Blackout

Superior TV film opens with a murdered mother and her kids set up as if they were celebrating the youngest's birthday, which was when the murders took place. The father/husband, Ed Vincent, is missing and assumed the culprit. Detective Steiner (Richard Widmark) becomes obsessed with finding Vincent. Meanwhile, a guy picks up a hitcher only to wreck shortly thereafter. One man dies, the other (Keith Carradine) has no memory and needs facial reconstruction surgery. The survivor eventually recovers and marries his nurse (Kathleen Quinlan). Years later, a still obsessed Steiner receives an anonymous tip in the form of a newspaper clipping. He's thus led to believe that the survivor is in fact Ed Vincent, and sets out to be sure.

Great film, I really enjoyed it. Supported by a strong cast, the characters are all fleshed out and feel real. The film also plays with your expectations, turning them around time and time again. This in turn ratchets up the tension. There are some creepy moments as well, like sinister phone calls and the scenes with the zipper-faced maniac on the prowl. Speaking of that, I loved the mask, and wished it had been used more. It comes off too soon during the finale. Two other minor quibbles: I didn't find Quinlan's character sympathetic, and there's one bothersome contrivance involving a radio towards the end.

Highly recommended film with a strong central theme.

A grisly murder occurs in Ohio in which a woman and her three children are murdered. It has occurred during the youngest child's birthday celebration, and the murderer has posed the children, with their mother's arms around them, and birthday celebration hats on the kids' heads. Seasoned detective Joe Steiner (Richard Widmark) is the homicide detective on the case, obviously shaken by the murder scene. The husband of the family, Ed Vincent, is missing and is the prime suspect in the case.

Meanwhile, in Washington state, there is a car accident resulting in a fiery crash. One passenger is killed and burned beyond recognition. The other (Keith Carridine) is thrown clear of the wreckage and survives, but is badly burned and will need extensive facial reconstructive surgery. He has completely lost his memory and no ID is found at the accident site. The police do some tracing and figure that one of the occupants is named "Alan Devlin". That is the name that the survivor takes, although he can find nobody in the town or surrounding area who knows him or why he is there. He spends a year in the hospital, falls in love with his nurse, Chris (Kathleen Quinlan), and they marry. They have a child of their own plus her two kids from a previous marriage. Alan becomes a very successful realtor and seven years pass.

Back in Ohio, Steiner was forcibly retired from his job, but he continues to work on the murder case from seven years before. Then one day he gets an anonymous letter saying that Devlin may be his man. Accompanying the note is an article from the local paper showing Devlin and family - Alan won realtor of the year in his town. The age is right, the height and general appearance are right, but of course he can't be exactly physically identified because of the extensive plastic surgery. So Steiner is off to Washington to see if Devlin is in fact Ed Vincent, the suspect in the Ohio murder case. Realize that the ability to analyze DNA evidence did not exist in 1985 or else this would have been a very short movie. Lots of complications and twists and turns ensue.

I loved Richard Widmark's character (who said all the things the audience was probably thinking.) Keith Carradine is always good at playing affable family men, and his role here is no exception. This was an early HBO effort at filmmaking and I'd say they did well.

Several people pick on different aspects of this one, but I had only one major sticking point that really has no impact on the plot. When in the hospital, Alan Devlin has no ID, no name, no memory, and thus no health insurance that can be identified. And the first thing out of the doctors' mouths is all about the extensive plastic surgery they'll be doing with obviously no insurance to pay for it? Not now and certainly not in 1985 if we are talking about any hospital in the United States. Any hospital in America would leave you on the curb looking like Frankenstein's monster if you have no means of payment. But then we'd have no movie.

"Blackout" is similar to at least a bunch of other films, in that someone has no recollection of who they are or their past history. Obsessed detective, Richard Widmark, believes he finally has found his prime suspect in a seven year old murder investigation. Problem is their identity cannot be confirmed because of reconstructive surgery following a horrific car accident, and they remember nothing. The film tries to cast doubt on Widmark's suspicions, even so far as suggesting he planted evidence to help his cause. This TV movie is way above average, with an intriguing script, creative photography, and convincing acting, especially from suspect Keith Carradine. Although the audience has several theories to choose from, the conclusion is both frightening and logical. - MERK

I saw this film when it first aired on t.v. many years ago. I have always remembered it as being thrilling, psychologically interesting and well acted by the entire cast. It holds the dubious honor as being one of the first of its kind in the genre of reality based films. Keith Carradine did a fine job. He was able to move from monster to nice guy real estate agent back to monster in a seamless, believable, frightening portrayal. One of my favorite actors bears mentioning here, Richard Widmark was the consummate professional yet again. While Blackout has some flaws and is not In Cold Blood or Compulsion, I believe its aim was accomplished. It entertained, was interesting and is worth viewing. I've seen it several times.

Blackout is an HBO TV film that stars Richard Widmark as a dedicated cop who catches a grisly case of a family massacre along the lines of the infamous John List case. A wife and two children are slaughtered and the husband has skipped. Widmark pursues the case even into his retirement. I'm guessing seeing something like that will give you a twisted dedication.

The latest lead takes him to another town a few hundred miles away where Keith Carradine was an amnesia patient and no memory of his after surviving a fiery car crash and needing much plastic surgery. He marries his nurse Kathleen Quinlan and now they have three children seven years after the other incident.

Could he be Widmark's quarry? No evidence, no forensic evidence to go either way. There's another complicating factor, a serial rapist starts operating in the area whom the cops suspect is Carradine. At least one cop is pursuing that. Michael Beck has not forgotten that Carradine snatched Quinlan from him. He'd love to get him out of the way.

Widmark as the veteran cop dominates this film. Only at the beginning and the end does this film merit being called a slasher flick. Otherwise it's a good nail biting mystery.