Mutant organisms, vampire supermen, murderous teenagers, sinister psychic powerbrokers, and a creepy, telekinetic hospital patient invade your DVD player with October’s fright festival from Synapse Films. A horror film for every taste lurks in our collection of titles, including three little-seen Australian horror films from the Golden Age of Aussie Exploitation. (The new documentary Not Quite Hollywood profiles this genre, and is due for wide release from Magnet Releasing this fall.) Sink your teeth into Synapse Films’ October horror selections and taste the goodness!

After violently murdering his mother and her lover, Patrick lays comatose in a private hospital. When a pretty young nurse begins working at the hospital, Patrick tries communicating with her, while others in her life are being hurt and killed in mysterious ways. PATRICK is a classic supernatural thriller from Australia; directed with amazing style by Richard Franklin (F/X 2, PSYCHO II), this unsettling film of telekinetic terror “…would give CARRIE a run for her money.” (TV GUIDE). The DVD contains a new, anamorphic transfer of the original uncut Australian version in widescreen and digital sound. Starring Robert Thompson and Susan Penhaligon.
* Special Features include audio commentary with director Richard Franklin,
trailers and TV spots, and more.

She was innocent, pure and unsuspecting…but now Kate Davis has been kidnapped by a bloodthirsty cult and taken to a remote village, and it is there that she will discover her unholy fate. According to the prophecies of the Hyma Brotherhood, she must fulfill her destiny by marrying their leader and helping them quench their eternal thirst for blood. Chantal Contouri, David Hemmings (BLOW-UP, DEEP RED) and Henry Silva (DICK TRACY, ABOVE THE LAW) take you on a terrifying journey inside the world of a demonic cult where satanic rituals, grotesque tortures and deadly surprises await!
* Special Features include audio commentary with director Rod Hardy and producer
Antony I. Ginnane, trailer and TV spots, isolated music score, and more.

A modern-day politician is faced with an incomprehensible power in this startling, award-winning supernatural thriller. Senator Rast holds a powerful government position, but he’s no match for the extraordinary power of the enigmatic stranger who mysteriously comes to “visit” him. Possessing uncanny magical prowess and psychic abilities, the seemingly benevolent visitor quickly gains hold of the Senator and his family. When the visitor becomes aware of Rast’s loveless family life, he uses his powers to gain control over the Senator’s wife and son. Will these dark forces be Rast’s undoing, or will the diabolical drifter finally meet his match? Starring David Hemmings, Robert Powell, and Gus Mercurio.
* Special Features include audio commentary with director Simon Wincer and producer
Antony I. Ginnane, photo gallery, isolated music score, and more.

In the peaceful town of Galesburg, Illinois, a brutal serial killer targets the local teenagers. As the bodies pile up, Sheriff John Brady (Michael Murphy) suspects the killer is connected with the high school’s Psychology department. There is something sinister about the school research program on behavioral control and Brady is determined to uncover the truth. But he’d better find the answers fast before his own son gets drawn into the strange experiments himself! Co-written by Oscar