Patrick vive ancora (1980)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Mario Landi

Writer:

Piero Regnoli (writer)

Release Date:

15 May 1980 (Italy)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

A bedridden psycho is able to receive evil "vibrations" from hardened criminals and use them for his telekinetic powers.

Plot Keywords:

Doctor | Dog | Clinic | Swimming | Coma

Cast

Sacha Pitoëff	...	Professor Herschell
Gianni Dei	...	Patrick Herschell
Mariangela Giordano	...	Stella Randolph
Carmen Russo	...	Cheryl Kraft
Paolo Giusti	...	David Davis
Franco Silva	...	Lyndon Kraft
John Benedy	...	Peter Suniak
Anna Veneziano	...	Meg

Also Known As:

Patrick Is Still Alive (USA) (video title)
Patrick Still Lives (USA) (original subtitled version)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:VM18 | Germany:18 | West Germany:16

Company:

Stefano Film

Quotes:

Professor Herschell: [English subtitles] It is clear that Mr. Cough's death was due to a fatality.

Movie Connections:

Follows Patrick (1978)

Gory and over the top sequel to a boring Australian thriller

Patrick Still Lives is a curious piece of cult cinema; not for its content, but merely for the fact that it was made. Patrick was an obscure (and rather boring) Australian thriller released in 1978 and I doubt even the makers of it would have planned a sequel; but for some reason Giallo a Venezia director Mario Landi saw fit to direct a (presumably) unofficial sequel to it anyway. I have no idea what the actual reasons are for this film being made; but given Italy's film-making record, I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that this film started life as merely a thriller about a comatose patient with telekinetic powers and ended as a 'sequel' to Patrick simply to cash in on the title. Anyway, the plot here is just as thin as it was in the original film and focuses on a comatose patient named Patrick. He may be in a coma but this doesn't stop him killing as he has telekinetic powers, and the guests staying at his father's spa soon find themselves becoming victim to Patrick's murderous rage.

All in all, it really has to be said that Patrick Still Lives isn't very good. However, it is fun in places; and Mario Landi has proved once and for all that films about murderous comatose patients are much better when they feature a bunch of gory death scenes. Most of the death scenes in this film are ridiculous, but at least the director doesn't hold back and we get treated to a range of grisly ways for the main characters to die. As anyone who has seen Giallo a Venezia will expect, much of it is of the misogynistic variety; with one death scene in particular, which sees one of the ladies have a poker rammed up her vagina (in a really rather bizarre scene that has to be seen to be believed!) being a major standout. Nudity is strongly featured also, most of it from the female cast members. Outside of the nudity and gore, there's not a great deal to like here to be honest. The film is not badly put together and the director shows some interesting use of colour, but the plot is pretty much nonexistent and much of the film is just padding for the death scenes. But hey, I love this stuff and despite its numerous problems, I'm going to give it a thumbs up anyway.