This movie is actually a remake of a 1978 original that I have never seen, but I was very impressed with it when my daughter
and I watched it together this evening. Brilliantly cast, darkly scored, and with a disturbing plot, this film is one that will lurk
in your dreams long after you return the DVD.
Kathy Jacquard is an idealistic young nurse who is hired to work in the Roget Sanitarium, where Dr. Roget (ably played by Charles
Dance, better known as Tywin Lannister from HBO's GAME OF THRONES series) is working with comatose, vegetative patients
in an ongoing series of experiments to see if he can reinstate brain activity in those who have none. Among the patients is a
handsome young man named Patrick, who suffers none of the emaciation and muscle atrophy common to the others. Kathy
is drawn to him from the start, believing that he is still aware of his surroundings. And one day, as she cleans him up after a
particularly brutal round of experimentation from Dr. Roget, he begins to respond to her.
But no one else. As she tries to prove to the rest of the sanitarium staff that Patrick is aware of his surroundings, strange things
begin to happen. Patrick cannot move a muscle of his body - but he can move objects with his mind. And little by little, Kathy
comes to realize that this handsome young man is not exactly the innocent victim of tragedy that she has imagined him to be.
This is a genuinely creepy movie with a very strong cast. I highly recommend it!