Blackout
Directed by Larry Fessenden
Hosted by Director Larry Fessenden, Cinematographer Collin Brazie.
Director
Larry Fessenden
Writer
Larry Fessenden
Cast
Alex Hurt, Addison Timlin, Motell Gyn Foster, Joseph Castillo-Midyett, Ella Rae Peck, Rigo Garay, John Speredakos, Michael Buscemi, Joe Swanberg, James Le Gros, Kevin Corrigan, Barbara Crampton
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Yellow Veil Pictures
In a small upstate New York town, artist Charley Barrett (Alex Hurt) checks out of the motel that’s been his recent home and sets out on a series of personal missions. These include exposing the corruption of ruthless developer Hammond (Marshall Bell), and reconciling with former lover Sharon (Addison Timlin), Hammond’s daughter. Another is connected to his tragic secret: Charley is a werewolf, recently infected with the curse and responsible for a series of gruesome murders. The local residents have scapegoated one of the Latino workers on Hammond’s construction site 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.
At last, acclaimed horror auteur Larry Fessenden has fulfilled his long-held desire to make a werewolf film, rounding out the triptych begun with his vampire drama HABIT (1997) and Frankenstein variation DEPRAVED (2019). Expanding on his TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE audio drama of the same title, Fessenden, as always, makes BLACKOUT a very human story as well as a horror show. His lycanthrope is front and center throughout, as Charley goes on a personal odyssey of encounters with friends, old acquaintances and enemies, on the way to what he hopes is a mastering of his own fate. Along the way, the writer/director weaves in his traditional focus on sociopolitical themes, from his long-held ecological concerns to very modern issues of suspicion and paranoia. With a strong cast of past collaborators (Timlin, James Le Gros, Barbara Crampton, Joe Swanberg, John Speredakos, Jeremy Holm) and a few newcomers who are nonetheless familiar faces (Bell, from TOTAL RECALL and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2, Marc Senter from THE LOST and OLD MAN), Fessenden has once again delivered a unique take on a classic form. – Michael Gingold
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