Review of Patch Town (2014) by Al H — 13 Aug 2015

Watching the film, even though it's actually based on Russian folklore where, instead of the stork, babies are born in a cabbage patch, it sort of made me think of what a dark origin story of cabbage patch dolls would look like.

And this is pretty much the movie that I'd probably make if I was to put pen to paper, so to speak. It's weird, but there's also parts of it that remind me of a 'darker' version of a Disney animated movie mixed in with some Tim Burton-esque elements.

Let's just say that it's a film that it definitely borrows some things from various different sources . Yet, in spite of all of that borrowing, I think this film still stands as one of the more unique experiences I've had watching a film all year.

Yes, it borrows from other sources, but I still think the film makes use of its influences while adding its own unique little twists and turns to the story, so it's not just a copy. However, I honestly don't think the film clicked as well as it probably should have.

I don't know, there's just something about the film that didn't really click for me. And it's definitely not the low-budget 'feel', because they actually made the most out of the money they did have in making the film look pretty good considering the small amount of money that they had to work with.

And I'm just assuming here, but you can tell which films have a smaller budget just by looking at them. I thought the film was well-cast. It's not like I would call the lead a particularly good actor, but I think he's more than likable enough to make him an easy character to root for.

The comedic highlights of the film would, easily, Suresh John as Sly, the protagonist's friend, and Ken Hall as Kenny, creative, one of Yuri's henchmen. Those two are definitely entertaining characters.

Not like they film easier to watch than it already is, but they do give it a lot of comedic highlights. I think the film is also less than 79 minutes long, so it's an incredibly short movie to watch and it's definitely not gonna overstay its welcome at all.

Really, I honestly don't have much else to say about this movie. I think it's definitely a feather in the cap of Craig Goodwill, but, if he keeps at it, I think he's bound to make considerably better movies than this.

But this is definitely more than a good start and I would easily recommend it. It's a good movie and it provides something different than what you normally see.