IMDb RATING
6.2/10
4.1K
YOUR RATING
A young nurse who's just started working at a public clinic begins to suspect that a comatose young man may possess the powers of psychokinesis.A young nurse who's just started working at a public clinic begins to suspect that a comatose young man may possess the powers of psychokinesis.A young nurse who's just started working at a public clinic begins to suspect that a comatose young man may possess the powers of psychokinesis.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 4 nominations
María Mercedes
- Nurse Panicale
- (as Maria Mercedes)
Gillian Seamer
- Nurse
- (as Gillian Seemer)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen released in America, the film was edited down for time, and the voices of the entire cast were dubbed by other actors (with the exception of Susan Penhaligon as her contract included a dubbing clause, allowing her to loop her lines with an American accent). This angered Robert Helpmann so much that he attempted to take legal action against the US distributors.
- GoofsAfter the doctor attempts to give Patrick a lethal injection, he is hit in the head by a potted plant. Immediately after this, he picks up a chair to strike Patrick and is thrown back against the wall, which is shown to bounce back.
- Quotes
[to Kathy Jacquard who is applying for a job as a nurse]
Matron Cassidy: Why did you choose the Roget Clinic, Mrs. Jacquard? We tend to attract certain types - lesbians, nymphomaniacs, enema specialists..."
- Crazy creditsThe end credits play over Patrick lying in his hospital bed with his eyes open.
- Alternate versionsOriginal Australian version features a music score by Brian May; European version was re-scored by Italian rock group Goblin, partly using outtakes from their score for a TV series for director Dario Argento.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Day After Halloween (1979)
Featured review
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.
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.
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Patrick's Höllentrip
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- A$400,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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