A couple fuck, then get fucked up.
By a werewolf.
So begins writer/director Larry Fessenden’s latest fright flick offering, Blackout.
Idealist painter/construction worker/odd job enthusiast Charley Barrett (Alex Hurt) spends his time battling possibly corrupt/definitely racist construction foreman Jack Hammond (Marshall Bell, whom you may remember from toting Quato around in 1990’s Total Recall)… who just so happens to be the father of his on again/off again girlfriend, Sharon (Addison Timlin, Odd Thomas)… and playin’ kissy face with lawyer Kate (the legendary Barbara Crampton, Re-animator, From Beyond) for some pro bono (or is that boner) legal advice to take the baddies down.
As the bodies pile up, we soon discover Chuck is a goddamn lycanthrope and he’s out and about doin’ the murder biz left and right (although he only remembers kibbles n’ bits n’ pieces of his nighttime activities)… no matter how much Hammond wants to believe it’s the immigrant day laborers who work his site.
Will Charley be able to escape his curse, or will the other evils affecting the town push things beyond our heroes ability to keep the beast at bay?
In Blackout, Fessenden gives us a furry fright fracas with a bit more on it’s mind.
Coming across as a heady combination of Curt Siodmak’s narrative for 1941’s Universal Pictures classic The Wolf Man, and 1970’s environmental/socio political shockers… and speaking of the scintillating ‘70s, there’s a healthy dollop of that decade’s TV adaptation of Marvel Comic’s The Incredible Hulk in here as well… this picture presents plenty of pathos along with it’s preternatural paws with the traditional easily riled townsfolk (here living in Talbot Falls in a rather on-the-nose nod to that aforementioned 1941 films protagonist, Larry Talbot, played by the icon, Lon Chaney Jr. to moody perfection) at constant odds with the Mexican immigrants brought in to build a lavish resort (themselves a stand-in for the Romany folk oft featured in those Universal classics).
Striding among the wicked woods and tiny town is our tortured hero, here played with easy charm as well as over-hanging darkness by Hurt, who gives a riveting performance full of gravitas as well as kinetic physicality once the beast within is revealed.
The character of Charley’s best friend Earl (portrayed by Motell Gyn Foster) is a great counter to our angsty, often ill-tempered hero, plus he’s the ultimate pal; he’s laid back, he believes you no matter how off your tits and insane you get, and he’s willing to just up and create silver bullets in order to end your lycanthropic antics upon request… and Foster’s great performance really sold the character perfectly.
And speaking of the creature in this feature, it too hearkens back to classic iterations from decades past and is a design more man than wolf (although the teeth, claws, ears, and wolfy nose all appear) and allows Hurt’s athletic performance to take center-stage… that being said, there is evidence of future transformations bringing further changes that is both a fun bit of world building and a showcase for additional effects work (who upon the extensive research I conducted by watching the end credits, were in part created by special effects make-up maestro Jared Balog… whom I have worked with on two projects in the past, and I’d feel shitty if I didn’t mention it… it doesn’t influence my review, but if you want to check out of this piece, I get it… but watch the flick, it’s class).
While elements of this film are fang face tried n’ trues, it also possess plenty of unique panache of it’s own including both a creative, and incredibly awesome use of animation, a wild, eccentric, haunting score from Will Bates, and a solid supporting cast that includes a few honest-to-Talbot locals that give the proceedings a raw, documentary-style sense of reality.
Adding to the overall experience this Dark Sky Films Blu-ray has to offer are a host of special features which kick off with an audio commentary from Fessenden that gives us a first hand account of the film’s production in detail, and explains an exciting prospect relating to Blackout’s coda.
Also included are a look behind-the-scenes, a quick visual guide to Fessenden’s in-progress “monsterverse”, a monster make-up time-lapse vignette, the film’s teaser and trailer, and an audio drama version of the tale.
A fresh take on well-loved werewolf picture tropes, Blackout is a creature feature as emotionally turbulent as it is slathered in blood!
