#105 -- Blackout (2008)

Director: Rigoberto Castaneda
Rating: 3/5

Three strangers become become trapped in an elevator in an apartment that is under renovation. Claudia, who was trying to get a photograph for her dying grandmother; Tommy, who needs to get to his girlfriend so that they can run away, after having killed her abusive father; and Karl, a doctor who needs to get out to meet with his young daughter. A bad situation turns worse when one of the three is revealed to be a serial killer.

The killer finally can't take it anymore, and knows that he/she needs to get out of the elevator before he/she goes insane(er) and kills the other two. The other two must worry not only about getting out of the elevator before they starve or asphyxiate due to a rapidly declining amount of oxygen; they must also worry about the psycho they've gotten stuck with.

It starts off kind of slow, but the tension builds when the killer is revealed. There's one thing you should know about me: I am terrified of elevators. So this one had some spooky parts that are probably not spooky at all to most other people. We get a view from above as the elevator plummets to the ground, and we get to watch the shaky wires and are left to wonder when they will give out. I didn't think this would bother me; after all, it's only a movie. I usually do ride elevators, because whoever I am with doesn't want to take the stairs. But I think that's over now. I don't ever want to get on an elevator again. This one got to me a little bit, which I think proves my point about watching things that already scare you: it'll be a thrill ride. Some people might not like this, but I thought it was pretty good. Aside from the fact that it hit my weak point, it had great character development, wonderful acting, and an ending that almost brought tears to my eyes. The only problem I had was that the killer was a bit obvious. I had my suspicions, but I hoped that I would be wrong; that I would be surprised in the end to find out that it was the one I least expected. This is why Blackout gets a three-star rating from me instead of four. Other than the predictability, though, it was entertaining and definitely not a waste of time.