The werewolf is often used to express a deep-seeded pain within the individual suffering from the bite of its curse. Survivor’s guilt (An American Werewolf in London). Sexual trauma (The Howling). And in filmmaker extraordinaire Larry Fessenden’s latest, Blackout—which just made its world premiere at the Fantasia Film Fest—the director tackles the lycanthrope as a metaphor for alcoholism through a contemporary tale which struggles to transform into the emotional story it intends. Set in the town of Talbot Falls—I see what you did there, Larry--Blackout follows Charley (Alex Hurt), a painter who believes he is a werewolf responsible for multiple killings in the last few months. His final goodbyes to various friends and the woman he loves turn out to be premature though when he finds his ride out of town totaled and the police hot on his trail. Fessenden has always used his movies to claw into the humanity of classic monsters. From his stunning feature about vampirism, Habit, to his fascinating take on the Frankenstein story, Depraved, and now this, Fessenden’s films have never been as interested in the creature as they are in the human within. Blackout isn’t concerned with snarling scares or thrilling werewolf action. It wants us to get to know the tortured soul beneath all that hair, an approach that is simultaneously the best and most problematic element of the film. Following an opening which kicks things off like a throwback from the 80s—a doomed couple having sex under the glow of the full moon, corny dialogue and all—we meet Charley. From the looks of his room, he’s known about his hairy predicament for a while. Paintings of trees and warped faces display images he recalls from his bloody escapades, similar to The Howling’s Eddie. An October calendar has all of the full moon dates circled. The audience isn’t along for the journey of Charley discovering what he is. That part already happened. What we’re here to see is the torment of what it has cost him. Still reeling from the breakup with his ex, Sharon (Addison Timlin) and retreating back to alcohol, Charley has decided to get the hell out of Dodge—excuse me, Talbot Falls—before he hurts anyone else. An admirable decision, but one that leaves the viewer to watch as he goes from person to person to say his goodbyes (including a fun cameo from horror legend, Barbara Crampton). Fessenden instills that small-town vibe into his blue-collar werewolf picture, giving us the sense that Charley knows everyone and everyone knows Charley. A rustic score accompanies him as he drives around town in what feels like a twelve-step program for werewolves, seeking some kind of closure with every last person he knows. Outside of some brief moments of Charley wolfing out, Blackout becomes a series of (mostly) friendly, highly expositional conversations meant to fill us in on the town politics at play. Played with a gentle charisma by Hurt, Charley is a good guy. So good, in fact, that before he leaves, he wants to make sure he exposes corrupt jerk (and Sharon’s dad), Hammond (Marshall Bell), who had all sorts of shady dealings with his recently deceased father. The same man attempting to pin Mexican immigrant, Miguel (Rigo Garay) as the killer…a suspect the racist town of Blue Lives hat wearers has no problem believing is responsible. Blackout aims to use this subplot to display how politics transform communities into torch-wielding mobs straight out of a Universal monster movie, but this is also where the film loses sight of its core story. Never mind that the film moves at the pace of hair growing. But by tearing into one too many threads, Blackout fails to build the relationships with Charley and others that matter. The broken soul he’s become stems from his breakup with Sharon, yet the two hardly share any screen-time together. Same goes for villain Hammond, an under-developed conflict that goes nowhere. Time and again, I found myself wondering why we were spending long moments with Charley talking with everyone from store clerks to the damn mailman, instead of focusing on those closest to him. That’s where the meat of his emotional pain is. Yet the film hardly ever allows us to taste that. Even Charley seems more concerned with Hammond than he does his nightly habits. The werewolf side of the story isn’t any better. In wanting to tell a more human tale, Fessenden’s film harkens all the way back to the The Wolf Man. This werewolf even mimics Lon Chaney Jr.’s classic run. Less about the horror and more about the devastation of the curse, the shoddy practical werewolf makeup incorporates a traditional look to allow the audience to see the human within. But the look of this particular beast is a far cry from Jack Pierce’s work, inspiring more giggles than shrieks in an otherwise somber film while putting too much of it under the spotlight of the moon. Despite some bloodshed and a few shocking images, this lycanthrope will likely have you howling in all of the wrong ways. With a thoughtful humanity at its core, there’s a good film somewhere inside this beast. It has many of the hallmarks of Fessenden’s work and may remind fans of his film, Habit. But a lack of focus and obvious budget constraints curse Blackout with problems that put a silver bullet in what ended up being a disappointment for this werewolf fan. Note: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the film covered here wouldn't exist. I support the members of WGA and SAG-AFTRA. By Matt Konopka
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