MAD MAX (1979) Blu-ray Review

Mad Max (1979) d. George Miller (Australia)

Eager to avenge the death of their fallen comrade, the Nightrider (Vincent Gil), a vicious and bloodthirsty motorcycle gang targets select officers within the battered and bruised police force of the not-too-distant future; soon, war is being waged, with smoking rubber and growling engines the weapons of choice, and civilians and family members the spoils. Leading “the bronze” is Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson), a young man concerned that he is becoming the very thing he beholds – a murderous, lawless thug. But when the gang’s savage leader The Toecutter (a breathtaking high-wire turn by Hugh Keays-Byrne) sets his sights on Max’s wife Jessie (Joanne Samuel) and their child, the blood-soaked asphalt stage is set for a duel to the death.

PATRICK (1978) Blu-ray Review

Patrick (1978) d. Richard Franklin (Australia)

Freshly separated from her husband, Kathy Jacquard (Susan Penhaligon) re-enters the workforce as a nurse at a hospital catering to an exclusive clientele of severely disturbed and/or disabled patients. Almost immediately, she forms an attachment to the comatose Patrick (Robert Thompson), all blonde curly hair and blank unblinking stare, and he to her, communicating initially through sharp exhalations, but eventually revealing his true inner gifts. Seems our titular deadpan bedpan is a psychokinetic, with the power to tap out messages on typewriters, trash people’s rooms, possess minds, and who knows what else. And it turns out that he’s the jealous type....

THIRST (1979) Blu-ray Review

Thirst (1979) d. Rod Hardy (Australia)

For decades, viewers have thrilled to traditional Gothic settings of the bloodsucking undead, but there is equal pleasure to be had bringing the vampire into a contemporary (or even futuristic) setting. This offbeat Ozzie fright flick possesses equal measures of both. A descendant of Elizabeth Bathory, Kate Davis (Chantal Contouri), is kidnapped from her home and secreted away to a remote location where a blood-drinking cult attempts to indoctrinate her into their fold. Under close observation, she is introduced to “the farm,” observing the human “cattle” being bred and bled for the superior race’s eager appetites. Though initially (and understandably) repulsed, Kate is painstakingly conditioned to reject more plebeian forms of nourishment...in favor of a refined and iron-rich liquid diet.