PATRICK STILL LIVES -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted 10/27/2020

If you saw Richard Franklin's minor classic PATRICK (1979), an Aussie horror thriller about a young man in a coma who kills with his mind while lying motionless in a hospital bed with his eyes wide open, you may have come away from the experience wanting more.

A year later, Italian director Mario Landi (GIALLO IN VENICE) gave us exactly that and then some with his shockingly lurid sex-and-gore fest PATRICK STILL LIVES (1980).

An unauthorized "in name only" sequel, this tale begins with young Patrick (Gianni Dei, playing a completely different character than the original) and his surgeon father Dr. Herschel (Sacha Pitoëff) having car troubles by the side of an isolated road, when suddenly a van speeds by and the driver tosses an empty bottle out the window which strikes Patrick in the head and puts him into what appears to be a permanent comatose state. 

 

 

Later, we're transported to Dr. Herschel's rustic, rambling Italian villa (also the location for producer Gabriele Crisanti's BURIAL GROUND) where he cares for Patrick in a self-contained medical wing.

He seems to be conducting some pretty shady scientific research that includes three other hapless "patients" who are hooked up to machines and kept in a vegetative state as their bodies atrophy.

Not only that, but the not-so-good doctor also invites a variety of people to stay at his "wellness clinic" including a famous government official and his hot-blooded wife, a troubled woman with a shady past, a helmet-haired hunk, and a tough guy with a gun-bulge under his jacket. 

 

We later discover that these people are there because the doctor is blackmailing them, and we wonder what sinister plans he has for them.

With that set-up in place, PATRICK STILL LIVES giddily goes about its business of entertainment and exploitation with enough nudity to pack the pages of a rack full of men's magazines (most of the women in the cast look absolutely terrific in the buff, which they're in for roughly half the running time) and, once the freakish death scenes start to occur, enough bloody carnage to put a smile on the face of the most fervent gorehound.

These scenes are often punctuated by the sight of Patrick's big googly eyes coming at us from out of nowhere (a startling effect), and, despite the effects being a bit crude at times, the gore scenes display some real twisted imagination in their staging and execution. 

 

While Patrick seems to be mentally orchestrating the mayhem from his hospital bed, he also displays a distinct romantic interest in his father's beautiful blonde secretary Stella (Mariangela Giordano) and, in one stunning scene, takes advantage of his ability to control her actions in ways you don't have to try too hard to imagine.

The plot deftly transcends its stately pace to keep us guessing as to the motivation behind it all and why these particular people have been chosen to be murdered one by one. Naturally, we have our favorites (mine was the gorgeous Carmen Russo as Mrs. Kraft) and those whom we can't wait to get theirs.

While we're waiting for the plot by screenwriter Piero Regnoli (NIGHTMARE CITY) to unwind, we're treated to various interpersonal dramas including a raucous catfight, some other violently spiteful encounters, and even a potential romance between helmet-hair and Dr. Herschel's strange servant girl Meg. Director Landi renders it all with a roughhewn but often stylish visual sense that, for me, had a bit of an Amicus vibe. 

 

The Blu-ray from Severin Films was scanned uncut in 2k from the original negative and looks very good despite a few flaws here and there which only add to its character. Extras consist of an interesting recent interview with actor Gianni Dei (Patrick), the film's original trailer, and reversible cover art. The special Blu-ray edition comes with a slipcover featuring its own distinctive artwork.

One doesn't have to be familiar with the original film to plunge right into this faux sequel with both feet and wallow through all its gore-drenched, nudity-enhanced goodness. While more "normal" viewers may be appalled by its goings-on, those with a more twisted cinematic palate should find PATRICK STILL LIVES a delightfully deranged delicacy.


Buy the standard Blu-ray at Severin Films

Buy the special Blu-ray edition with slipcover


Special Features:

    C’est la Vie – Interview with Actor Gianni Dei
    Trailer
    Reversible Wrap

Disc Specs:

    Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
    Audio: Italian mono with English subtitles
    Region Free

 

Reversible box art:

 

Special edition slipcover art: