PATRICK (2013) movie review

Patrick (2013) d. Mark Hartley, (Australia)

This remake of Richard Franklin's 1978 Ozploitation breakout about a comatose killer in the mood for love has the advantage of strong actors in the form of Sharni Vinson (You're Next, Bait) as the lovely nurse the titular comatose psychokinetic killer sets his sixth sense on, Charles Dance (Alien 3) as the aging doc obsessed with discovering the exact moment of death, and Oscar nominee Rachel Griffiths (Hilary and Jackie) as the repressed matron running the decrepit asylums for the not-quite-dead set.

BAIT 3D (2012) movie review

Bait 3D (2012) d. Kimble Rendall (Australia)

Rendall, after years spent doing well-paid second-unit work (Matrix sequels, Ghost Rider), rebounds nicely from his middling 2000 slasher flick, Cut, with this surprisingly entertaining entry in a world lousy with lame-ass CGI killer shark movies. A tsunami floods an Australian coastal town, stranding several survivors in the local supermarket with a rogue great white swimming through the submerged aisles of Vegemite in search of chow.

YOU'RE NEXT (2011) movie review

You're Next (2011) d. Wingard, Adam (USA)

I’m sure 90% of the folks who strolled into that SXSW midnight screening had the same thought on their mind: “Please let this be worth the wait.” Following its buzztastic September debut at the Toronto International Film Festival followed by an equally enthusiastic bow at Austin’s Fantastic Fest two weeks later, You’re Next has been THE film on horror fans’ wish lists for what seems like ages. Lionsgate promptly scooped it up for distribution...and then proceeded to quietly hold all bets for over a year, parceling it out to a few select festivals before finally announcing a big screen bow in August of 2013. How could any scrappy little indie flick, especially one that lives solidly in the “home invasion” subgenre (don’t they know that's yesterday’s news?), hold up under such immense hype?

By being pretty f**king awesome, that’s how.