Some of the user reviews raved about this film, while others trashed it. I' in between. There are some wonderful exterior shots. There is--at times--some well-earned tension. And there is an ending that might surprise some of you.On the other hand: the acting is not really that good. There are not startling or unique effects. The pacing--which was OK for my during my lunch break--might be painstakingly slow from some.Bottom line: If you have a free night and you can't find anything else that interests you, then check this one out. It isn't a complete waste of time (unlike "Aftershock" which I just saw and other than some laughs at some sick humor-e.g. a guy loses his hand--graphically--and his female partner picks it up and places it in her purse. On the way to the hospital with his injury, his female friend has her purse ripped off. Had to laugh at this bit--and a couple more.) So for an OK night, with an OK movie--you could certainly do far worse than "The Blackout."

The film focuses on 4 young adults hiking and camping on the Mohawk Trail in upstate NY. Meanwhile, Martin (Jordan Marder-writer, producer) and his expecting wife Julia (Lymari Nadal) return to his deceased parents' home in a plot to be developed. Frank (Bill Sage) is the local sheriff.When a poorly explained nation wide blackout, lasting several days happens, a group of people misbehave becoming looters, rapers, and killers as if this is the end of the world and the lights will never come back on. Eventually they, as expected, confront those in subplots A and B.That's about it. The rape is implied. The killings are not very graphic. The dialogue is boring and attempts to have a theme about light and darkness with a Genesis quote that didn't tie in that well. It didn't make me want to run out and buy duct tape and candles.Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

The Blackout is a well-crafted film from the start about a global blackout and its impact on one local area. The acting is superb and there is ample tension throughout its duration. It bogs down a little at times with mundane dialogue, but overall the pacing is good. The film is a study of human behavior during a time of serious crisis and it plays out in a fairly realistic manner. There is an obvious anti-gun bias evident, especially at the end of the film, where it seems that everything would be fine if there were no guns. Well, realistically, in a global blackout that lasted for any extended period, everything would not be fine--guns or no guns. In a world so dependent on modern contraptions and conveniences, most of us would not know how to survive in their absence--not for long anyway. In the end, it is a good film, but personally I could do without the political message.

Wow where to start....I thought it was throwaway rental from Rebox.Well that was wrong! It was very well paced and it really dragged me in. I didn't even realize it was Costas Mandylor he was so good at the role. So many movies that deal with the subject of when the "Sh*t hits the fan" go way over the top with the subject you can't believe it. This didn't it dealt with it as it would really happen or look. No monsters just ourselves. I was really blown away by the cast they did such a great job in showing how bad things could get.I also like the keeping of the violence to a minimum not so over the top like most b-movies or major blockbusters. It relied on plot not the visual so you were more dragged into the Blackout. Kudos to the screenwriter and director for doing a kick ass job with it all. The cast really did their jobs also, by not being so over the top. Just a great movie all around that really needs to be seen by anyone that's into a great movie not just us Sci-Fi/Action which I thought it was when you read the description at the Redbox machine. It was just a awesome movie period. Could have been a bit longer but was very well paced not to many slow moments or sub plots that didn't need to be there. No plot holes also. I won't say much about the ending but I was very satisfied. Also not having a ending that sets up a sequel was nice. All in all one the best rentals I've had in years that really made me want to waste 1000 words on here without saying to much.