Patrick

Patrick is an Australian horror and science fiction film about a young man kept in a private clinic after murdering his parents. He has spent years motionless in bed, apparently without any brain activity, and some staff believe he should be allowed to die. When a new nurse, Kathy, begins caring for him, she senses a connection between them, and strange and increasingly frightening events start to disturb her life. Patrick, it turns out, is not as inert as he appears.

Richard Franklin directed the film, his second feature after Fantasm (1976), working from a screenplay by Everett De Roche; Franklin produced with Antony I. Ginnane. Robert Thompson plays Patrick, Susan Penhaligon plays Kathy Jacquard, and Robert Helpmann appears as Dr. Roget, with María Mercedes, Rod Mullinar and Helen Hemingway in supporting roles.

Made in Australia and running 113 minutes, the film sits early in Franklin's career, ahead of Roadgames, Psycho II, Cloak & Dagger, Link and F/X2. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.2 from around 4,500 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.1 from about 105 votes. A critics' rating of 5.8 from 11 reviews places professional assessment slightly below the broader audience response.