Patrick (1978)

 

Patrick is an Australian film, about a telekinetic killer who obsesses about the women in his life. The movie has wonderful cinematography and acting for a film from a low budget production. Patrick came out of nowhere for me, as I randomly discovered it streaming during a day off I had from work.

Patrick murders his mother and his mothers boyfriend by throwing a plugged in portable heater into the bath that they were being intimate in. Patrick becomes a comatose vegetable escaping reality for the comfort of his sinister mind. He ends up at a quaint hospital run by a small team of nurses led by head nurse Matron Cassidy and Doctor Roget. 

A women named Kathy who recently left her husband seeks employment to become a nurse at this hospital and manages to get a job here caring for Patrick. Patrick involuntarily spits often as a impulse from his comatose condition. Kathy begins to see a pattern with Patrick's spiting and soon realizes that Patrick is trying to communicate with her. Its not long before Patrick's obsession with Kathy manifests in unusual ways and events in Kathie's life might be manipulated by him.

I can see some people finding this film slow or even boring, but I personally found the pacing to be a good decision by the director. The slowness adds to the narrative, and lets some of the strange events sit in your mind. 

 

The Job interview with Matron Cassidy and her mention that this type of nursing position attracts, lesbians, necrophiliacs and enema specialists was bizarre. The doctor and all of the scenes with him and his frog specimens were disturbing. But the most cringy was when Kathy is trying to stimulate Patrick to prove to a doctor friend he is cognitive, she gives him a few strokes under the covers!

 

The Hitchcock inspired camera work and the great performances really mold Patrick into a likable film. I doubt it will tickle everyone's tastes, and most people would be better off watching the 1976 Carrie. If you're in the taste for something interesting, surprising, and can handle a slow burn, then Patrick will be for you.