The plot of Patient 62 is fairly straightforward: Boy has sister………..boy doesn't like sister working in a strip club………. girl disappears ………boy has freaky dreams about sister……… boy learns sister has been nabbed by a chemist messing around with genes ………….. things don't quite go so well for one of them……….. boy develops telekinetic powers and kicks some bad guy ass. Ahhh, we've all been there……..

This is a film that in some ways took me by surprise as it takes a real-world hot topic such as genetic manipulation and wraps it up in a story of relatable family strife and all fused with a tasty action sci-fi adventure. All too often these types of films serve only to spoil the experience by being overly unrealistic and fantastical way beyond the productions limited means, thankfully this film doesn't fall into that trap.

An undoubted strength of the movie are the central performances of Reece Wagner (Lucas) and Andrew Valdez (Dennis). If you add to that a strong supporting cast taken from the local theatre committee the makers have avoided something that occasionally detracts from an indie film such as this poorly acted set-pieces. I have to admit that the role of the primary bad-guy (Glenn LaPoint) is exactly how a bad guy should be played – full of controlled (and sometimes uncontrolled) aggression and menace, well-played sir.

Here we have a well acted production with no real weak acting links. If you add to that a fine pacy script with a number of witty exchanges of dialogue throughout, plus some inspired special effects, lighting and editing which belies the films low-budget you have a package that should not fail. I'm sure it won't.

If all that wasn't enough then I could add that there are a number of gorgeous sexy women inhabiting the aforementioned strip club – however I'm far too much of a gentleman to mention that……….

A grungy and grimy micro-budgeted thriller that moulds in elements of sci-fi and a few additional scenes of blood splatter, Patient 62 lacks little in imagination and ambition, despite it being held back frequently by its DIY nature.

Directed by duo Rick Anthony and Bryce Schlamp, Patient 62 sees a collection of actors who all seem very far from professional, get thrown into a seedy underground world of stolen working class girls, shady organisations and potentially human-altering experiments, as everyday guy Lucas Chance joins forces with wannabe DJ Dennis and hunting store employee Twitch, as the trio go off in search of Lucas's missing sister Angela.

Anthony and Schlamp's film takes a turn into the wild when the group realise this is anything but a straightforward missing person mystery as they get caught up in a deadly game between a group of angry looking thugs who aren't afraid to shot first and ask questions later.

It's a straight up B-movie set-up that makes little to no logical sense but there's little denying everyone involved in this bizarre ride is totally committed to what's going on and when the cast and crew of a movie such as this is having fun, you as an audience member end up having more fun than you know you should be having, as things get more and more out of hand.

Patient 62 throws in random K.O's of driving pedestrians, exploding baddies, out of the blue combat cross-bow killings and telekinesis amongst other things and if you allow yourself to forget production values, acting skills, logic and substance, Patient 62 ends up being a ride you can happily be a part of and there's enough out there ideas and playfulness going on here that suggests should Anthony and Schlmap come across a bigger budget for their next feature adventure, something special could potentially come together.

Final Say –

Taken for what it is, a micro-budgeted oddity, Patient 62 offers up a wild ride that makes little sense and features a distinct lack of artistic polish but that's not the type of film Patient 62 is trying to be and that's OK, as the movie world can always do with a little more rough, raw and riotous experiences like Patient 62 offers up.

2 pairs of headphones out of 5