Charley (Alex Hurt), a fine arts painter, lives in a small town called Talbot Falls where a serial killer remains on the loose. Little do others know that he's actually responsible for the killings when he transforms into a werewolf when there's a full moon. Meanwhile, Miguel (Rigo Garay), a construction worker, gets blamed for the killings instead. Charlie hopes to use an attorney, Kate (Barbara Crampton), to bring Hammond (Marshall Bell), a land developer, to justice.

      Blackout is a werewolf movie that bites off more than it could chew. Writer/director Larry Fessenden takes a B-movie plot that adds too many subplots that don't go anywhere interesting. There's enough tension within the main plot of Charley's secret life as a werewolf and his feelings of guilt, so why overstuff the film with unnecessary subplots? He has an ex-girlfriend, Sharon (Addison Timlin), whom he's trying to make amends with before he leaves the town for good. She already moved on to a new boyfriend, Stuart (Joe Swanberg). In yet another subplot, Charlie has some documents left over from his deceased father that he wants Kate, a lawyer, to look over which could build a case against the greedy and shady Hammond. Apparently, Kate has no problem reading Charley's documents for free. Does she plan on being his lawyer pro bono? It's doubtful that he even has the money to be able to afford her services. Anyway, Blackout isn't interested in becoming a legal thriller. There's not much of a mystery of who's behind the killings, so it's not a murder mystery either. As a psychological character study of a man-turned-werewolf, though, it's actually somewhat interesting albeit not very profound. The plot, refreshingly, doesn't go bonkers, but, at the same time, it doesn't take enough risks either nor does it amount to anything memorable beyond delivering a few ephemeral thrills and scares. S

      As a low-budget horror film, Blackout delivers the goods during the werewolf scenes. The cinematography, lighting and make-up/costume design of the werewolf provide some creepiness and grittiness without holding back on the blood and guts. That said, it doesn't go over-the-top or push the envelope either. The performances are decent, although, to be fair, the screenplay doesn't give the supporting actors much of a chance to shine. At a running time of 1 hour and 44 minutes, Blackout is occasionally thrilling and scary, but often meandering, overstuffed and undercooked.