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“ | Let me light his hair, like Michael Jackson! | „ |
~ Patrick's most famous quote in the 2017 film. |
Patrick Hockstetter is a major antagonist in Stephen King's book It as well as the 2017-2019 film duology of the same name. He is a member of the Bowers Gang and is often cited as the most dangerous member of said group.
He was portrayed by Owen Teague in the films.
Biography
Novel
Background
Patrick was a deeply disturbed young man who fell under the illusion that he was the only real human being in the world (solipsism). He expresses this delusion when he kills his baby brother, Avery, at the age of five out of the fear of being replaced.
As a child, Patrick and his family go swimming in a lake, and he develops a fear of leeches after several of them attach themselves to him.
As a student attending Derry Elementary School, Patrick develops a reputation for being creepy due to his habit of keeping dead flies in his pencil box, and female students stop sitting in front of him due to his tendency of groping them.
Late 1957
Patrick, deeply sadistic, kept the corpses of animals he killed in a refrigerator down at the junkyard, the animals being strays or pets stolen from people's homes that he starved to death in the fridge for both his own amusement and sexual gratification.
It is implied that IT uses its powers to prevent people from discovering the fridge, as the day Patrick found it in the town junkyard was the day Georgie Denbrough was killed by It.
Some time before the events of the July of 1958, Henry Bowers finds out about the fridge and the animals.
Summer of 1958
Patrick is present when Henry breaks Eddie Kaspbrak's arm, and he spits in the latter's face when he is on the ground in pain.
Later, Patrick and the rest of the Bowers Gang wind up in the junkyard lighting their farts on fire for fun. After a while, Vic and Belch both leave to tend to different responsibilities, and shortly afterward, Patrick gives Henry Bowers a handjob and offers to give him oral sex, to which Henry replies by punching him in the face out of disgust and anger.
Henry then threatens to tell the police about Patrick's animals if the latter tells anyone about their sexual encounter and leaves.
Patrick, now spooked that Henry may really get the police after him, goes down to the fridge to dispose of the animals and clean it out, but is attacked by IT in the form of flying leeches once he opens the fridge, his worst (and likely only) fear.
Because of the attack, Patrick passes out from blood loss, and he wakes up in the sewers, the last thing he sees being Pennywise/IT eating him.
When the Losers Club enters the sewers, they find what was left of Patrick's corpse.
Summer of 1985
In 1985, Patrick Hockstetter appears as one of It's manifestations to frighten Eddie Kaspbrak. When the Losers Club enters the sewers again, they find Patrick's corpse for the second time.
2017 Film
In the 2017 film, Patrick Hockstetter's character is considerably changed from the source material. He is not as sadistic or physcotic as he is in the novel as we see none of his hideous actions. He also shows no of his bisexual tendencies except for licking his lips when the Losers walk by him in school.
Patrick Hockstetter is seen harassing several of the Losers Club with the rest of the Bowers Gang, including throwing Stan Uris’ hat through the window of a moving bus. He is also present when the gang attempt to run Mike Hanlon over with Belch’s car and again when Henry attempts to carve his own name in Ben Hanscom's gut, intimidating the latter with a makeshift flamethrower.
After Ben Hanscom escapes into the Barrens and the bullies give chase, Henry Bowers orders Patrick Hockstetter and Belch to go after him while Vic Criss helps him find his knife. During this time, Patrick orders Belch to search the forested area of the Barrens whilst he searches along the river. While still hunting for Ben, Patrick enters a sewer, thinking that Benbl Hanscom is in there. However, It appears in the form of dead children and frightens Patrick, causing him to try and run away. However, It as Pennywise traps Patrick in a dead end of the sewers and eats him. A missing persons poster is seen for Patrick on a telephone pole in Derry shortly after as the Losers Club goes to Ben’s house.
Some time later, It uses Patrick's voice as one of the many voices calling up to Beverly Marsh from her apartment's bathroom sink, and he appears on a television screen alongside Pennywise and other victims of the latter, all of them chanting "KILL! THEM! ALL!" as Henry Bowers murders his abusive father Butch.
2019 Film
“ | Hockstetter?! | „ |
~ Henry's surprise and relief upon seeing Patrick again for the first time in years. |
In the second part to the 2017 film duology Patrick makes a few appearances as one of It's forms.
He appears first as IT summons him to a mental institution where an aged and now almost completely insane Henry Bowers is being held after being convicted for the murders of his father as well as Belch and Vic. Patrick appears as a decaying but still recognizable corpse of himself and presents himself before Henry who recognizes him quite quickly, he then gifts Henry with his old switchblade and helps him escape from the mental institution.
After Henry successfully escaped Patrick came to his aid once again by driving him back to Derry and continued acting as a chauffeur of sorts towards him until the latter's death at the hands of Richie Tozier.
Patrick made no further appearances in the film.
Personality
Patrick was a very insane, disturbed, and psychopathic person who had a solipsistic worldview and believed himself to be the only "real" being, considering everything except him to not be real, explaining why he does not feel fear or pain.
Despite thinking "real" does not exist apart from himself, he does have a vague concept of rules and breaking them. For Patrick, it is not breaking the rules that is bad, but it is bad being caught doing so.
He is also a provocative and sexual sadist who draws excitation from torturing and killing animals and insects. He would also frequently attempt to grope his female peers, and in the novel, he performs perverted acts such as masturbating Henry and attempt to suck his penis.
His report cards show him as being a temperamental, emotionless, and apathetic student, and though his IQ tests show him to have an intelligence slightly under the average, he is described as "far more clever than his lackluster IQ results indicated".
Appearance
Book
In the book Patrick's physical appearance is not discussed in much detail however he is described as a chubby, ugly young man who reportedly barely even looks human.
Film
In the film adaptation Patrick's appearance differed drastically from the book.
He was a towering figure to everyone around him and had a slender physique with pale skin and thick, long dark hair flicked upwards. His moment prominent outfit in the film featured him wearing dark grey jeans tucked into black combat boots, a yellow T-shirt with red piping depicting the titular cat from Tom & Jerry sticking his tongue out and several studded bracelets on his left hand.
Quotes
“ | Nice frisbee flamer! | „ |
~ Patrick bullying Stanley Uris by throwing his hat through an open school bus window |
“ | I hear you, tits. Don't think you can stay down here all damn day. | „ |
~ Patrick, looking for Ben Hascom in the Barrens. |
“ | FUCK! | „ |
~ Patrick's last works before being cornered and killed by IT |
Gallery
Trivia
- Patrick Hockstetter is considered to be the most cruel and evil member of the Bowers Gang. Even the gang's leader, Henry Bowers, who is already a murderous sociopath himself by the end of the story, has shown to have disgust for Patrick and his actions. He is even sometimes called "Pennywise Jr." by Stephen King fans.
- Patrick did not appear in the 1990 miniseries (although the character Victor Criss, another bully, is mistakenly named "Patrick" in the credits), but he appears in the 2017 film adaptation. In spite of that, however, his role is drastically reduced in the film. This is likely because of the controversial and mature nature of Patrick's actions throughout the novel which likely would be met with criticism if shown on screen.
- Henry Bowers' sociopathy is the result of his father's abuse and violent personality, he is also driven by rage rather than cruelty. Patrick Hockstetter, on the other hand, is a psychopathic sexual sadist who enjoys causing chaos for absolutely no reason other than his own amusement and pleasure.
- When It is attacking Patrick Hockstetter in the form of flying leeches, a humanoid figure (also It) appears, and the face of the creature is constantly bubbling and morphing, as if deciding what it wanted to be. This suggests that due to Patrick's solipsistic worldview, he has little to no experience with fear and thus would not have many forms that It could take to feed off of him.
- A character of the same name appears in another King story, namely Firestarter. However, both Patricks are not the same due to Patrick Hockstetter in It dying as a child in 1958, so the name is just recycled.
- Patrick Hockstetter seems to fit two of the three criteria of the Macdonald triad (three traits shared by 95% of all serial killers), "cruelty to animals" being the most obvious and "arson" is implied when Patrick seems to be hypnotized by the flame of a lighter.
- In the same chapter that explores the character of Patrick Hockstetter, Beverly Marsh, who is hiding in a car, is tortured by her bladder. Ironically "Enuresis" is the third criteria of the triad.