This supernatural thriller, about an apparently comatose young man with the power of telekinesis in a Melbourne private clinic, was surprisingly good, especially for a viewer who doesn't normally like such things. Director Richard Franklin was a fan of Alfred Hitchcock, and there are a lot of Hitchockian features in this film: the use of suspense, the visual and verbal jokes scattered throughout the film, the blonde heroine, the use of close shots in the corridors and on the stairs, the odd support characters, and the strong narrative building to a climax.
The film looks great, and the cinematography resembles Hitchcock's colour films of the 1950s and 1960s. English actress, Susan Penhaligon, is superb as the new nurse, who starts to suspect that Patrick is still conscious. Robert Helpmann and Julia Blake are creepy as the arrogant doctor and matron who run the hospital, and Rod Mullinar and Bruce Barry play Jacquard's ex-husband and doctor/boyfriend respectively, who try to help Jacquard discover the truth.
It's a very entertaining, well-made film with just the right amount of suspense to keep you involved until the end.
The film looks great, and the cinematography resembles Hitchcock's colour films of the 1950s and 1960s. English actress, Susan Penhaligon, is superb as the new nurse, who starts to suspect that Patrick is still conscious. Robert Helpmann and Julia Blake are creepy as the arrogant doctor and matron who run the hospital, and Rod Mullinar and Bruce Barry play Jacquard's ex-husband and doctor/boyfriend respectively, who try to help Jacquard discover the truth.
It's a very entertaining, well-made film with just the right amount of suspense to keep you involved until the end.