie, and I think she demonstrates capable skill to command the lead role with quiet range and nuance.

'Patrick' is less than altogether spellbinding; its highest heights are probably stuck at about the mid-level of most genre fare. There's no risk of anyone confusing it for something more immediate and visceral, and even among titles similarly hanging in the mid-range of eventfulness it's right in the middle of the back. Nevertheless, there's appreciable intelligence and hard work that went into making this as moderately engrossing and satisfying as it is, and the endeavor is gratifying. There isn't necessarily a reason to go out of your way to see this, yet keeping in mind the overall tone - if you happen to come across 'Patrick,' it's a good time.

I saw this film when I was in my teens and I have to say the whole thing really freaked me out! The tuna casserole thing was very minor to what happened later; not for the faint hearted! Great performance of a very scared person by Susan Penahligon (currently residing in the 'where are they now' file).

Not sure how I would feel now watching it some 20 odd years later, might give it a whirl (probably think it's lame now)! I am sure children today would think so, after all, I was completely shocked at the age of about 14 by the sight of a guy's head exploding at the beginning of Scanners!

As others have commented, this film is a bit of a love story that delves into the area of psychic phemonena, in particular psychokinesis and, though it isn't overtly expressed, astral projection.

The title character, Patrick, is a patient in a private, long-term care facility. He's been in a seemingly irreversible vegetative state for three years, the result of psychological trauma experienced after the murder of his mother and her lover. Kathy is a new nurse at the facility who's main responsibility is the care of Patrick. She refuses to accept that he is unaware of his surroundings and repeatedly attempts to communicate with him. Spending long periods of time at his bedside she develops a bond with him, and it is soon revealed that he develops an even stronger bond with her.

The well-written story progresses very slowly but the performances are quite strong. There was not much "action" in this film, nor were there many special effects...yet as a psychodrama I suppose they weren't necessary. I found this film to be riveting. It easily drew me in, despite the lack of thrills one would expect in horror films. I was disappointed that there weren't many surprises, although truth be told as the film drew to its close there was one scene that was eerily unsettling and another scene where I literally jumped out of my skin (and that does not happen often). So all-in-all I enjoyed this movie.

I've been an avid fan of horror films for over 30 years, yet somehow I'd never heard of this one until a few days ago. I particularly enjoy films that do not rely on graphic violence, nudity and the use of four-letter words. In such films the writing, acting and directing is what categorizes them as great or awful. Though this film isn't one of the greats, it's not one of the worst films ever made either. I'm glad that I came across it, and I recommend it to any fan of horror.

Any movie that begins with multiple penis shots is fine with me!

(And WOW, this was rated PG. I've actually seen a handful of PG movies around that time with full frontal male nudity. Handful. Heh.)

While I'm running out of new-to-me and modern horror movies, I'm branching out to the old scary films I've never even heard of to get my fix. This one was NEVER on my radar and it was...just okay.

Usually the older ones - this is from 1978 - are much creepier, just because how they're made or the lowest of low budgets. That mostly always fit in to their benefit. Works on me. And it did here sometimes.

Basically, no spoilers as this is the setup, premise and takes place in the first 3 minutes, Title Character kills his mum and lover and then proceeds to spend the next 3 years in a comatose state when we reenter the story with a new nurse hired to care for him. In those 3 years, he's developed more skills that don't require sight, hearing, feeling...and everyone's gonna pay for it!

Sorry, I was trying to be funny with that last bit and be overdramatic.

The movie was well shot and mostly well-acted, I mean the Title Character has to remain still for his scenes and his eyes wide open, à la Clockwork Orange, or unlike the other Kubrick flick...Eyes Wide Shut. It seemed intelligently written and had some purpose, but had far too many missed opportunities. Plus, it was SUPER long at almost 2 hours. (Amazon must've had a director's cut. I watched a 112-minute version, but IMDb has this listed at 96 minutes. Dang. I wish I watched that version. Might have been tighter and all the fat cut out.)

Still, it's watchable and creepy enough for an old-school horror feel us junkies need to get high from, from time to time.

***

Final thoughts: This isn't even my type of horror movie: The Supernatural. BUT I did like the poster so much and I don't mind telekinesis so much. It's the ghost stories I really don't favor 80% of the time.

One patient has been in a coma for 4 years , after the creepy killing of his parents . He is confined to a hospital , his only action being his involuntary spitting ; later on , a new nurse comes to work on his floor and he begins to exhibit psychic powers . As Patrick suddenly using his psychic powers he comes in contact with . He starts by sending his messages on a nernearby typewriter but gets violent when he perceives certain people as his contenders , then executing a bloody revenge , ensuing a blood feast . The comatose hospital patient harasses and kills through his powers of telekinesis to claim his private nurse as his own , as he seems to be to manipulate events in her life . One by one, continuing an aggressive behavior , the visitors and enemies meet trouble. Does Patrick have feelings? . Patrick is Nearly Dead ... And Still He Kills!.Some people thought he was crazy, He appeared to be deaf, dumb and blind, None of them knew of the sixth sense: The power of PATRICK'S mind!.Patrick doesn't need his body anymore. He'll scare the hell out of you. Acclaimed by moviegoers and critics everywhere!.Patrick has a way with people. His way. Or else. The Ozploitation killer-in-a-coma classic!

Thunderously overwhrought pile of Grand Guignol horror and displaying a lot of destruction , slaughter, mayhem , poltergeister with his considerable telekinesis talents . The plot is well known , plain and simple : a young has secret amazing powers to move things with her mind , and making her angry could prove to be deadly . Some of violence but nothing really bloody . Acceptable main and support cast . Susan Penhaligon is fine as a pretty young nurse just separated from her husband who senses Patrick is communicating with her , as well as the veteran Robert Helpmann as the harassed doctor. And Robert Thompson as the young Patrick laying comatose in a small private hospital while giving a unsettling and disturbing appearance . Followed by an exploitation and inferior sequel : Patrick vive ancora 1980 by Mario Landi with Sacha Pitoëff , Gianni Dei , Mariangela Giordano, Carmen Russo .

It contains moving musical score by Brian May , as well as atmospheric Cinematography by Donald McAlpine , both of whom to develop a long career in Australia and Hollywood. This Suspense Thriller was regular but professionallly directed by Richard Franklyn . This third movie "Patrick" was a nifty horror feature that proved to be a big international success; it won the won the Grand Prize at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival, was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Film, and won the Best Director Award at the Sitges-Catalonian International Film Festival. His another terror film "Roadgames" was a tense and witty "danger on the road" thriller knockout which was the most expensive Australian film made in the early 80s. Franklin then did the surprisingly solid and satisfying belated sequel "Psycho II." His other movies include the delightful "Cloak and Dagger," the silly "Link," and the hugely enjoyable "F/X 2." However, Franklin became weary of Hollywood studio politics and returned to his native Australia. He made the acclaimed play adaptations "Hotel Sorrento" and "Brilliant Lies." "Hotel Sorrento" won an AFI Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for both Best Film and Best Director. Franklyn has made various fine terror and thriller movies : Patrick , road games , visitors , FX II and TV series as Beastmaster , Fastland , Lost world , among others . Rating : 6/10. Passable and acceptable.

In Patrick, nurse Susan Penhaligon's job description is just that. She's put in charge of the care of a comatose patient named Patrick who is surviving on life support. Terri Schiavo was hale and hearty next to him.

But what the people in charge don't know, but Susan Penhaligon comes to suspect is that while Patrick's other senses are shutting down, he's developing that sixth sense, Extra Sensory Perception. Things start going bump in the night around Patrick. But worse than that Patrick can still feel and he's falling in love with Penhaligon. And he's a guy who tolerates no rivals around especially Rod Mullinar who is Penhaligon's estranged husband.

Patrick is a low budget Australian horror film that was shot in and around Melbourne with an Aussie cast. A few more production values could have helped, but the players are fine. Pay particular note to Julia Blake who plays the matron in charge of the hospice who hires Penhaligon against her will. Her character is a ripoff of the infamous Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

It's probably not fair to judge Patrick by USA film standards, the Aussie film industry was just coming into its own in the Seventies. Patrick did get nominated for their version of the Oscar. Still it could have used a little more polish.

FINALLY! The complete Australian language version of Richard Franklin's gem from 1978!

An enigmatic young man kills his mother, then somehow winds up in a coma in a private hospital. Enter the pretty young nurse who discovers Patrick has capabilities no one seems to know about, or want to admit they know about. For those that are thrill seekers, this film is not a fast-paced, action-packed story. BUT, for those of us that appreciate characters over wild thrills and enjoy careful buildups to a final reveal, this one is nicely done. There IS a reason it was an initial success and has gained a big cult following; people understood Franklin's intentions.

Sure, Patrick is not grand "cinema," but it's a nice mystery/love story with great performances, a keen sense of humour ("self-referential humour" as it has been described), and some rather strong adult content & nudity for what was supposed to be a PG-rated film, even in the altered version for American audiences back in 1978. I first saw it theatrically and was surprised by its content, but appreciated the homages to Hitchcock (which Franklin carefully points out in many scenes on the DVD's commentary track), and Brian May's score has a nice hermann-esque feel (I'm a proud owner of this score on vinyl). I was only disappointed that it was dubbed with American actors, which dummies down a film -- just take a peek at the dubbed version of Anatomy (aka Anatomie). Finally seeing this film in the original Australian language version on DVD made me like this film a lot more 25 years later.

While this film is not extremely original, it still provides enough intrigue for those who look deeper into films that the general public would brush off. Patrick could be considered an acquired taste, so those who are familiar with it and liked it will find the Elite DVD a very satisfying purchase and a nice surprise to see it in its original form. Others be warned, you might stick with more familiar "blockbuster hits." But realize, when films are pushed as "the hottest releases," you know something might be lacking and that it's processed for mass-friendly consumption. At least the Australian audiences did accept this film back then, and it won recognition. I'd like to think I was one of the Americans that understood why they found this film to be so great!

Carrie meets Tommy, and it has a mean and nasty streak underlying it (certainly one where our heroine is emotionally oppressed by many men, and Matron Cassidy), and director Richard Franklin has a particular knack for staging and filming suspsnese set pieces. I wanted it to be... Bloody, frankly. This winds up at least a few good attacks and kills as Patrick uses his comakinesis on those who either may try to kill him or come close to the lovely nurse who gave him a woody by chance, but then it cuts away when it's about time for that big cathartic bang.

Penhaligon is a sympatbdtic lead, if a little two dimensional in portraying this character (maybe the writing can only do so much), and Robert Thompson has one of the great faces of evil in modern cinema. And if you are in the mood for a film that is a little more slow-going it has a few moments where it gets a pulse (an amusing thought given the subject). Maybe its a thing of expectations being a bit skewed; take away the bits of nudity or a "bad" word or two and this could be a PG13 or even PG horror movie. The best thing about it is that it means business when it comes to its moral horror, how men subjugate and try/succeed to control even when they are in a damn coma. I just wish the exploitation elements matched up to that.

I think that some commentators expected far too much from this movie. For a "no-budget" film, you can't expect great special effects. Look at how much "Twilight Zone" achieved on a tiny budget; what a caning it got from "the critics", and then look at its popular success.

I see much the same here. After all, the only "special effect" really required was the typewriter typing all by itself! Weird it is - but then it's supposed to be. And slow, too: isn't that the whole point of a "suspense" movie?

In my opinion, it builds on its initial premise (the development of "mental" powers when physical ones don't exist) reasonably well, and achieves its objectives quite well. It's not "Star Wars" or even "Sixth Sense", but it never intended to be.

Kathie Jacquard (Susan Penhaligon) following a separation from her husband Ed (Rod Mullinar) takes a job at the Roget clinic headed by Dr. Roget (Robert Helpmann). Under the strict and watchful eye of supervisor Matron Cassidy (Julia Blake), Kathie takes care of the patients at the clinic including a comatose man named Patrick (Robert Thompson). As time rolls on, Kathie begins to notice begins to notice Patrick communicating with her by spitting (once for yes, twice for no) and channeling words into her typewriter but only in her presence and refusing to exhibit for anyone else. Patrick's abilities extend to manifestations of telekinesis that wreak havoc on both Kathie's life and the men inside it.

Born in Australia, director Richard Franklin attended University of Southern California alongside the likes of George Lucas, John Carpenter, and Robert Zemeckis. An afficionado of the style and works of Alfred Hitchcock, Franklin had the opportunity to meet his mentor when he arranged a screening of Rope (1948) and became good friends with Hitchcock thereafter. After directing some local Ausie television work, Franklin directed both the low budget sex comedy Eskimo Nell and softcore porno Fantasm which were successful enough though Franklin doesn't consider them "his" films. The success if his low budget high return work enabled him to get support for Patrick which would be the first of a number of collaborations between director Franklin and screenwriter Everett De Roche. The movie was not a success in its native Australia, but did find more success internationally including in the United States and gave Franklin the clout to produce follow up Roadgames as well as secured him the job of directing Psycho II. Patrick is the kind of movie where you can see a director's identity being forged, but with that comes the evitable rough spots that come with an initial debut.

Franklin and De Roche do a good job of establishing mood, character, and atmosphere as a way of compensating for the fact they're working on a tight budget. Susan Penhaligon makes a sympathetic lead with her troubled domestic situation leading to harsh judgments and whispers from the hospital staff as well as the judgmental Matron Cassidy. There's also some strong build up with Patrick played by Robert Helpmann who despite being comatose is intimidating with his eyes wide opened through much of the movie and his "spitting". The gradual reveal of Patrick's abilities is pretty well handled and despite the limited effects work we do get a strong sense of Patrick's strengths and abilities.

What doesn't work as well is the pacing and structure. Apparently the initial length of De Roche's script was a whopping 250 pages (and to give you an idea, general rule is 1 page=1 minute of screentime) and even with Richard Franklin trimming it down and making the film more streamlined it still feels really stretched and padded at its just under two hour runtime. There's a character named Dr. Brian Wright played by Bruce Barry and his existence feels like a pretty extraneous element all things considered, it feels like he's set up as a love interest/ally but he's basically tossed aside at the end of the second act in favor of setting up her separated husband instead, I think the movie also does a disservice by showing the opening scene of Patrick killing his mother and her lover and feel like that maybe would have been better situated being revealed to her in the third act. Patrick's motivations for what he's doing are solid enough, but there's not much building to the big reveal and because Patrick is mute he never really feels like a fully formed antagonist. The Medusa Touch was released the same year as Patrick and also focused on a person with Telekenesis, but we got a greater sense of who Richard Burton's character was in that movie and Burton being a more commanding presence in general made for a richer antagonist.

Patrick despite not landing completely is a strong showcase for the talents of director Richard Franklin and screenwriter Everett De Roche. There's a strong sense of style behind the camera with Franklin trying to emulate the Hitchcokian style, and De Roche creates rich characters and conflicts that do engage the viewer, the only thing holding them back is the "roughness" that comes with the emergence of any talent. While it's not perfect, it is a strong debut for promising talents.

When I first saw this movie it was on late night tv, I was about 10 years old, it scared the crap out of me and those eyes have stayed with me forever! :)

Its very Australian in its look and feel and has a sense of innocence or simplicity compared to how we live today.

The story is well told, feasible (compared to Elm St and co) and creepy.

But whatever I say is almost irrelevant, its the eyes of Patrick that completely sell this story, they are so bug-ish OMG!!! Lol its THE perfect late night movie.

This supernatural thriller, about an apparently comatose young man with the power of telekinesis in a Melbourne private clinic, was surprisingly good, especially for a viewer who doesn't normally like such things. Director Richard Franklin was a fan of Alfred Hitchcock, and there are a lot of Hitchockian features in this film: the use of suspense, the visual and verbal jokes scattered throughout the film, the blonde heroine, the use of close shots in the corridors and on the stairs, the odd support characters, and the strong narrative building to a climax.

The film looks great, and the cinematography resembles Hitchcock's colour films of the 1950s and 1960s. English actress, Susan Penhaligon, is superb as the new nurse, who starts to suspect that Patrick is still conscious. Robert Helpmann and Julia Blake are creepy as the arrogant doctor and matron who run the hospital, and Rod Mullinar and Bruce Barry play Jacquard's ex-husband and doctor/boyfriend respectively, who try to help Jacquard discover the truth.

It's a very entertaining, well-made film with just the right amount of suspense to keep you involved until the end.

I decided to check this out after enjoying the Goblin music score for years now. However, when the opening credits rolled, it said "Music by Brian May". His score was quite good as well - but, in most cases, no one catch match the exquisiteness of a Goblin score.

Things I enjoyed: the cinematography was very tasteful, lead actress Susan Penhaligon was very endearing, adorable, and carried the movie as well as anyone could, Patrick looked exactly like my friend Sam Brown from The Whitest Kids U Know.

Things I didn't like that much: this film is a pretty slow-burner. If it had a satisfying finale it could have felt like the pace served a purpose, but the final act was rather lackluster in my opinion. I'd say the most intriguing part of the film was around one hour in - it's kind of odd how the final half hour seems to become less intense than the mid-section. The main protagonist was the only character who felt realistic or well written, there were some pretty heavy plot holes, a lot of the implied events are performed in a cheap-feeling, quick-cut, unsellable manner, a lot of the dialogue is long-winded, the film feels a bit too repetitive to be almost 2 hours long.

The movie does have a bit of it's own flair but for the most part it's flaws outweigh it's strengths. This was clearly made as a response to the success of Carrie, and, unfortunately comparing it to that masterpiece is certainly not doing it any favors. It's also kind of weird that it's an Australian film but almost no one in the movie has an Australian accent aside from maybe the main gal's boyfriend? I dunno - the movie was kind of good - I felt intrigued sometimes while watching it - not required viewing though IMO.

Patrick gets off to a good start as we watch a young kid kill his mother and her lover; but the influence of Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece Psycho ends there as the rest of the film is as dull as dishwater. The film's main gimmick stems from its central character; obviously named Patrick. He's grown up from having caused his mother's death and has been in a coma all of his adult life. We pick up the story when a new nurse starts at the hospital and is put in charge of Patrick. Shortly thereafter, strange things start to happen and Patrick appears to have a telekinetic ability which he uses to kill people. It's a decent premise for a film, but in order for it to work; the plot really needs some excitement. The film is sadly lacking in that department and I actually felt like I was slipping into a coma on several occasions. Obviously the killer doesn't have a personality to speak of, and so we are left only with the supporting cast of characters - which are all dull and don't manage to hold the audience's attention enough on their own. Unfortunately, director Richard Franklin doesn't even reward us with some interesting death scenes. Overall, this is a boring movie that isn't helped by its near two hour running time and one that I wouldn't recommend to anyone.

Following the success of Brian De Palma's 'Carrie' in 1976, movies featuring psycho-kinetics became all the rage. In 1978, Hollywood cashed in with 'The Fury' (also by De Palma) and the Richard Burton vehicle 'The Medusa Touch'; US TV gave us 'The Initiation of Sarah'; and even Disney got in on the act with 'Return from Witch Mountain'. Meanwhile, in Australia, director Richard Franklin joined in the craze with his creepy, offbeat chiller 'Patrick'.

Susan Penhaligon stars as Kathy Jacquard, a pretty nurse who discovers that her new comatose patient Patrick (Robert Thompson) is not only capable of communicating via psychokinesis (and the occasional bit of spitting!), but is also able to kill. As Patrick gradually begins to fall for Kathy, any other man hoping to get close to her automatically becomes a target of his awesome mental powers.

To feature a malign character who spends 99.9% of the film's running time absolutely motionless, staring into space, is an unusual, but very effective idea, and one that director Franklin cleverly uses to crank up the tension: his audience know damn well that Patrick will move at some point in the film, but have absolutely no idea when it will occur (I jumped twice: first, when Patrick unexpectedly spits at his nurse, and... well... you'll definitely know the other moment when it happens).

There are those who may find the slow-burn approach of this movie a little laborious, but I loved its leisurely approach—particularly as it gave me time to fully appreciate the movie's more bizarre moments: Kathy's job interview, during which the hospital's Matron mentions that such a job attracts certain 'types' (lesbians, scoptophiliacs, necrophiliacs, zoophiliacs and enema specialists!!); two scenes in which frogs don't do so well (one has his brain smushed with a needle and another is eaten by a doctor); Kathy attempting to prove that Patrick can feel by giving him a little 'wrist action'; and repeated appearances by Patrick's 'neighbour', a crazy old man who wets himself.

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

A 1978 Carrie clone from the land Down Under. The movie opens up w/Patrick killing his mother & her lover by tossing an electrical heater into their bathtub of sin. We next see him in a hospital in a catatonic state (his eyes open staring into oblivion) as a new nurse comes in to make her rounds. Patrick doesn't speak & the most audible thing we get from him is his occasional spit (he spits in the nurse's face when they're first introduced) which the chief at the hospital chalks up to an involuntary reaction. The nurse is in the throes of a divorce (they're separated) & as her fellow co-worker tries in vain to bring her out of her shell (a 70's era pool party is a bust), her mind keeps going back to the strangeness of Patrick (especially when a male hook-up nearly drowns in the pool). Taking on extra work by typing up reports the nurse soon gets a whiff of Patrick's presence when he takes over her typewriter writing her cryptic messages. Attributing his behavior to a form of telekinesis (the mind can make things happen), the nurse soon starts to be the lone person in the hospital to believe Patrick is up to no good. Directed by Richard Franklin (Psycho II/FX 2), a huge Hitchcock fan (even spending time w/the master during the late 60's) puts as much arty nonsense into this effort as he can & if Carrie didn't exist (w/its subtext of burgeoning womanhood & religious suppression), this film would be the one to beat but as it is, it's a fair reworking of a genuine classic, not much more.