Rating: 2/5
Horror B-movies are a dime a dozen and sadly The Blackout is no exception. Packed with a cast of (mostly) fresh faces and a crew with little experience, The Blackout boasts a few talents on both sides of the camera, but in the end gets muddled due to inexperience.
It’s 86° on Christmas Eve in Los Angeles, and with the exception of a few tremors, things seem normal. Couples are fighting, friends are having parties, and married couples are getting walked in on by their kids before they can get hot and heavy. As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, and this typical L.A. Christmas Eve is no exception. As the tremors grow in magnitude, and couples continue to fight, party, or a little of both, young Kyle Pierce (Tyler Armstrong) makes a deadly discovery; things are not well in the basement of the apartment building where the afore mentioned activities are taking place. Murderous creatures await in the shadows as the growing tremors lead to… wait for it… the blackout. Which means, Christmas Eve human buffet.
After a few moments it’s evident that most of the cast and crew are new to filmmaking. With that said, things aren’t as bad they could be. The dialogue, and subsequent delivery from the actors, is the typical melodramatic horror B-movie dialogue. There are a few well-timed laughs, but more laughs stem from the melodrama than the comedy.
There are three actors who stand out among the cast. Abigail Droeger, who plays the Pierce’s young daughter, Ashley, shows a potential for greater things, although most of what is required of her here is screaming and hiding. Anthony Tedesco, who portrays Freddy Appleton, an agoraphobic who spends the first half of the film surrounded by outdated radio equipment, has a knack for fast-paced high-stress comedic situations. Lastly, Ian Malcolm, who plays Dylan Pierce, the bum-who-lives-on-his-brother-and-sister-in-law’s-couch-that-turns-hero-in-the-face-of-danger, is a natural talent, and although he has only one previous acting credit, his performance never felt forced. I hope to see more of him in future roles. The rest of the cast had a few good moments between them, but none stood out like these three.
The “creature” is part decent practical effects, part Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), and part bad-to-terrible CGI. As with all monsters, this one looks better when you see less of it. Some of the practical gore effects were decent, but beware of that CGI tail, it will bring more laughs and eye-rolls than anything else in the film.
The real star of the show (other than Ian Malcolm of course) is the cinematography. I was surprised to see such good shots, and editing, in this low budget outing, especially considering that The Blackout is the first credit for cinematographer Mark W. Ross and editor/director Robert David Sanders. Since this film is titled, The Blackout, I can safely say there was too much “mystery light” around every corner, which lit the actors just right, even in the basement. Justin R. Durban’s score was another strong point, which is no surprise since he has a multitude of film scores to his credit.
Filled with ups and downs and an ending that’s both semi-satisfying and confusing, The Blackout is one of those pizza-and-beer-at-a-friend’s-house-for-a-horror-B-movie-marathon kind of movies.
Director: Robert David Sanders
Writer: Jim Beck
Cast: Barbara Streifel Sanders, Joseph Dunn, Ian Malcolm, Michael Caruso, Caroline Rich, Anthony Tedesco, James Martinez, John Gorman, Alexis Zibolis, Ace Gibson, Abigail Droeger
MPAA Rating: n/a
Runtime: 80 minutes
Country: USA
