Blackout

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.

One of the- many- great ideas of An American Werewolf in London is how sad and pitiful David finds himself as a werewolf. He's aware of what's inside him and what can come out and he's powerless to stop it. The scene where he attempts to slit his wrists in the phone box is one of the saddest moments in cinema; not just horror.

This new horror from cult writer/director Larry Fessenden explores this idea into a feature length horror, with mixed results.

Its extremely talky and slow that would test the patience of most horror junkies. The film never picks up momentum; even when law enforcement officials go after the' beast' there's a lull in the pacing where an ex girlfriend is making dinner and drinking wine with her new boyfriend. Alex Hurt sadly doesn't have the sympathy that David Naughton displayed in the classic aforementioned 1981 horror but he's solid (as was his late father William Hurt).

The effects and make up are well done despite its low budget.

It's an interesting venture that could have been better developed.

After a series of strange animal attacks, the life of a small town gets turned upside down when they believe the culprit of the attacks to be an immigrant that fits the mold of their ideal target not realizing the real target is a struggling painter trying to rescue his family's reputation.

Overall, this was a pretty enjoyable effort with a lot to like about it. One of the better features here is a strong and immersive storyline that brings about the lives of the people within the small town. The central setup of this one revolving around the work of the artist trying to not blow up at everything the residents say about him while they go about their own lives working on illicit property deals or personal squabbles that keep them at each others' throats. That this all feels remarkably well done for the kind of small-town atmosphere that's being attempted here that comes out in full force after the attacks start occurring which signals the film's shift into a full-on political commentary on the nature of mob mentality and small-town-justice taking over their lives. That provides this one with a strong slew of creature attacks that come off rather nicely. The initial attack with the figure's point-of-view approaching an amorous couple and attacking them which is told from that vantage point the entire time is a standout sequence making for a highly effective opening. A later attack where the victim transforms in their car and runs rampant on a few eyewitnesses to the crash that transformation caused ends up leaving a nice trail of carnage once it's all over while another solid sequence of his recounting the backstory of his transformation offers a bit more to like. The frantic finale, featuring the full-on attacks in the neighbors' house or the final assault in the police station where everything gets put into the open for everyone, manages to give this a lot to like. There are some rather big flaws here that hold this one down. One of the biggest issues with the film is a decidedly overlong focus on the lives and nature of the townspeople here leaving this one with only a few pieces of creature action. Going on and on about the lives of the residents to build up an incredibly detailed part of their apathy and prejudice towards others leaves the film without much in the action here as the dragged-out pacing leads to a decidedly overlong running time filled with talky exposition sequences. The ideas are perfectly sound and really don't have much wrong here with the sociopolitical messaging apparent within them but that doesn't help the muted amount of creature action even if all of this wasn't inherently tiresome and cliched being utilized frequently over the years. The other problem with this one is a decidedly unfocused and unclear tone that leaves this one quite scattered and chaotic. The film's introduction to the town occurs in such rapid succession info-dumping nearly an entire plot on its own regarding who he is and why he's in town, the residents and their connection to him and his father, the relationships he has with the ostracized locals who are trying to get by without being the subject of racial oppression for their supposed involvement in the attacks and much more in the span of minutes. That this is all serious before handling a lot of the interactions here with a type of low-key humor that misses the mark completely with the scattered focus here. These issues really end up bringing this one down the most.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, Brief Nudity, and an obscured sex scene.

Lots and lots of hate on here for this movie. I'm assuming it's from people that either aren't familiar with Larry Fessenden's work or don't appreciate it for what it is. As a fan of Fessendon's earlier works, I loves this. It is indie horror at its basic best. No new subgenres - so no, it's not "meta" - just indie slow burn horror with a solid dose of black comedy. Larry's last feature explored the Frankenstien mythos and was far less successful than he is with this - an exploration of werewolf mythology. The main reason is that this film is edited much more frugally, Fessenden had always struggled with that, and this film is his first in years that reigns him in.

To clarify... No, not really that great of a movie. Sorry Larry... I really like your early work, even back as far as your very first film, 'WENDIGO' I think.

I think what the deal here is, is that it's not a bad idea and some of the 'parts' are done well. But, overall, I'm afraid the story and the way it is presented (pacing, writing maybe...) is just simply not that compelling. Maybe the odd way the lead character comes across is a big part of it, at least for me it seemed that way. But, the story just didn't seem to 'flow' very well and the conflicts he was having with his Dad's partner and his girlfriend and even the still amazing Barbara Crampton, just didn't come across as realistic or natural at all.

So, if you don't find the characters very relatable, then many times no matter how good the story or idea may be, it just simply does not involve the audience to a significant degree.

I would say that MAYBE if you're expectations are very low, MAYBE this might be a passable time waster, but in my lowly and wretched opinion, even that is really stretching it. Feeling particularly generous, I have it a '5'

Not really recommended. Again, sorry Larry...