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  • Writer's pictureGuy Jeffries

Patient 62 Review


It's the duo's second outing after their first collaboration which was the crime based drama, Bread Thieves in 2013. This time with Anthony being credited as co-director alongside Schlamp, as well as writer. I'm not sure if the poster or title matches the synopsis which initial made me think it was going to more about the titular abductee. There's a number of posters for the film though I find all of them quite misleading.

The film follows our antagonist, Lucas Chance (Wagner) who goes in search for his estranged sister who being held captive as a lab rat for some strange neurological experimentation. Chance, with the assistance of some unlikely sidekicks unravels the mystery piece by piece, having himself cross paths with the most undesirable kind and getting himself into an assortment of trouble, including having himself infected which imbrues him with Jedi-like telekinesis.

I was actually surprised by some of the performances, being at a much higher standard for a low budget independent. I particularly enjoyed Valdez's struggling and often annoying DJ, Mozylisky's OCD feminist and LaPointe's psychopathic pervert who I could best describe as being Sin City's Marv and Yellow Bastard's love child.

There's some great, classic camerawork showing the talent and understanding of the craft, making the absolute most of the nonexistent budget, and kudos to the editing which really brings the film together. It doesn't feel wholly original but their approach to each scene is quite refreshing, upping the ante as the story progresses, especially with the use of visual effects, that coupled with good editing completes the sequences impressively well.

The script evidently tries to be better than it is, but it does afford the characters some good development, again something I wasn't really expecting. The budget is quite obvious but that doesn't hamper the enjoyment of this film any less relying heavily on the story arcs and characterisations, which are both better than some of the blockbuster budget films I've seen recently.

The production as a whole works, feeling limited to locations they use what they can perfectly to create the scene they want. The costumes here really helped and like the script, they helped in making up the characters so well. There's a good soundtrack, opening with Katie Ainge's 'Up In Flames' and Grey's 'Use Me' at the close; two artists I have not heard of which I both shazammed during my viewing. However, I don't remember anything from Todd Bryanton's score, feeling unnoticeable, but I'm sure it did its job during the film.

Just a word to the sponsors behind this film, the product placement really worked and fortunately does so without ruining the scene which is an awful side effect a film can suffer from when doing so.

Not entirely sure why, but the film made me think of Dark Angel, Hard Target and even Akira. Despite it's flaws, it's captivating and enjoyable throughout. The film is at the top of its budget really proving what these guys are capable of and is a great advert for the potential they have. Let's give them more money and see what else they can do.

Running Time: 7

The Cast: 7

Performance: 7

Direction: 7

Story: 7

Script: 6

Creativity: 7

Soundtrack: 6

Job Description: 7

The Extra Bonus Point: 0

61% 6/10

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