By Kyle Laugh
Patchwork is a 2015 horror / comedy which was written and directed by Tyler MacIntyre and co-written by Chris Lee Hill.
The film stars Tory Stolper (The Hands You Shake, Tragedy Girls), Tracey Fairaway (Hellraiser: Revelations, This Is Us), Maria Blasucci (Ghost Ghirls, Drunk History) and James Phelps (Harry Potter Film Series).
“A bombastic throwback horror-comedy that follows three young women who go out partying one night and find themselves Frankensteined together in one body. Now they must put aside their differences so they can find who did this and exact revenge!”
Source: IMDB
By its title alone, my initial thoughts were that people would be getting hacked up in order to provide a mad scientist with his thought of what a perfect human being should be made to look like. Basically something along the lines of 'American Mary’, ‘Frankenstein’ and the 'Human Centipede combined but with a focus of dismemberment. Of course, that's why they tell you not to judge a book by its cover!
Patchwork is a mashup of so many great films from the genre. Reanimator, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein and more mixed together with large portions of gore, comedy with a sprinkle of 80’s flair all wrapped up in an anthology story.
The use of three separate characters to mesh into one superior female being is a unique way to show that people from all walks of life, whether they are from a business class, a “bar star” or a person who feels as if they don't fit in physically or mentally in everyday life, are able to find a common ground and work together to achieve their goals. They have the ability to help each other up and push one and other to do better. Although this is in the form of three minds stuck in one body, the point is still pushed through very clearly.
If there is one complaint rust I have regarding the film it's the repetitiveness of the story's twist. Mid way through the film viewers are given an act which 'hints’ (and I use that term loosely) at who is ultimately responsible for the cause of the three main characters transformation while another two acts delve deeper into exactly what happened and the reasoning they had behind doing this. It made the film feel as though it was going to end on a sour note, but trust me when I say that you must stick with it through the end for not only the moral of the story but some great comedy bits that likely wouldn't have worked out in any other point in the film.
The acting is excellent and if you’re a diehard of the genre, you’ll pick up on some fun little easter eggs throughout, nodding at a variety of classic films and scenes.
The heart of the film is definitely the moral of the story. That being “you're perfect the way you are” and “don't pretend you're something you're not”. Just because it's set up as a horror film, doesn't mean it can't express something meaningful and I urge those who have yet to see it, to check it out!
8.5 out of 10.
Trailer
This week on the Beyond The Void Horror Podcast they take on the Ghosts, Legends or Crime surrounding murders in The Meat Grinder. Several tales that people met their demise in the gears of a machine. LISTEN to it here or Listen/Subscribe on iTunes here.