Young Patrick (a creepy mute portrayal by Robert Thompson, who never blinks or says a single word throughout the whole movie) goes into a comatose state after murdering his mother and her lover. Pretty young nurse Kathy Jacquard (a fine and appealing performance by fetching brunette Susan Penhaligon) senses that Patrick is somehow still sentient and hence trying to communicate with her. Meanwhile, various folks around Patrick start dying in mysterious ways. Director Richard Franklin does a commendable job of firmly grounding the fantastic premise in a thoroughly plausible pedestrian everyday reality, but crucially fails to generate any much-needed suspense, momentum, and spooky atmosphere. Moreover, Everett De Roche's blah script gets bogged down in a numbing excess of dull chitchat that slows the erratic pace to a sluggish crawl and allows the shaky narrative to ramble all over the place. The bloated 112 minute running time further compounds the severity of the general tedium. Fortunately, the competent acting by the sturdy cast keeps the picture watchable: Penhaligon makes for a strong and sympathetic lead, with praiseworthy support from Rod Mullinar as Kathy's estranged husband Ed, Bruce Barry as charming and handsome neurosurgeon Brian Wright, Robert Helpmann as the coldly pragmatic Dr. Roget, Julia Blake as Kathy's stern superior Matron Cassidy, and Helen Hemingway as the friendly Sister Williams. Brian May's lush and spare orchestral score manages to be effectively chilling without ever becoming too overbearing or obtrusive. Don McAlpine's crisp cinematography boasts several clever and impressive visual flourishes. However, this movie is too flatly done and talky to pass muster as anything more than a decent time-waster.
Review of Patrick
