Ward (1973 film)

Ward (Štićenik) is a 1973 Yugoslav television horror film directed by Đorđe Kadijević and based on the story Mihael and his cousin by Filip David. The film is the first in Kadijević's mini-series "Ciklus: Fantastika".

The film centere around a young man trying to find refuge in a mental hospital while being chased by a mysterious pursuer. Kadijević describes the film as "not a typical representative of the horror genre", but as "a film thematically related to fantasy [...] in which a more psychological approach towards the subject matter is evident".

Plot
A young man runs through the wasteland, fleeing from an unknown pursuer wearing a black cloak and hat. While running, he passes by a fallen tree. He arrives in front of a mental hospital and begs the doctor to let him in. He introduces himself as Mihael and refuses to provide further information about himself or his stalker. He rejects the doctors' suggestions that he may be mentally ill and believes that he does not need treatment, but rather protection from his stalker. Although the doctor is skeptical at first, he starts to believe Mihael because he himself noticed, or thinks he noticed, someone following the young man to the hospital. Mihael's paranoia seemingly worsens – he becomes scared of the nurses and draws the fallen tree he ran past on the wall of his room.

While taking a walk, the doctor encounters the Mihael's stalker, who presents himself as his guardian. He demands that Michael be returned, but the doctor ignores his request, believing that Mihael needs psychiatric treatment. Returning to the hospital, he tells Mihael that it's time to transfer him to another facility. As they walk down the hall, Mihael suddenly opens the window and jumps out, committing suicide. During another walk, the doctor once again encounters the young man's pursuer, and informs him that his protégé is dead. The pursuer replies that he is conscious, and that the doctor is to blame for his death. In the last scene, a funeral carriage passes by a fallen tree, whose driver is the pursuer.

Cast

 * Milan Caci Mihailović as Mihael
 * Branko Pleša as doctor
 * Dušan Janićijević as ward
 * Toma Kuruzović as paramedic
 * Ljubomir Ćipranić as Nikola, porter
 * Svetlana Blagojević as nurse
 * Nadežda Vukićević as patient
 * Damjan Klašnja as patient
 * Bogdan Jakuš as patient