Blackout

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.

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.

Blackout is an HBO TV film that stars Richard Widmark as a dedicated cop who catches a grisly case of a family massacre along the lines of the infamous John List case. A wife and two children are slaughtered and the husband has skipped. Widmark pursues the case even into his retirement. I'm guessing seeing something like that will give you a twisted dedication.

The latest lead takes him to another town a few hundred miles away where Keith Carradine was an amnesia patient and no memory of his after surviving a fiery car crash and needing much plastic surgery. He marries his nurse Kathleen Quinlan and now they have three children seven years after the other incident.

Could he be Widmark's quarry? No evidence, no forensic evidence to go either way. There's another complicating factor, a serial rapist starts operating in the area whom the cops suspect is Carradine. At least one cop is pursuing that. Michael Beck has not forgotten that Carradine snatched Quinlan from him. He'd love to get him out of the way.

Widmark as the veteran cop dominates this film. Only at the beginning and the end does this film merit being called a slasher flick. Otherwise it's a good nail biting mystery.

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.

Well here's another fine example to state why you shouldn't always judge movies on their appearance and production values. I almost deliberately missed out on this "gem" of the 1980's because it's a made-for-TV movie, and those usually stand for no blood, politically correct story lines, derivative plots and an annoying overload of sentimentality. "Blackout" immediately bursts through this clichéd image of the TV-movie with an exceptionally tense and atmospheric opening sequence. The story opens with the disturbing discovery of 3 dead bodies, a mother and her two children, nightmarishly exhibited as if they were celebrating the youngest one's birthday. The elderly cop Steiner promptly becomes obsessed with finding the killer, which undoubtedly is the husband and father. Almost at the same time of the discovery and a couple of States further, a man survives a horrible car accident, albeit with a total loss of memory and in desperate need for plastic surgery. His memory doesn't return, but he starts a new life under the name Allen Devlin and marries the nurse who treated him. Six years later, the meanwhile retired Steiner is still looking for the killer and receives an anonymous letter with a picture of Devlin and his new family. Is he the vanished killer who doesn't remember his past? Or is someone trying to sabotage his newly found happiness? "Blackout" is a truly effective and suspenseful thriller. There are very few possibilities of whom the killer may be, yet the intelligently written script keeps you guessing and doubting till the very last twist. Even with the quite large number familiar themes, like amnesia and love-triangles, the plot feels original and the suspense feels genuine. As expected, there aren't any vile murders shown on screen and the use of blood and make-up effects is kept to a minimum. Hey, it's a TV-movie, remember, and the emphasis lies on tension. Naturally a lot of credit must go to director Douglas Hickox, who's clearly one class above the average TV-movie director. Hickox previously directed the Vincent Price horror classic "Theater of Blood" and the historical drama "Zulu Down", so he definitely knows how build up an ambiance and how to guide his cast in the required direction. Speaking of which, the cast is excellent with Richard Widmark, Keith Carradine and Michael Beck. "Blackout" comes with my highest possible recommendation and, for once, one the IMDb's recommendations is spot-on as well. The site encourages you to watch "The Pledge" (starring Jack Nicholson), which also revolves on a retired copper continuing to obsessively hunt down the culprit of a long-forgotten crime.