Blackout

I saw Blackout for the first time when I was a kid and it SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME FOR A LONG TIME! I had trouble sleeping because of Blackout for a long time. I could not walk down a hall by myself at night because of Blackout. Blackout is the only movie that REALLY SCARED ME. Blackout is LOADED with suspense and has some frightening scenes. The killer wears a zipper-face black mask and that, to me, is scary looking. Watching Blackout now, of course, I don't get afraid like I did when I was a kid. This film, in my opinion, is wonderful! Blackout has GOT TO BE one of Richard Widmark's greatest performances as Detective Joe Steiner. Keith Carradine is excellent as always. Kathleen Quinlen is great as Keith's wife. Michael Beck from The Warriors gives a very good supporting role. The script is top-notch stuff. The music score could not fit the film any better. KUDOS to ALL of the cast and crew of Blackout. I'm not going to give the outstanding plot because you can find that out for yourself. I just wanted to get my thoughts out on this wonderful murder mystery. I believe Blackout is now out of print so it may be hard to find for some. I found a copy on E-bay. If you want to look for Blackout, you may come across a copy/copies on E-bay/Amazon. I really don't see how anyone could not enjoy, in my mind, A TRUE GEM!---Blackout from director Douglas Hickox. Thank you for reading my thoughts and have a nice day/night.

A woman and her three children are brutally murdered-and her husband mysteriously disappeared.The police chief who handled the case remains obsessed with tracking down the killer.An anonymous tip points him in the direction of a totally disfigured amnesiac."Blackout" is a pretty good thriller.The action is slow-paced,but there is plenty of suspense.The acting is pretty good and there are some horrifying moments.Check it out.7 out of 10.

A grisly murder occurs in Ohio in which a woman and her three children are murdered. It has occurred during the youngest child's birthday celebration, and the murderer has posed the children, with their mother's arms around them, and birthday celebration hats on the kids' heads. Seasoned detective Joe Steiner (Richard Widmark) is the homicide detective on the case, obviously shaken by the murder scene. The husband of the family, Ed Vincent, is missing and is the prime suspect in the case.

Meanwhile, in Washington state, there is a car accident resulting in a fiery crash. One passenger is killed and burned beyond recognition. The other (Keith Carridine) is thrown clear of the wreckage and survives, but is badly burned and will need extensive facial reconstructive surgery. He has completely lost his memory and no ID is found at the accident site. The police do some tracing and figure that one of the occupants is named "Alan Devlin". That is the name that the survivor takes, although he can find nobody in the town or surrounding area who knows him or why he is there. He spends a year in the hospital, falls in love with his nurse, Chris (Kathleen Quinlan), and they marry. They have a child of their own plus her two kids from a previous marriage. Alan becomes a very successful realtor and seven years pass.

Back in Ohio, Steiner was forcibly retired from his job, but he continues to work on the murder case from seven years before. Then one day he gets an anonymous letter saying that Devlin may be his man. Accompanying the note is an article from the local paper showing Devlin and family - Alan won realtor of the year in his town. The age is right, the height and general appearance are right, but of course he can't be exactly physically identified because of the extensive plastic surgery. So Steiner is off to Washington to see if Devlin is in fact Ed Vincent, the suspect in the Ohio murder case. Realize that the ability to analyze DNA evidence did not exist in 1985 or else this would have been a very short movie. Lots of complications and twists and turns ensue.

I loved Richard Widmark's character (who said all the things the audience was probably thinking.) Keith Carradine is always good at playing affable family men, and his role here is no exception. This was an early HBO effort at filmmaking and I'd say they did well.

Several people pick on different aspects of this one, but I had only one major sticking point that really has no impact on the plot. When in the hospital, Alan Devlin has no ID, no name, no memory, and thus no health insurance that can be identified. And the first thing out of the doctors' mouths is all about the extensive plastic surgery they'll be doing with obviously no insurance to pay for it? Not now and certainly not in 1985 if we are talking about any hospital in the United States. Any hospital in America would leave you on the curb looking like Frankenstein's monster if you have no means of payment. But then we'd have no movie.

A TV presentation that was better than expected and managed to throw up a good amount of jarring suspense and genuine twists in a customary murder mystery thriller set-up. Director Douglas Hickox (father of director Anthony Hickox) gets the goods out of his first-rate cast consisting of Richard Widmark, Keith Carradine, Kathleen Quinlan and Michael Beck. Widmark's hardened ex-cop and Quinlan's concerned wife are pure class. Carradine is terrifically convincing in the lead role.

After the discovery of a brutally murdered mother and her children, the search begins for the father, but he seems to have disappeared. Six years later the cop who was in charge of the case is retired by the force, but still looking into the case. In the mail he receives an anonymous letter with an article that features a man who recovered from a devastating car accident, but had lost his memory about his past. Now his starting a new life with a family, but could he be the killer?

In the air are a disturbing and glum vibe, and the opening sequence cements it. What begins is quite slow-going in a melodrama format, but the gradually tight build-up psychologically toys around with the viewer of what to possibility to believe. It's resourcefully written and relies on Hickox's competently accomplished directorial timing to get the most out of mysterious avenues and intense flourishes. Never does it fall into anything cheap or uninspired, and the red herrings are pulled off effectively and the intensity grows to lead onto the final revelation. The enliven score is well-placed and sorrowfully orchestrated for maximum impact.

The TV feature 'Blackout' is one to look out for.

This is an early HBO production and has a rather impressive cast-- Richard Widmark and Keith Carradine in the leads.

When the story begins, a maniac named Ed Vincent has butchered his family and compulsively arranged the bodies about the home---and even left a birthday hat on his murdered 5 year-old! Considered he not only killed his wife but his three kids, this is a case that really weighs heavily on Detective Joe Steiner (Widmark). However, despite looking for seven years, the case remains unsolved and Steiner retires from the police force.

In the meantime, some man is involved in a horrible auto accident where they are completely disfigured. After being in the hospital many months, he's rebuilt by doctors and is ready for discharge. However, during this time, no one has been able to determine who he is...and the guy appears to have no idea who he is as well. He names himself Allen Devlin and eventually he gets married and has some kids...and appears to be leading a rather normal life.

Steiner has refused to let the old case die and follows a lead taking him to the guy in the accident. Perhaps this was Ed Vincent...though after all the plastic surgery, it doesn't look like Vincent. So Steiner digs a bit deeper and even approaches Devlin to tell him his suspicions. At this point, Devlin is willing to listen...and wonders if perhaps he IS Ed Vincent. So, Devlin begins to investigate on his own...to see if anything can link him to the monster, Ed Vincent. What's next in this suspense film? Well, a weird masked man begins assaulting women...and it looks a lot like a case that coincided with the disappearance of Ed Vincent.

As far as suspense films go, this one provides a lot of suspense. It also keeps you guessing and has a lot of misdirection to keep confusing the audience (in a good way). Excellent acting and a film worth seeing.