PATRICK VIVE ANCORA aka Patrick Still Lives

(Mario Landi, 1980)

What do you get when you blend Aussie horror flick Patrick, Bianchi's Burial Ground, and D'Amato's Anthropophagus? Patrick Still Lives! If guilty pleasures were measured in calories, this delicious dish would cause multiple heart attacks in just one viewing. Let's start with the story. Professor Herschell and his son Patrick are stranded on the road. A passing motorist throws a bottle out the window, striking Patrick on the head. He survives, though now comatose. Some time after that (we're never told exactly how long) Prof. Herschell invites a group of sleazy guests to stay at his villa/ laboratory. Yes, it's the SAME villa (and setup) that was used in Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror (and I'm sure Mariangela Giordano must have been squatting in it because she appears in this movie as well!) The Professor keeps Patrick mentally wired to three other patients, apparently allowing him to focus his telepathic abilities. After more than a few raunchy episodes, each of the guests are bumped off, each death nastier and more graphic than the last. So, what are Patrick's powers? In addition to being able to physically manipulate objects, he can project a glowing green pair of eyes, control animals, boil water, hypnotize others, and create smoke and light displays.

PC and feminist viewers should definitely stay away from this! There is ABUNDANT nudity, male and female frontal alike, and ALL of the women in the cast get naked at some point...and usually die naked, with the camera lingering inappropriately on their blood-spattered vaginae and breasts. The level of misogyny in this film is staggering, featuring no less than 5 female slaps (in all fairness, one of them slaps back- ah, social progress in early 80s Italy!) The female cast are incredibly one-dimensional as a whole, whose only purpose seems to be to get drunk, act slutty, get beaten, and eventually die drawn-out, mean-spirited deaths.

But that's what's so much fun about it- you can make a drinking game to this! Have a shot whenever there's breasts! Have another when someone gets slapped! Have another when someone's BREASTS get slapped! Ok, that doesn't actually happen. Even if you aren't in the drinking mood, this movie provides lots of laughs. The storyline is ridiculous, the characters INCREDIBLY stupid, and the "script" unbelievable. The soundtrack by Berto Pisano is actually appropriate, sort of a blend of Goblin-style prog and 50's moon music (oooOO-EEEEEEE-OOooooo). There are no English dubs of this film (fortunately- one can only imagine!). It is in Italian with subtitles only. Recommended for viewing in the tub, as most will feel really dirty after.

Buy It