Patrick: Evil Awakens (formerly Patrick) is a 2013 Australian sci-fi horror film directed by Mark Hartley (Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!) from a screenplay by Justin King. It stars Charles Dance, Rachel Griffiths, Sharni Vinson, Peta Sergeant, Eliza Taylor, Martin Crewes, Damon Garneau and Rod Mullinar. Richard E. Grant was originally cast as the doctor but had to withdraw due to a scheduling conflict. The film’s score is by Pino Donaggio (Tourist Trap, Dressed to Kill, Crawlspace). The film is a remake of Patrick (1978) which previously spawned an unofficial sleazy Italian sequel Patrick Still Lives (1980). The movie premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival on July 27, 2013 and was officially theatrically released in Australia in October 17, 2013.
Plot:
After killing his mother and her lover some years before, Patrick is the comatose patient in Room 15 of a remote, private psychiatric clinic run by the secretive Dr. Roget, who treats him as guinea pig in his bizarre studies of life and death.
When Kathy, a nurse who has recently separated from her boyfriend, begins working at the clinic, she is instructed to care for Patrick. She is disturbed by Roget’s treatment of him and somehow feels that Patrick is trying to make a connection with her. When Kathy realizes that the lifeless murderer can communicate, she is shocked but compelled to prove her theory. Patrick has psychokinetic powers, which he uses to talk to Kathy by transferring his thoughts to her computer. As Patrick’s communication becomes stronger, strange and terrifying events begin to occur. Patrick has feelings for Kathy, and his affection is about to manifest itself as a deadly, bloody obsession.
Reviews:
‘Laden with simple jump scares and backed by a tone that’s both brutally violent and darkly amusing, Patrick is a good example of how to remake an obscure but admired horror flick: remake a little, rewrite a lot, always respect the source material, and if you can actually address a few of the original flick’s shortcomings in the process, well that’s just a cool bonus.’ Scott Weinberg, FEARnet
‘The setup is decent, the actors are good and even the script and direction initially seem like they’re going to rise above the pack. But then convolution and an overwhelming chintziness set in (alongside gore effects that conceptually rub the wrong way against the film’s tone) and it becomes a slog to the finish line. I felt like I knew every maddening, repetitious beat like the back of my own hand and was just winding down the clock.’ Evan Dickson, Bloody Disgusting
‘Yet rescuing the film from its weakness for cliche is its strong cast, with Dance – the go-to guy for condescending hauteur – a huge improvement on the original’s campy Robert Helpmann. Vinson makes a convincingly feisty heroine, Peta Sergeant is a live wire as her chief ally, Nurse Williams, while Griffiths rescues a potentially over-the-top character by underplaying. Scoff, you may, at the moments reeking of Camembert, but the extended climax is a satisfying onslaught of madness and mayhem that should leave viewers suitably drenched in perspiration.’ Lynden Barber, The Guardian
‘Because the film is so highly stylized, it’s easier for Hartley and screenwriter Justin King to get away with some of the more implausible death sequences, but it must have also been difficult to craft kills that weren’t too ridiculous. Because the tone is established and maintained, it allows Hartley and company to be almost limitless in their creativity. Also, because Patrick has control over circuit boards and can use his will to travel through electricity, new technology is used to the film’s advantage without undermining its roots, staying true to the original film in some respects. It’s so inventive and these types of kills are rarely seen on screen, so the joy felt watching them and how they compliment the premise make it much easier to go along with the outlandish.’ Drew Tinnin, Dread Central
Wikipedia | IMDb
