Patient

Having survived a vicious encounter, a paraplegic woman who was in a cult finds herself cursed not to speak about the situation as the demonic beings related to the cult target those who might hear her and if she offers up her nephew instead, forcing her into a difficult decision.

This one ended up being quite the decent enough effort. One of the main elements with this one is the rather enjoyable setup here that manages to give this a really intriguing idea. That this one goes for a wholly different take on the whole concept of the demonic curse by taking out those she talks to regardless of how loud her voice is and doing so in exceptionally gruesome manners has a fun time to it. There's even more fun to be had here as this as it ties into the backstory about the cult and their need for anonymity as the crucial scene with the demonic messenger carrying out the rules of the whole exercise which is a truly unique and engaging variation on these story lines here by giving a quite detailed explanation for everything that happens here. With that comes the frantic and truly chilling scenes that play into this setup by going through the attacks on the guests in her hospital room with alarmingly brutal results which soon carries over into the torment they unleash upon her with the demonic faces or physical torments being inflicted upon her while other incidents are carried out around her. The other positive here is the incredibly creative resolution that gets put into effect here in order to stop the whole torments from continuing as it's a solid trick to pull off which manage to really give this one a lot to like in order to hold itself up over it's few minor flaws. The film's biggest problem is the fact that the singular- location setting really undoes so much of the thrills and suspense here since nothing really much happens for large portions of the time so it really tends to run into the problem of being repetitious for so much time here. That leads to the film feeling incredibly padded out for this extended duration of time since way too much of it just runs around the same point of her in the bed doing nothing while the rest of the film plays out with the demonic tortures being inflicted. In addition, that also concerns the CGI used here which gives this one such a low-budget feeling with the lack of funds for what's going on being obvious. The last flaw here is the convoluted finale which manages to take what could've been a fun aspect of the film and renders it into being a flashback that really could've been shown on-screen rather than how they treat it here. These issues do manage to hold this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

Saw 'Patient', being fond of horror regardless of budget (even if not my favourite genre) and being intrigued by the idea which was reasonably different when it comes to recent viewings of horror. Being behind on my film watching and reviewing, with a long to watch and review list that keeps getting longer, it took me a while to get round to watching and reviewing it.

Giving 'Patient' a fair chance with being interest and apprehension, it turned out to be far better than expected. Won't say that 'Patient' is a great film because it isn't and the potential, while not wasted, is not fully lived up to. Considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre and less and wasting potential, was expecting worse and was relieved that while wanting in a fair few areas it was actually one of my better recent low-budget viewings.

Starting with the positives, generally the production values could have been much worse. There is a real sense of eeriness, foreboding and a decently stylish atmosphere, and it makes the most of the confined and at times effectively claustrophobic setting. The music is also suitably haunting and manages to not be too intrusive, likewise with the sound not being too obvious (a bugbear of mine with low-budget viewings recently).

There is tension, suspense and genuine creepiness. The acting is better than average, with the best coming from Anney Reese, even when confined in movement she manages to express a lot in her face and eyes.

Would have liked however more tension and suspense and for some of the scares to be more creative and less trying-too-hard to the point of cheesiness (for example a menacing old lady so overdone in rendering and acting it was almost comical). The dialogue is cheesy and awkward generally.

Found that the story could have been executed better too. Too many parts are uneventful and it can feel padded, not to mention an ending that perplexes in its convolution rather than intrigues or thrills. There are exceptions to the better than expected production values, the effects are shoddy and the shakiness of the camera at times could be excessive and nauseating.

Overall, better than expected but didn't blow me away. 5/10 Bethany Cox