Month: July 2014

LEFT is a festival for nerds, die-hards, fanatics, and obsessives – all in the best possible way – so screening Patrick, a recent remake of the 1970s movie of the same name, was the perfect choice.

Although a horror movie, Patricks’s attention to continuity is uncharacteristic of the genre, often giving it the feeling of something sci-fi. Every detail of the supernatural plot is meticulously explained, often quite subtly, as if to mirror the rigour and precision of the setting, a hospital for vegetative patients. It is at this secluded hospital that Kathy, a bright young nurse, takes a job to get as far away from her ex-boyfriend as possible. She’s frightened by the oddities at first – the eccentric doctor, the emotionless head nurse, the mindless patients, whose bodies occasionally writhe and jump and spit, almost as if on purpose – but she works hard, out of a morbid sense of duty, curiosity and empathy. Kathy’s reactions are actually one of the greatest successes of the movie, in that she responds to her surroundings with a natural combination of skepticism and fear, a balance that horror movies rarely get right. We stay with her until the end, never doubting her decisions (though occasionally questioning her taste in men).

The generic haunted-house vibe of the hospital eventually gives way to a crystal clear plot, a story of abuse and insanity, and the results of an experiment gone awry. Unexplained occurrences in the first act are suddenly and subtly given light by developments in the second and third. (In fact, events in the first act that seemed to need no explanation are questioned by later developments). When it becomes clear that Patrick, patient 15, has psychic powers, we understand how strange things are happening; when we learn his history, we understand why. The precise limitations of his powers and intentions are so well-defined that it is hard to question the quasi-scientific explanations behind them. By the end of the film, there are no unanswered questions; there is no lingering sense of mystery.

But is this a problem? For a horror movie, the answer should be yes. When I leave the theatre, I want to be a little spooked and disturbed. I want to jump when I hear footsteps behind me. I want to hesitate before turning off the light, even if just for a second. But I know that Patrick cannot hurt me because I know everything about him. In that sense, he is much more Darth Vader than Freddy Krueger. The film-makers were aware of this issue as well, which is why they tried a last-ditch effort to add some mystery in the final seconds of the film. It didn’t work.

But everything else did. Patrick has a taught, compelling screenplay with no holes or sags. The cast is convincing and the special effects are seamless. The art team wisely chose to play with light colours contrasting dark, rather than the dark-on-dark that has been so popular these past few years. Patrick may not scratch your horror itch deep enough, but it will compel and excite you in a way that only and excellent genre movie can.