The Patriot (1998) on Netflix
A deadly virus strikes a Rocky Mountain town. Dr. Wesley McClaren, a former immunologist, seeks an antidote while soldiers seal the area and a militia leader is held after a siege.
- Netflix1.6/5
- IMDb4.2/1014,085 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes20%
Trailer
Plot summary
Dr. Wesley McClaren is a doctor near Ennis, Montana, and a former government research immunologist with an interest in herbal medicine, weapons and self-defense. When people begin dying of an illness no one can identify, he is called to a hospital and finds that a highly dangerous airborne virus is the cause. He calls in a Biological Response team, and the town is sealed off while doctors treat sufferers with a vaccine, though several have already died. The source is traced to Floyd Chisholm, a local self-styled militia leader who gave himself up after a long siege and was arrested on weapons charges. He has taken the virus himself, and in court he spits at the judge.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Patriot (1998)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- After failing to secure theatrical distribution, The Patriot premiered on HBO, a channel that typically pays a maximum of $1.75 million for films that can't get a theatrical release, a figure contrasted against the film's estimated $25 million and $35 million budget.
- The Patriot is credited as an adaptation of William C. Heine's novel The Last Canadian, yet it shares virtually no similarities with the book except the idea of a deadly virus. No character names, events, or even locations appear in both the novel and the film.
- Shooting The Patriot in Virginia City, Montana, was briefly halted so the snow could be removed from the ground, done to maintain continuity. The main shoot ran eight weeks in Ennis and Virginia City, plus three days on the campus of Montana State University.
- The Patriot was intended as a worldwide theatrical release, but it went direct-to-video in America while countries such as Spain saw it in theaters in 1998. It was the first Steven Seagal film to skip most theaters.
