NOW ON VOD! Thrillers today love tapping into our conspiracy-theorist fears. Co-writers/co-director David M. Parks and LeeAnne Bauer’s Blackout takes us into a not-so-distant future with a world on the brink of war. Tension hovers around the globe. China is on the brink of invading Taiwan, and the United States has vowed to stop this by any means necessary—and yes… any means. The news readers try their best to appear calm, but there’s something different about this particular evening across America.
Meanwhile, former Army Special Forces operative Noah Daniels (Tyler James) and his wife, Ella (LeeAnne Bauer), are running a government-contractor-for-hire business out of a clandestine warehouse, along with Cai (Vu Mai) and Knox (Omar Moustafa Ghonim). As global tensions mount, renegade Atticus Reed (Mike Ferguson), his wife Aisha (Twana Barnett), and his men attempt to storm the warehouse in search of a crypto-key they call the “Ledger,” worth about $12 million. Upon their arrival, the heavily armed Noah and Ella tell Atticus to leave and bunker down. Just as Atticus is about to storm the warehouse, a nuclear bomb strikes a nearby city, and Atticus and the gang are caught in the nuclear fallout. With his men dead, Atticus’s Hulk-like rage makes him more determined to get the “Ledger” and take out everyone inside.
A bloodied survivor holds an injured woman as fallout-like embers swirl in Blackout (2026).
“Just as Atticus is about to storm the warehouse, a nuclear bomb strikes a nearby city…”
What we have with Blackout is a nice and tidy indie action-thriller. It just dawned on me that setting our tale against a global nuclear disaster makes a warehouse shootout feel so much bigger than it is. Our story is essentially a game of chess as Atticus and the Daniels play a deadly game of trust and mistrust. The initial encounter falls under the typical: “I’m here to steal from you.” Then the nuclear blast hits. The Daniels leave their foes exposed to deadly radiation. There will be consequences for those decisions. Then, of course, there is a bigger threat to all of them.
Let’s also not forget the copious amounts of gunplay and knifeplay. The action gets pretty gritty, and the body count mounts slowly. What I like is that it’s not all action. There are moments to ask the basic thriller question: “What would I do?” From start to finish, this thriller forces us to question what we would do in these situations. How far will you go morally to survive? In a nuclear holocaust, are we all the same, or is it survival of the fittest?
From its story, action, and thermonuclear stakes, Blackout has enough to make this an engaging indie thriller for a weekend movie-and-chill night.
"…an engaging indie thriller for a weekend movie-and-chill night."
