Movies
[Review] ‘Patchwork’ Sews Horror and Comedy Together
I know that I’m not the first horror junkie to have done a literary analysis of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in university. I’m also not the first to point out the irony of Mary Shelley writing a novel that’s weak on female characters. So it stands to reason that someone would eventually come along and take the Frankenstein concept and present it with stronger-developed female characters in the principle roles. Tyler MacIntyre’s Patchwork attempts to remedy that with its gory comedic tale of female revenge. The film has made stops at Screamfest, and more recently, the Toronto After Dark Film Fest, and is most definitely not Frankenhooker.
After a lacklustre birthday bash at a bar, Jennifer (Tory Stolper) is attacked in her home. When she awakens, Jennifer discovers that she has been patched together with the bodies of two other women: party girl Ellie (Tracey Fairaway) and shy girl Madeleine (Maria Blasucci). The three women share the same consciousness, as well as the same desire for revenge. Retracing their steps, the women go on a rampage of revenge to find the scientist responsible for their predicament.
It’s obvious from the synopsis that this is one kooky film. From the get-go, despite Stolper being in the driver’s seat for the actual “body” (with some great makeup effects by Kourtney Kuroki to complete the look), we’re treated to all three women doing a well-executed inner dialogue. Blasucci, Fairway and Stolper do a great job of building on the initial setups of their characters and give them the needed development, as each share their own flaws (Jennifer is self-centred to the point of turning people off, Ellie parties and gets loaded with whomever will by her a drink, and Madeline’s anxiety stops her from meeting new people). The film also brandishes some great comedy. Once in a while, the shot shifts to a person’s perspective within the film, and we see firsthand the creature talking to itself, arguing or answering it’s own questions. There’s some great physical acting and comedy by Stolper, akin to Bruce Campbell’s fight with his hand in Evil Dead 2 (though nowhere near as slapstick). In a somewhat disorienting move, certain shots will shift to a shot of all three women being in the same scene, interacting with each other. It takes a while to get used to, but it just adds another unique perspective to the “three people in the same body” mechanic.
The film’s plot is revealed in eight chapters, which shift between the present amalgamated creature’s journey, and flashing back to the individual women for their backstories. Admittedly, these moments are a bit abrupt and threaten to interrupt the flow of the story, but it’s not that big of a deal. Again, the actors do a great job of drawing you in and developing their characters. Credit to MacIntyre and Lee Hill’s script, which also puts in a tragic element that is along similar lines of what Frankenstein’s Monster experiences in longing for a companion (I know it’s a stretch). Early on in the film, the ladies hold onto hope that their predicament can be reversed, and that they can all go back to their former lives. However, it becomes apparent that it won’t be the case. Instead, we go on the revenge tweak that continues the ridiculousness, which is far more enjoyable.
The film doesn’t have much in terms of missteps. Other than the previously-mentioned story interruptions, the film could’ve been more gorier in the revenge aspect than what we got in the final film. Granted, there are some brutal moments, but perhaps I’m expecting more slapstick again. Also, there’s one effect regarding an amalgamated cat that while appropriately cheesy, definitely sticks out as being pretty bad compared to the excellent makeup. A nod to Re-Animator‘s cat, perhaps?
Patchwork was definitely a treat. The acting by the three ladies is superb, as was the overall story. The humour hit home more often than not, and the makeup effects were excellent. While the sadist in me wishes that it was a little gorier, there’s still plenty of brutality here being doled out by the creature. Tyler MacIntyre has taken the Frankenstein tale and tweaked it, giving us something new and fun. Definitely check it out.
It’s been eight years since Ari Aster came onto the scene and helped usher in a new wave of horror with Hereditary, one of the rare horror movies from the past ten years that still seems to come up in conversation every single week. And it’s back in the conversation this week, with Ari Aster revealing at an event that he’s already written a prequel to Hereditary!
Ari Aster was on hand at the American Cinematheque for Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair last week, a Los Angeles festival that screened all of Aster’s movies to date. The website Gold Derby reports that Aster revealed the Hereditary prequel script during a Q&A at the event, and you can watch the full Q&A conversation below for confirmation on the website’s report.
“I wrote a prequel to this,” Aster told the crowd, referring to Hereditary. “It never feels like the right time to do it. It’s a prequel, not a sequel so I don’t know where this goes.”
Would a potential Hereditary prequel dig deeper into the mythology of demon king Paimon? Unfortunately, Aster provides no further details on his prequel approach at this time.
Aster said of Hereditary during the same Q&A, “I was just trying to make a really good horror movie.” I think most horror fans would agree that he more than accomplished that goal, and the past eight years have proven that Hereditary is an enduring classic of its generation.
We celebrated the fifth anniversary of Hereditary here on BD back in 2023.
Ron Breton wrote, “Hereditary offers a similar emotional resonance to this new generation of horror – my generation of horror– as movie-goers in the seventies when they first saw Exorcist. Much like Aster’s film, we see the incomprehensible evil wear the face of a young girl; the victim of a raw deal she had no say in, as it tears a family to its core. Sure, both films offer so many terrifying visuals that can make the hair stand up on anyone’s neck – but it also depicts intense relationships and emotions that are tangible. Real. Familiar.”
“In that familiarity lies the uncanny, ready to rear its ugly head and force us to confront thoughts and horrors laying dormant and clawing at our psyche,” Breton continued his 5th anniversary celebration of Hereditary. “And it doesn’t matter if it’s been five or fifty years. These horrors are always there, as we become pawns in its horrible, hopeless machine.”
Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Ann Dowd, and Milly Shapiro star in Hereditary. In the film, “A grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.”
That’s putting it mildly, eh?!
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