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Methodic
USA 2007
produced by Chris R. Notarile, Brandon Slagle, Michael Chichetti (executive), Jeff Quinlan (executive) for Blinky Productions
directed by Chris R. Notarile
starring Niki Notarile (= Niki Rubin), Brandon Slagle, Stephen Muzzonigro, Tony Dadika, Rachael Robbins, Charles Cyphers, Dan Werzinger, Christine Allanach, Renee Schiefer, Jena Mroz, Zoe Hunter, Kasey Williams, Britt Hodges, Thomas Daniel, Tawnya Manion, Andrew Roth, Suzi Lorraine, Erin Hada, Stephen Grgas, David Doheny, Scott Tyler, Antonio San Miguel, Lenny Safko, Brianna Kaufman, Roberto Lombardi, Monica DiNatale, Austin Borusiewicz, Damien Colletti, Julia Royter, Chris R. Notarile
story by Chris R. Notarile, screenplay by Chris R. Notarile, Brandon Slagle, music by zminusx (= Brandon Slagle), Jason Snell, Lance Warlock
Dollman
review by Mike Haberfelner
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20 years ago, when he was not even in his teens, he has killed his
parents and almost his baby sister as well and was sent to a sanitarium,
where he has spent his life in a catatonic state ever since - and now his
(now grown-up) baby sister Lana (Niki Notarile) has come to visit Nicholas
(Stephen Muzzonigro) in the sanitarium - and that triggers something in
Nicholas, who now kills several nurses and guards to get out of the
sanitarium, then puts on a mask and goes on a killing spree, slaughtering pretty much
everyone who's close to Lana to get to her and finish what he has started
20 years ago. In the meantime, Dan Grant (Tony Dadika), the cop who has
apprehended Nicholas 20 years ago and has been a close friend to the
family ever since, was shot at in the line of duty and has fallen into a
coma, but when Doc Pell (Dan Werzinger), former head of the sanitarium
Nicholas was at, pays him a visit to give him the news, Dan awakens
instantly and urges his young partner Colin (Brandon Slagle) to protect
Lana in his stead. Colin has a few problems tracking her down, but when he
does, he arrives just in time to save her from Nicholas, whom he shoots
but doesn't kill. Nicholas awakens in the hospital, and it seems he is
back to normal, no more catatonia, no more homicidal tendencies, no
nothing. But he claims he has never been insane but a creature called
dollman has possessed him - and now the dollman has possessed Lana. Nobody
believes him of course, nobody but Dan Grant, who actually helps him
escape the hospital. Back home, Lana attacks her sister Melissa (Rachael
Robbins) and is obviously really possessed by the dollman - but then Nicholas
barges in, pins down Lana and makes the dollman repossess him, then he
urges Melissa to shoot him before the dollman is able to take over - and
after he grimaces menacingly, she does so, too. The film starts
out as a direct Halloween-rip-off
with only a few variations (even fewer than your typical slasher film,
actually), and it veers away from its blueprint only eventually, but never
really attempts to be more than a formula movie - and yet both of these
facts don't necessarily make Methodic a bad movie, it's the ending that really destroys
all the promise the film has shown before (which wasn't much to begin
with). Out of the blue, this is a film about possession? Really? And there
is actually someone helping someone else escape who has tried to kill his own sister only hours ago?
And this someone is a cop who has arrested the same man 20 years ago? And
then the former madman saves the life of a girl he hardly knows by giving
his own? And his sister is persuaded to shoot him by some menacing
grimaces? Has anybody actually ever thought this whole thing through? I
mean, please ...
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