Blackout (1985)

Blackout starts out with us seeing a family who have been murdered. Two kids and their mother slain by the man of the house Ed Vincent. We then see a car get into a wreck, flipping over and burning in flames. Two men were in that car, one being a random person and the other being the killer of the family. Only one survives, and he is horribly disfigured so there is no way of telling if he is the murderer. The disfigured man also has no memory of who he is. Anyways, the man (with the name Allen Devlin) falls for his nurse Chris, and the two get together. Fast forward six years and see that the police officer Joe Steiner who was in charge of the investigation is still hung up on the fact that the killer was never caught. Pretty someone starts tipping off Joe that Allen might really be Ed...A psychopath begins stalking women in town...Chris begins getting calls from a man saying he's Ed and that's he's coming to kill her...is Allen really the crazed Ed Vincent, or is this stalker someone completely different?I enjoyed Blackout a lot. It was a made for TV movie on HBO, and it plays out like a cop/crime drama. It has its slow parts, but for the most part keeps viewers on the edge. There's a very sad element to the movie as well as we see a six year marriage start to crumble because of the possibility that Allen is Ed. Kathleen Quinlan puts in a great job as the wife. The special effects for the disfigured face were amazing! We get some up close shots of an eyeball sticking out, as well as burnt skin. Some of the stalking scenes were down well too, especially because of the killer's mask. As you see on the cover of the VHS, it's a leather mask which works very well.Overall 'Blackout' is a top notch suspense/horror/crime movie that I recommend. It has a good story and kept me interested the whole way through. The ending is great too, both devastating yet satisfying. Pick it up if you can!7/10

As far as psychological thrillers go, (not to mention this movie was before classics like "The Silence of the Lambs) I was thoroughly entertained by the plot and acting. Keith Carradine and Kathleen Quinlan were magnificent. Well, everyone ways good. If you don't have the right people together in a movie, it could be disastrous. It remains as one of the top ten thrillers in my book! You won't be disappointed if you spend a little over an hour watching this masterpiece. It covers a range of things...not just a psychopathic killer. There is a struggle between good and evil within one man. The one side of his personality is a loving, hard-working man. Then he completely reverts to an unrecognizable killer of women and children. I had to watch this movie several times as not to miss any of the hidden clues, etc. I give it an 8 on the rating scale because of its plot, characters, execution of acting and ability to entertain.

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.

I saw Blackout for the first time when I was a kid and it SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME FOR A LONG TIME! I had trouble sleeping because of Blackout for a long time. I could not walk down a hall by myself at night because of Blackout. Blackout is the only movie that REALLY SCARED ME. Blackout is LOADED with suspense and has some frightening scenes. The killer wears a zipper-face black mask and that, to me, is scary looking. Watching Blackout now, of course, I don't get afraid like I did when I was a kid. This film, in my opinion, is wonderful! Blackout has GOT TO BE one of Richard Widmark's greatest performances as Detective Joe Steiner. Keith Carradine is excellent as always. Kathleen Quinlen is great as Keith's wife. Michael Beck from The Warriors gives a very good supporting role. The script is top-notch stuff. The music score could not fit the film any better. KUDOS to ALL of the cast and crew of Blackout. I'm not going to give the outstanding plot because you can find that out for yourself. I just wanted to get my thoughts out on this wonderful murder mystery. I believe Blackout is now out of print so it may be hard to find for some. I found a copy on E-bay. If you want to look for Blackout, you may come across a copy/copies on E-bay/Amazon. I really don't see how anyone could not enjoy, in my mind, A TRUE GEM!---Blackout from director Douglas Hickox. Thank you for reading my thoughts and have a nice day/night.