Blackout (IV) (2008)

Three people from different walks of life find themselves trapped inside a stalled elevator. What at first seems like an inconvenience rapidly escalates into a nightmare.

Director:

Rigoberto Castañeda

Writer:

Ed Dougherty (screenplay)

Stars:

Amber Tamblyn, Aidan Gillen, Armie Hammer

Cast

Credited cast:
Amber Tamblyn	...	Claudia
Aidan Gillen	...	Karl
Armie Hammer	...	Tommy
Katie Stuart	...	Francesca
Alvaro Roque	...	Boy in Yellow Boots
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jim Arnold	...	Homeless man
Claudia Bassols	...	Pretty Woman
Peggy Batchelor	...	Allison
Rubén Castro	...	Maintenance Man
Leslie Charles
Kate Jennings Grant	...	Sister-in-law
Erin Guzowski	...	Karl's Wife
Luana Lauverski	...	Nurse
Beatriz Martínez	...	Young Claudia
Jane Partridge	...	Chloe

Storyline

Three people from different walks of life find themselves trapped inside a stalled elevator. What at first seems like an inconvenience rapidly escalates into a nightmare.

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Plot Keywords:

elevator | falling from height | broken leg | marco polo | maniac | 

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Taglines:

Hope is not on the way

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sadistic bloody violence including a rape, nudity and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 May 2008 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Atrapados

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morabito Picture Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 120 min (European Film Market) 81 min (PAL DVD) 85 min (DVD release)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

On Elizabeth's tombstone it says her last name is "Madox", but when we see her husband Karl in his car there's a closeup of his ID which says his last name is "Maddox".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Karl: There is no chance. No destiny. No fate. There's only what you take from the world. And what the world takes from you.

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Connections

References Twilight Zone (1959)

User Reviews

An interesting film...

I had heard nothing about this film before it came up in the TV listings. I hadn't even seen it on the shelves of my local DVD store. I read the write-up on the TV and it looked interesting and so I decided to watch it. Not the best film of its type, but still quite a good watch, but more of that later, here's a brief synopsis.

Three people board an elevator in an old apartment building. It is a holiday weekend and most of the residents have gone away. The elevator rises past the ninth floor and then a power outage leaves it stuck between nine and ten. As time passes we learn about the three occupants. Karl is a surgeon; he has a young daughter and is grieving for his wife who had died tragically. Claudia is asthmatic, a student who is worried about her grandmother who has a terminal illness. Tommy, who has bruised knuckles has come from his girlfriend, Francesca's house and is in a hurry. They do all the usual things, press the alarm button, open the doors and shout, but to no avail. We are told in flashback the events that led these three to be on this elevator and it makes for some interesting revelations, especially when we discover one particularly gruesome secret that makes one of them very dangerous. But, of course, I'm not going to give that away, so I'll leave it here.

This is quite a tense claustrophobic drama that unfolds into an exciting thriller in the end. I like the way the back-stories of the three main characters slowly unfold, which adds to the tension. Decent performances from the entire main cast, so honourable mentions go to Amber Tamblyn as Claudia, Aidan Gillen as Karl, Armie Hammer as Tommy and Katie Stuart as Francesca.

This version has a running time of only 82 minutes which, I felt, was just right. Any longer and I think I may have got bored. As I said at the beginning, it's not the best film of its type, but having said that, I did find it quite entertaining and pretty gruesome in places. So, it's not one for the feint hearted, but quite an interesting film none the less. Recommended.

My score: 6.3/10