Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Scott LeBrun The cute and appealing Susan Penhaligon ("The Land That Time Forgot") plays Kathy Jacquard, a young woman returning to work as a nurse. She comes to a private hospital where the title character (Robert Thompson, "Thirst") has been in a coma for three years. (He'd murdered his trampy mother and a lover of hers, before lapsing into his current state.) Despite misgivings from her boss (Robert Helpmann, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang") and supervisor (Julia Blake, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"), she finds herself attached to Patrick, and reaching out to him. Soon it becomes apparent that he CAN sense her presence, and has fallen in love with her. However, he has incredibly powerful psychokinetic powers that constantly manifest themselves in and outside the hospital."Patrick" isn't without some flaws, but overall it emerges as an interesting and largely absorbing story with some bonkers moments. Obviously it's done on some sort of budget, keeping special effects to a minimum and mostly concentrating on plot and performance. Since it runs an hour and 53 minutes in its most complete version, it's too drawn out to be totally effective, not always staying on point. Some viewers can describe it as "cheesy" or "tacky", but it does succeed at being creepy often enough to overlook its lesser aspects. One element that stuck in this viewers' head for years is the way that Patrick makes spitting sounds - once for yes, twice for no - when acknowledging Kathy's questions.Much effectiveness is due to Thompson, in his film debut. He has the hardest job among the cast, having to lie there for most of the films' duration and not react to other actors in the room. He certainly has a look that helps to make him quite memorable.But the whole cast is fine: Ms. Penhaligon, Mr. Helpmann, Ms. Blake, Rod Mullinar as Kathy's amiable estranged husband Ed, Bruce Barry as inquisitive doctor Brian Wright, Helen Hemingway as Kathy's co-worker Sister Williams, Maria Mercedes as a high strung nurse, Walter Pym as aged and senile Captain Fraser, and Frank Wilson as a detective.The film further benefits from impressive camera work and capable direction by Hitchcock protege Richard Franklin, who as we all know went on to make the surprisingly worthy first sequel to "Psycho". And it can boast another lovely music score by that great Aussie composer Brian May.Even if you're not overly impressed with the film in general, you will want to stick it out for THAT ending.Seven out of 10.

Michael_Elliott Patrick (1978) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Kathy (Susan Penhaligon) gets a new job working at a hospital as a nurse where her main duties are looking after a man named Patrick (Robert Thompson). The young man has been in a coma for three years but soon Kathy begins to think that he has some sort of psychic powers that allows him to stalk her and do much worse.PATRICK came from Australia and was one of the biggest hits of the Ozploitation era. If you're a fan of Hitchcock then Richard Franklin's film is an obvious homage to the Master of Suspense and it's worth noting that the director would go on to make PSYCHO II. I'm a little surprised that this film became such a hit when it was originally released because it lacks most of what made something like CARRIE so good.On a technical level the film is quite impressive as Franklin certainly makes a film that looks quite good. The cinematography is extremely good and the music score by Brian May is catchy. I also thought the performances were extremely good with Penhaligon doing an excellent job in the role of the nurse. I really thought she was tremendous in the film and she certainly helps keep you interested in what's going on. The supporting cast members are all good including Thompson who is quite memorable even though he doesn't say a word or move.What keeps the film from being better is the fact that it clocks in at 112 minutes and there's really not too much that happens. I really don't mind the slow pace but I certainly wish the film had been cut down a little or at least given a bit more to do. With that said, the lack of any real horror moments keeps the film from being better but PATRICK is still worth viewing.

The_Void Patrick gets off to a good start as we watch a young kid kill his mother and her lover; but the influence of Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece Psycho ends there as the rest of the film is as dull as dishwater. The film's main gimmick stems from its central character; obviously named Patrick. He's grown up from having caused his mother's death and has been in a coma all of his adult life. We pick up the story when a new nurse starts at the hospital and is put in charge of Patrick. Shortly thereafter, strange things start to happen and Patrick appears to have a telekinetic ability which he uses to kill people. It's a decent premise for a film, but in order for it to work; the plot really needs some excitement. The film is sadly lacking in that department and I actually felt like I was slipping into a coma on several occasions. Obviously the killer doesn't have a personality to speak of, and so we are left only with the supporting cast of characters - which are all dull and don't manage to hold the audience's attention enough on their own. Unfortunately, director Richard Franklin doesn't even reward us with some interesting death scenes. Overall, this is a boring movie that isn't helped by its near two hour running time and one that I wouldn't recommend to anyone.

BA_Harrison Following the success of Brian De Palma's 'Carrie' in 1976, movies featuring psycho-kinetics became all the rage. In 1978, Hollywood cashed in with 'The Fury' (also by De Palma) and the Richard Burton vehicle 'The Medusa Touch'; US TV gave us 'The Initiation of Sarah'; and even Disney got in on the act with 'Return from Witch Mountain'. Meanwhile, in Australia, director Richard Franklin joined in the craze with his creepy, offbeat chiller 'Patrick'.Susan Penhaligon stars as Kathy Jacquard, a pretty nurse who discovers that her new comatose patient Patrick (Robert Thompson) is not only capable of communicating via psychokinesis (and the occasional bit of spitting!), but is also able to kill. As Patrick gradually begins to fall for Kathy, any other man hoping to get close to her automatically becomes a target of his awesome mental powers.To feature a malign character who spends 99.9% of the film's running time absolutely motionless, staring into space, is an unusual, but very effective idea, and one that director Franklin cleverly uses to crank up the tension: his audience know damn well that Patrick will move at some point in the film, but have absolutely no idea when it will occur (I jumped twice: first, when Patrick unexpectedly spits at his nurse, and... well... you'll definitely know the other moment when it happens).There are those who may find the slow-burn approach of this movie a little laborious, but I loved its leisurely approach—particularly as it gave me time to fully appreciate the movie's more bizarre moments: Kathy's job interview, during which the hospital's Matron mentions that such a job attracts certain 'types' (lesbians, scoptophiliacs, necrophiliacs, zoophiliacs and enema specialists!!); two scenes in which frogs don't do so well (one has his brain smushed with a needle and another is eaten by a doctor); Kathy attempting to prove that Patrick can feel by giving him a little 'wrist action'; and repeated appearances by Patrick's 'neighbour', a crazy old man who wets himself.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.