Blackout (2023) (Limited Edition – 1,000 copies) [Blu-Ray]

Director: Larry Fessenden

Cast: Alex Hurt, Addison Timlin, Motell Gyn Foster

Release Date: September 24, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 7/10
Disc Rating: 9/10

Synopsis:

Charley’s secret is he thinks he’s a werewolf. He can’t remember the things he’s done but the papers report random acts of violence taking place at night in this small upstate hamlet. Now the whole town must rally to find out what is tearing it apart: mistrust, fear, or a monster that comes out at night.

‘Blackout’ accompanies a struggling painter named Charley who has a terrible secret; he believes that he’s a werewolf. After a mysterious encounter that he’s unable to piece together he finds himself awakening in strange places each month on the night of the full moon and its surrounding nights covered in blood. Far worse is the fact that every one of these blackouts aligns to a brutal murder in his general vicinity. Unwilling to put those he cares about in danger or to live with this horrible curse, Charley has a plan to end the curse once and for all with some help from a close friend, the only trouble is that he’ll have to get there first and hope it works before things grow further out of control and more people show up dead.

Written, directed, produced and edited by Larry Fessenden (Depraved, Wendigo) who does a great job at the helm of ‘Blackout’ guiding along the tale with care and heart. The film’s cast includes Alex Hurt (TV’s Super Pumped), Addison Timlin (Depraved), Motell Gyn Foster (Foxhole), Joseph Castillo-Midyett (TV’s True Lies), Ella Rae Peck (The Call), Rigo Garay (TV’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), John Speredakos (The Innkeepers), Michael Buscemi (BlacKkKlansman), Jeremy Holm (Brooklyn 45), Joe Swanberg (You’re Next), Kevin Corrigan (TV’s Ray Donovan), Barbara Crampton (Suitable Flesh), James Le Gros (TV’s Blue Bloods) and Marshall Bell (Serving Sara) with the majority each offering capable and fitting performances for the most part in their roles.

For a full review of the film check out my review from the Theatrical and VOD release which you can read Right Here!

‘Blackout’ is an entertaining and often fairly bloody werewolf tale that’s quite different than many of your average werewolf films, exploring the psychological struggle of our lead as he tries to piece together the reality of his situation while trying to find a way to stop it before things grow further out of hand and those he cares about suffer the consequences. It’s a generally solid, entertaining and at times quite emotional werewolf film that changes things up from the standard formula in some intriguing ways.

Larry Fessenden’s ‘Blackout’ arrives home on Blu-ray as the second entry in the Dark Sky Selects series, with a limited edition Blu-ray release limited to 1,000 copies which brings the film home with solid high definition video and audio presentations, along with a notable collection of bonus content that should have fans of the film and of Fessenden’s work in general quite excited.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Blackout’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation with the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks wonderful as a whole and delivers a clean, sharp and richly detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any notable troubles or faults along the way. Detail is impressive throughout with everything from character specifics and vehicles, city streets and trees, along with the forest and werewolf details looking spectacular, while colors are bright and clean and nicely balanced by capable black levels and shadowing that hold up splendidly throughout. Overall, this is a great high definition presentation that looks quite gorgeous at every turn and it should easily please fans of the film as well as first time viewers.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack offers a clean, crisp and at times nicely immersive audio presentation throughout. It takes advantage of all five available channels in order to send music, nature, action and vehicle effects, along with more whipping throughout the various speakers when appropriate, all while making certain that all dialogue and other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously with one another remain clean and fully audible. Overall, this is a solid 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that makes a great complement to the film and shouldn’t disappoint in the slightest.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Darky Sky Selects Limited Edition Blu-ray release of ‘Blackout’ features a nice collection of bonus content that fans of the film should enjoy. Included on the release is an ‘Audio Commentary with Writer/Director/Editor/Producer Larry Fessenden’, in addition to an in depth look at the making of the film in ‘Blackout: Behind the Scenes’ (running approximately 77 minutes in length), plus a look at clips from Fessenden’s monster-like outings in ‘Larry Fessenden’s Monsterverse’ (running approximately 6 minutes), a ‘Monster Mash Photoshoot Timelapse by Beck Underwood’ (4 minutes) and the ‘Blackout Audio Drama’ (26 minutes). Also included is the film’s ‘Teaser Trailer’ (2 minutes), ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (2 minutes) and a physical 12-page booklet with an introduction by Fangoria’s Phil Nobile Jr.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 7/10
Disc Rating: 9/10

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Larry Fessenden’s ‘Blackout’ is Now Available to Own on Limited Edition Blu-ray (1,000 copies) from Dark Sky Selects

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The Limited Edition Dark Sky Selects Blu-ray release of ‘Blackout’ is available to purchase exclusively from Dark Sky Selects HERE!