Patrick — Patrick( UHD/ Blu Ray)
Patrick is a low-key 1970s blend of medical drama, thriller, with the odd touches of horror and sci-fi. It focuses on the relationship between a nurse & in a coma young man- who seemingly has psychic powers. It’s a key film in the Ozploitation genre- been presented here by the fine folks at Powerhouse is a new release of the film. It comes as either a UHD or Blu-Ray disc- I’m reviewing the latter. Both versions feature a new 4k scan of the film, three different versions of the picture, a good selection of archive extras, and a few new things.
Patrick is from the year 1978- it was directed by Melbourne, Australia-born Richard Franklin. Between the mid 70’s and early 2000’s, he has twelve features to his name. These go from Western sex comedy The True Story Of Eskimo Nell (1975), onto road set thriller featuring Stacy Keach & Jamie Lee Curtis Roadgames (1981). Though to one of the better sequels Psycho II(1983), chimp thriller horror Link(1986), and sea set horror/ Sci-fi Visitors( 2003).
As mentioned in my introduction the disc takes in three cuts of the film-Australian theatrical version (113 mins), US theatrical cut (97 mins), and an Italian-language version(102 mins)which features a soundtrack by Gobin. I (fully) watched the first & longest cut for my review.
It opens with us meeting the film's lead character- Patrick (Robert Thompson) a decidedly haunted-looking twentysomething with tight curling hair and set blue eyes. He’s lying on a bed, listening to his mother and her lover belittle him through the wall- they are just shown in a polished bed nob. We then see Patrick trailing up the lead for an old-school electric fire- walking into the bathroom where his mother & her lover are bathing- throwing it into the water.
Shortly we move to a rather quirky & rundown private hospital- where an entry sign in blue & Red neon hangs. Strolling up to the building is young nurse Kathy (Susan Penhaligon)- who has recently separated from her husband and is going back into the medical profession after several years away. She is interviewed by the rather stern & dragon-like Matron (Julia Blake)- fairly soon in walks the fairly scruffy, grey-haired, and wild-eyed Doctor Roget( Robert Helpmann) who owns/runs the hospital, who says that Kathy should be given a chance.
She is tasked with looking after Partick- who we find out has been catatonic for the last three years. He sat upright with his thousand-yard set stare constant, so his eyes needed to be constantly swabbed. Kathy gets into her job fairly quickly doing shift work with a few other nurses- there are seemingly a few other patients at the hospital- though we only see one other an ageing man in a dressing gown- who rants & at one point wets himself.
Back at her apartment, Kathy is getting nighttime phone calls, and as we get deeper into the film her apartment is broken into & wrecked. Is it her disgruntled ex, a stalker, or could it possibly be Patrick?.
The film's paranormal elements take some time to fully kick in- with the first half of the film being more of a blend of drama and light mystery- with all involved doing a decent job in their roles- with Penhaligon being fairly well defined & relatable, and it really is a marvel how still Thompson managers to keep still/ with his creepy fixed stare.
When things do start to turn to more sci-fi/ horror side of things- it’s largely fairly subtle and subdued. Yes, there is a faint air of unease & eerie disquiet, but we never really go all-out horror.
Patrick will appeal to those who enjoy where drama and thriller meet- in a very low-key/ moody manner. Yes, there are psychic power/ Sci-fi/ light horror elements present- but they are largely secondary for the most part- with the focus being on the dramatic side of things.
Moving onto this new release we get a 4K scan of the film- this has both great clarity and depth with some nice bold colourings. And as mentioned earlier we get three different cuts of the film.
On the new extra side on the disc, we get one thing Shock Tactics( 26.06) which is with academic and Australian cinema specialist Stephen Morgan. He starts off by talking about how the Ozploitation tag came about, the genre's development, and how rather limiting the title it is due to the different types of films in the genre. He discusses Mid-Pacific Films which Patrick is also seen as – it’s movies that basically sit somewhere between American & Australian films. He talks about how Australian TV was key in the career of a lot of filmmakers in the genre. He moves on to discuss Patrick- talking about key players behind the film, its cast, its publicity, and what its impact was. All in all it's well worth a play.
On the archive side of things, we get a few things. Commentary track with director Richard Franklin and screenwriter Everett De Roche. On-set Interview with Richard Franklin (9.23) behind-the-scenes interview with the Patrick director, conducted by Australian film critic Ivan Hutchinson. On-stage Interview with Richard Franklin (8.21) previously unseen 2001 interview in which the director discusses Patrick and its unofficial Italian sequel, 1980’s Patrick Still Lives. A Coffee Break with Antony I. Ginnane (17.56) from 2009 where renowned genre-film producer revisits Patrick. ‘Not Quite Hollywood’ Interviews( one hour & one minute) extensive selection of outtakes from Mark Hartley’s 2008 acclaimed documentary on Australian cinema, featuring Franklin, Ginnane, De Roche, and actors Susan Penhaligon and Rod Mullinar. Original theatrical trailers and TV spots, French title sequence comparison, Image galleries: promotional and publicity material, and behind-the-scenes
The finished release comes presented with an eighty-page book- taking in a new essay by Alan Miller, exclusive extracts from director Richard Franklin and producer Antony I Ginnane’s unpublished memoirs, archival interviews with screenwriter Everett De Roche and special-effects supervisor Conrad Rothmann, and full film credits.
It’s wonderful to see this important and market-impactful Ozploitation film getting this new Powerhouse release- taking in a classy 4k scan, and a good selection of both old & new extras.