Asylum Blackout (I) (2011)
7/10
Cringe worthy solid horror effort on a shoe string budget
11 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I had very little expectations for this film. I have seen a ton of low budget horror the last little while and most of it is just awful. The concept for this film is intriguing and with a big budget could be really interested. Imagine if the Saw guys got a hold of this sort of concept? So I was pleasantly surprised (and disturbed) that this actually turned out to be a solid horror flick. They attempt to introduce a few of the characters and then the storm makes all the rest come crashing down. The single only issue with the film I thought was that the character development was weak in a lot of ways. I think they could have done this so much better had we seen a specific and well developed group of the inmates that we feared and understood. In this case, the inmates are all faceless and insane so we don't get one or two clear villains. We also really only get one hero that we get to know. Still the violence is brutal and will certainly make you cringe. The dark and gritty setting of the Asylum is well done especially given the low budget they were dealing with. I was thoroughly impressed with how we see the deterioration of the mental states of the victims as they try to deal with this situation they are in.

Rupert Evans is our main protagonist. He does a great job with only a little character development. They sort of force the concept that he has a beautiful woman at home that loves him and he seems like he's sort of at an impasse with his career. You get to know him just enough to really care about him and understand the horror he is going through. I wish I could specifically talk about the rest of the cast because there are some very good and disturbing performances but none of them really stand out. They don't get any character depth at all and are simply there to serve one or two purposes which they do and they do well but you won't ever remember any of their specific characters. I thought they were going to really go somewhere with the character played by Kenny Doughty but the depth is just not there although he gives a great performance in a small supporting way.

If you can get past the lack of characters you'll really enjoy the rest of the movie for its story and gore and horror genre elements. Especially towards the end of the film you'll really see some really twisted kills and torture scenes but without being completely gratuitous. As with many indie films, especially horror ones, the director is a newcomer to the scene. Still I give Alexandre Courtes kudos because he knows the genre well and uses scenes to really get under your skin. The concept of how the film plays with your mind and really shows you the mental instability of Evan's character will appeal to those that like a really twisted story. I'm still not sure I entirely understand the ending of the film and yet I didn't hate the ending either. For a low budget horror film this was worth seeing and while it isn't perfect, it fills the quota well. 7/10
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