I'm serious! I don't understand the jealous hatred some "reviewers" post about this film both here and especially on Amazon. I guess it's true. Those who can't do, BASH! Speaking of "bash", METHODIC has the distinction of being the very first "basher" film! Anyway, sure there's a similarity to HALLOWEEN, but director Chris R. Notarile freely admits his love of that film and that METHODIC was originally intended as a reboot / remake of the John Carpenter classic.All that aside, METHODIC starts out on familiar ground with a small boy who kills his parents, but quickly develops into it's own interesting and original story where we learn that the entity known as "The Dollman" is more like a virus than a spirit so anyone can't become The Dollman. This theme is explored more in the short sequel METHODIC 1.5 and that film shows where the storyline is going and it has nothing to do with HALLOWEEN !! As for the acting, Brandon Slagle, Niki Rubin, Tony Dadika and Stephen Muzzonigro completely nail their roles and the supporting cast is equally as good with standouts being Daniel Werzinger, Christine Allanach and Roberto Lombardi (who's storyline features heavily in METHODIC 1.5). Also, having Charles Cyphers in the movie is AMAZING! Visually, METHODIC is stark and disturbing in all the right places and the music really enhances the visuals. Pick this up if you like old school horror with a good story. If you're into body count movies about drunk teens, pass on this!

I thought I should edit my initial review because, while I had and now continue to firmly believe that this film's score is being bumped up by people associated with the cast and crew, I didn't think it was fair to rate it without finishing the film. And now I know, instead of just suspecting, that this film stays just as awful as it starts. As I am forced to leave at least 1 star I will now dedicate this star to the actor playing the police chief, as he was the only one that didn't seem to be headed for a career in porn.Why is this film so terrible, well, beyond the aforementioned acting torture (worst of all was the lesbian I would say), this film is unoriginal. It starts off less as an homage to Halloween and more like a rip off. From there it spirals into Fallen, along with ripping off ideas from the Exorcist. Now I know I've seen that exact scene with the fake seizure before, but I can't place which film it was.Now I've read the other reviews. So before anyone gets all huffy, I realize that the director was planning on a Halloween remake, although I doubt the timing with Rob Zombie is the only reason he wasn't able to do it. I can't imagine any film student choosing to do a remake of one of the most well respected horror films as their first feature ... especially knowing that they only have the budget for a 10 day shoot.To me the film reeked of laziness, both in idea and execution. The lighting was awful. The sound was awful. The dialogue was bland and often poorly delivered. Even in the first half hour it seemed as though there were about 10 minutes that should have been trimmed in editing to help with pacing and also because they didn't do anything for the story. And it didn't seem like the director strayed far from the campus with extras and small parts... a mental hospital that is only for the 20 something set? This film is just sloppy and not really original.I've seen films in the 48 hour film festival that seemed to have more thought and care put into them than this. Maybe it could have made it as a short, but it doesn't have enough meat for a feature.

Let me start by saying what a cool movie this was for being made for practically nothing. Chris is such a talented director and to be able to make a film of this kind of caliber for next to nothing is an achievement onto it's own. Methodic is chock full of wonderful homages to John Carpenter's Halloween and even James Cameron's Terminator. Both of which are favorites of mine. The script is very rich in dialog and the humor, though limited is still fun and quirky. I got to see a private screening of Methodic last week and after talking with the director I just really felt it necessary to post something. I'm even more amazed that he got THE sheriff Brackett in his film. I'm talking about Charles Cyphers. It was a real treat seeing him play a hard ass cop. And if there is a sequel I want to see him come back for sure. The Dollman was such a cool villain. Now I don't want to give much away. You really need to see this film for yourself, but when he goes after Lana in that climatic chase I was cheering. Not that I wanted her to die, but just the energy of the killer combined with the rock score got me all excited. And the best part, the Dollman RUNS! I was not expecting that. Usually the killers walks everywhere and pops up randomly, but not this guy. He jumps off roofs, smashes down doors, bursts through closets and RUNS! Oh and his escape from the hospital was great too. It was very..... METHODIC. LOL. All in all I will say this movie was so fun for me and brought back a lot of those classic things I loved about horror. I only hope I can make a movie as cool as this some day.

Let me start by saying, this film is not what you think it is. Despite all of it's thematic references to John Carpenter's Halloween, Methodic is NOT a rip off in any way. Methodic writer and director, Chris R. Notarile takes all the wonderful elements and themes that we've grown to love from Halloween and all other late 70's - early 80's horror movies and has woven them into a brilliant tapestry of suspense, horror and drama.Methodic starts slow. If you're looking for a popcorn body count movie with mindless wanton slaughter of moronic horny teenagers, this is not the movie for you. Methodic is instead incredibly story driven. So much so that there are actually moments in the film that if you don't pay attention to, it is very certain you will not understand something later on. I like this. I find it rare these days, especially in independent horror movies where people actually need to pay attention to a movie. Usually the story is simple, intoxicated coeds get taken out by a silent masked maniac.Now granted, Methodic does sport the classic silent masked killer stereotype, but fortunately, with very good reason. The Dollman is instantly classic, from the look of his mask right down the (no pun intended) execution of his actions. I would also like to bring up the wonderful gimmick deployed with this film, and by that I am referring to the "basher" term used to distinguish the film. Believe it or not, Methodic actually is the first basher film and that's actually a pretty clever thing to do. In a world where everything is being remade, its always refreshing to see something new come along. I predict we will be seeing more "basher" movies as time goes on. Let's just hope they are on par with this film.And now down to the technical "stuff". This is Mr. Notarile's directorial debut, sort of. Apparently he has a large number of short film credits to his name, but I believe Methodic is his first feature. Not a bad way to start a career if you ask me. For a first time feature director with what appeared to be a very large cast, I think things were handled more than admirably. I won't lie, some of the acting in the film was a little on the campy side, but I suspect that is usually the case with most low budget horror films. The shots were great. Most of the film really gave off a larger than life feeling and though it was limited, the action and the killing scenes in this film were very fun and intense.As for performances, most of the cast and more importantly, those playing the main characters, were very convincing. I enjoyed the natural flow of the dialog as well as some of more candid moments between characters, specifically the stakeout scene with Dan and Colin and the "chick flick" scene with Lana, Melissa and her husband. Great stuff.All in all, Methodic is a wonderful first film and great gateway piece into what looks to be a very promising career from Chris R. Notarile. I wish him well and cannot wait to see where he goes and what he does next.