Blackout

Given the fact that I am a big fan of all things horror, ofcourse I opted to sit down and watch the 2023 movie "Blackout" from writer and director Larry Fessenden, as I happened to have the chance here in 2024. Sure, I had never heard about the movie, so I didn't know what I was in for. But I read that it was a werewolf-themed movie, so of course that had my attention.

The storyline in "Blackout" was fairly good. It was an interesting approach to the werewolf genre, as writer and director Larry Fessenden focuses on the trauma and guilt that Charley (played by Alex Hurt) went through as he lost control and turned into a werewolf every month on the full moon. So this movie was more than just a movie about a person transforming into a beast and going on a killing spree.

I wasnt' familiar with the actors and actresses on the cast list, aside from Kevin Corrigan and Barbara Crampton. Oh yes, when I saw Barbara Crampton popping up on the screen, things really started to look good. Unfortunately she was only in the movie for a minute or two.

Visually then writer and director Larry Fessenden kept it simplistic and somewhat in the spirit of the old black and white werewolf-themed movies. I liked that part of the movie, because it was minimalistic but straight to the point, and it worked.

If you enjoy werewolf-themed movies, then by all means give "Blackout" a chance.

It doesn't feel like a movie that has the contents to support more than just a single viewing, however.

My rating of "Blackout" lands on a five out of ten stars.

So Barbara Crampton must have owed Fesenden a favor. I can't imagine any other reason for her miniscule, pointless role in this movie. I do not mind Larry Fessenden in film, but I do not think that he makes good films. They always feel convaluted, and heavy handed on the corny elements. And a Fessenden movie wouldn't be complete without some kind of tired, politically correct, racial overtones. Which are yawn inducing in this movie. Not to mention that the makeup and effects are comical. I'm honestly not sure if that was on purpose, or not. I did sucessfully get through the whole thing, but I am very happy I didn't have to pay to see this.:-/

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.

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.