Writer: Paul Davis, Sam Dickson, Paul Fischer, Richard Falkner, Omar orn Hauksson, Jacey Heldrich, Dean Hewison, Barry Jay, Bran McAuley, Joel Morgan, Johannes Persson, Nicholas Peterson, David Steenhoek, Aidee Walker, Rasmus Wassberg (Screenplay)
Starring: Michael Ironside, Jack Plotnick, Drew Fonteiro, Rane Jameson, Grace Van Dein
Plot: The film centers on Dr. Marcus, a renowned psychiatrist who has selected 6 severe mentally ill and dangerous patients from the Spring Valley Mental Hospital to interview as part of research for his new book. As Dr. Marcus interviews each patient, one by one the horrors theyve committed begin to unfold. However, Dr. Marcus soon learns that there is one patient who ties them all together – Sarah Pegram
Runtime: 1 Hour 56 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Solid Horror Anthology
Story: Patient Seven starts as Dr Daniel Marcus (Ironside) visit a mental hospital to study six patients with their own different problems, we go through their stories one by one, first Jill who has killed her mother, who believed she saw something in their home, the second patient John Doe believed he was killed by a serial killer in London. The third is an Icelandic woman that claims to have been attacked by zombies.
As each story unfolds Dr Marcus starts to try and push the patient believing they are nothing more than just taking advantage of the system, either they are a killer or just trying to avoid a reality. The fourth patient is accused of killing her best friend even though she claims it was suicide. The fifth won’t talk because of an event with a haunting at a young age. The final patient believes vampires are real, with the stories together, just what is the connection with the seventh patient?
Thoughts on Patient Seven
Characters – Dr Daniel Marcus is the man trying to learn about six disturbed patients at a mental hospital, each story needs to be broken down in a different way, he is doing research for his book, but leaving us wondering what his motives are is the biggest mystery in this film. we do meet the different patients which all have different stories and we follow the events of their stories each different from the rest. We do meet the doctors, but as the film is an anthology we just don’t get enough time to look into their characters.
Performances – Michael Ironside is the star of this film with his calming presence while interviewing the patients that can turn on them in a heartbeat. We have a couple of known names in the supporting cast with Alfie Allen in the second story being the highlight of the rest of the performances, while no one is bad in their roles here, they just don’t get the time they deserve.
Story – The story here is told like an interview process to give us seven short horror stories, the fact each one goes in a different direction helps the audience find one they can enjoy even if the previous one isn’t for them. Vampires, ghost, spirits, serial killers and zombies are the main topics each one feels short enough to be entertaining, even if one did make me want to see a feature film about that character. For a horror anthology this does check the boxes well and is one that can be enjoyed.
Horror – The horror in the story comes from the different stories, while we don’t always get the best build up to the horror moments, we do follow the horror guidelines well.
Settings – Each story does take us to a new setting which helps make the film feel fresh, though I don’t quiet understand how the crimes from England, New Zealand and Iceland ended up in an American mental home.
Special Effects – The effects in the film across the different stories are great and make you feel like you are part of them.
Scene of the Movie – The second story.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Some of the stories are slightly too short though.
Final Thoughts – This is a good horror anthology even if the ending feel slightly flat, we get plenty going on and can enjoy the different ideals of horror.
Overall: Horror anthology does correctly.
Rating