I think when it’s time for distribution that audiences (especially long time fans) might just connect with what director Larry Fessenden puts down here. As for me, it lost me after the blood soaked prologue. Like most film outputs from Fessenden, “Blackout” suffers from a lot of sub-plots that are either left dangling or abruptly closed, all while never quite deciding on a tone. Is “Blackout” a horror drama, just a drama, or a drama comedy that happens to have a werewolf?
Set in a small upstate New York town, artist Charley Barrett sets out on a personal mission to expose the corruption of ruthless developer, as well as reconcile with a former lover. His final acts are before he submits to his tragic secret: That he is a werewolf, recently infected with the curse and responsible for a series of local gruesome murders. The local residents have scapegoated one of the Latino workers for the killings, and as a full moon rises, their desire for justice hits a fever pitch while Charley succumbs to his transformation once more.
There are long periods of film that go by without the werewolf ever making an appearance and Fessenden promises more werewolf carnage without delivering. Thankfully we do get a look at the werewolf quite often and it’s a beautiful traditional pain work in the vein of Lon Chaney. I loved the ideas about the werewolf, and the way he was handled. I just didn’t enjoy how all of this was just a heavy handed allegory for alcoholism and addiction. Pretty much all werewolf and vampire movies have been allegorical, and director Fessenden uses this opportunity to spotlight the narrative of a middle aged man who is pretty much a loser, all around.
When we first meet protagonist Charlie Barrett, he’s fleeing town after being basically shamed out of it, and proceeds to slaughter a hapless couple in the woods. These scenes are beautifully staged and I loved the raw horror aspect of these scenes. It’s just that, once again, director Fessenden just never settles on a tone or on how he wants to approach the narrative. Sometimes the movie is just a full on drama. Then the movie sets a light comedic tone. And then it completely drops us in to pure horror territory. The consistent change in tone is so distracting that it completely impedes any chance of the werewolf terror to be scary at all.
For what it’s worth Alex Hurt is very good in his lead role, and I enjoyed the supporting turns from folks like Barbara Crampton, Marshall Bell, and Addison Timlin. The latter of whom is very good as probably the only thread of humanity (i.e. sobriety) that Charley has in the world. “Blackout” might very well click with audiences, including long time fans of his work, but I just didn’t care for it when all was said and done. There’s a great movie hiding beneath the surface her. I didn’t find it.
This year the Fantasia International Film Festival runs in Montreal from July 20th to August 9th.