Blackout

I LOVE werewolf movies. But with this movie, I had a hard time keeping my attention on it. Honestly, I've seen short films about werewolves on YouTube that were far more interesting and better made. The plot was boring and didn't seem to have a real direction plus it dragged on. The werewolf effects/makeup were not impressive at all. You'd be better off watching some of the classic werewolf horrors such as The Howling or An American Werewolf in London. Even Silver Bullet was more entertaining and scarier than this attempt. Give Bad Moon a watch too. I wanted to like it, but it just didn't do it for me.

As far as werewolf movies are concerned this is a bit of a disappointment. While I appreciate the focus on the human element, and the suffering of the protagonist, there was really no heart-pounding thrills or werewolf horror that the viewer is expecting to see. I understand that there was little budget for the film, but the horror was minimal compared to what the poster and trailer leads you to believe. I enjoyed the use of art throughout the film, and Alex Hurt's performance was very good. The rest of the cast was a bit subdued in their performances, and many of the sociopolitical themes seemed unnecessary for the general story. Larry Fessenden is a very talented actor and filmmaker, and will always keep an eye on his projects. I know he's been focusing on the humanity of the "monsters" in his films lately (Deranged being another), but I hope he remembers to keep them horrific in a classical sense as well.

First of all, I am not putting the blame on the editor but whoever made them edit the movie the way they did. This could have been a sold werewolf movie with atleast 7/10 or even 8/10 score. But for whatever reason, they shot & edited the movie to make it as boring as they possibly could. There were many scary & exciting scenes that could have been the foundation of this film but those scenes were edited so badly that some of them became confusing and others became too short to have any effect or impact on the viewer. For example, scenes of werewolf stalking its prey, the tension, the terror on the victims faces, were all cut down to sometimes mere seconds and sometimes such a scene would just cut away almost abruptly to something boring. Where as the scenes showing random stuff like character washing his face, character reading a newspaper while walking to the trash can and properly stuffing trash bags in the trash can, were given all the runtime with extended single shots. This was the biggest problem with the movie. In addition to that, the look of the werewolves was also very lacking & cheap looking at times.

Despite all of this, it is not the worst werewolf movie out there. Its still watchable and to some extent, even enjoyable. At least this movie can be used as an example of how not to shot & cut a werewolf/monster movie if you want to make it interesting. Acting was okay. Story was all over the place but not too bad. Characters often did very stupid things, but that has become a staple of horror genre. There is some blood & gore but for a movie of this genre it was quite tame. Scare factor of the movie was completely ruined due to the above mentioned reasons, so despite being a horror movie its not scary, except maybe the opening scene, which again, was ruined due to bad decisions of the film maker.

One of the- many- great ideas of An American Werewolf in London is how sad and pitiful David finds himself as a werewolf. He's aware of what's inside him and what can come out and he's powerless to stop it. The scene where he attempts to slit his wrists in the phone box is one of the saddest moments in cinema; not just horror.

This new horror from cult writer/director Larry Fessenden explores this idea into a feature length horror, with mixed results.

Its extremely talky and slow that would test the patience of most horror junkies. The film never picks up momentum; even when law enforcement officials go after the' beast' there's a lull in the pacing where an ex girlfriend is making dinner and drinking wine with her new boyfriend. Alex Hurt sadly doesn't have the sympathy that David Naughton displayed in the classic aforementioned 1981 horror but he's solid (as was his late father William Hurt).

The effects and make up are well done despite its low budget.

It's an interesting venture that could have been better developed.

Dear sir: You have put out in the unwelcoming harshness of commercialization a movie that combines psychosocial realism with fantasy. Your main support has been a lore of werewolf movies that goes back to Henry Hull in London and the by now easily recognizable frame of Sundance independence from Hollywood. The outcome? A stark drama about a young fellow who reassesses his life as a misfit. Here and there, werewolf attacks. A sort of chocolate chip cookie, BLACKOUT with the wandering structures of so many pictures in the same genre creates a drama with horrific elements that could have been a good horror movie; e.g. The wolfman causes a massacre . Next scene: a lengthy talk between his love interest and her boyfriend in her kitchen. Tension and suspense mysteriously vanished.

On the plus side: technically speaking, Fessenden directs better than in his previous works.

Cast: The absolute protagonist of BLACKOUT is Alex Hurt, son of the great William Hurt and his spitting image. The role is demanding and he lives up to it. The supporting team includes veterans like Barbara Crampton, Marshall Bell and James LeGros, whom fans of the eighities' fantasy/horror will enjoy spotting and naming.

Not a greatly original addition to the lycanthropic subgenre ("The Cursed" for one is better) but a pretty watchable movie.