Patrick (1978)

After a near fatal accident, Patrick lies in a hospital bed and is believed to be a vegetable by the medical staff. He sure looks like one...

There are only a few minutes at the opening of the film to gauge Patrick's level of sanity prior to when he wound up in hospital. Clearly he wasn't well, and now, in the mysterious world of the coma, he is able to perform telekinesis...and spit. Pat would have been a stalker for sure back in his lucid days but now he can only creep on his nurse by attempting to drown her boyfriends or have the typewriter sexually harass her. Susan Penhaligon is very nice as Nurse Kathy, you can't blame Patrick for having a crack. The other acting highlight is Robert Helpmann as Doctor Roget; the camp, egotistical old twat who rules the depressing quack house with vigour when not eating frogs. 

Aussie schlock films like this have a unique quality that, despite their shitness, keep you hooked. All involved seem to have enjoyed themselves and there is even some all too rare, quality erection humor. As far as providing any chills, it hardly registers. The budget they had to work with did not appear to cater for special effects other than chairs being hurled about. "Patrick! Stop throwing chairs with your brain!". Really, you wouldn't want to have it any other way, truth be told. The mix of intentional black humour, 1970's Australian naivety and frequently stretched acting results in an amusing blend.  

Richard Franklin also directed Psycho II (1983) which I recall seeing when I was but a mere fledgling. Obviously he suitably impressed within the genre stakes with Patrick and 1981's Road Games to be given the keys to sully Hitchcock's masterpiece. Actually, all I remember is that lanky character Anthony Perkins making me nervous. 
Director Mark Hartley covered Patrick in his documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008) which also reveals Tarantino's fetish for it. Plenty of weird and wonderful flicks are discussed, including the freaking excellent Razorback (1984). More feral pig films please! The doco is very entertaining and worth seeing for an overview of the period.

Fans of this fare will no doubt revel in the many ridiculous scenarios the film dishes up. It's a generic piece of work but has at least a few points of interest making it worthy of your abundance of spare time. 
Seriously, he eats frogs.

2.5/5