Artivels Undescribable Perfection

Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Coventry What horror concept is more traditional and effective than the setting of an asylum for the mentally insane during a thunderstorm and a power blackout? Writer S. Craig Zahler and director Alexandre Courtès may perhaps not have had a lot of financial means at their disposal, but they definitely know their genre classics and they also know how to build up a suspenseful atmosphere and petrify the audience through simple tricks. "The Incident", a.k.a. "Asylum Blackout" which naturally is a much more appealing and appetizing title for a low-budget horror flick, first caught my attention because it's a partially Belgian co-production (I'm from Belgium, hence…) and it premiered at the Brussels' International Festival of Fantastic Films a few years ago. Via this website, I learned that the film was largely shot in Belgium but I can't quite figure out whether the director is Belgian or not. Either way, being a Belgian horror freak, I'm still very proud to see a link with my country, especially because I liked "The Incident" quite a lot. Admittedly the film starts out a little too slow and primitive, while the confusing and open-for-interpretation climax is arguably annoying, but everything in between is a nice demonstration of sadistic, raw and nerve-wrecking terror! George and his two pals Max and Ricky form an aspiring rock-band, but they hardly have the money to pay for a session at the recording studio. Therefore they also work together in the kitchen of the sinister Sans asylum, geographically isolated somewhere in the state of Washington. Near the end of a long working day, a heavy thunderstorm breaks loose and lightening causes a power failure inside the asylum. The cell doors unlock automatically and the patients – all of them dangerous lunatics on heavy medication – turn against the wardens. George and his friend attempt to hide in storage rooms and offices but the crazies, led by the vicious inmate Harry Green, hunt them down as well. "The Incident" features some of the most efficiently disturbing sequences I've seen in a long time. The scene where a couple of nut cases are trying to break through the freezer door, behind which Ricky is hiding, is downright petrifying. And so is the excruciatingly painful murder of a certain character on top of the cooking stove and a torture sequence involving a peeling knife. I must say the supportive characters depicting the mental patients are extremely well-chosen as well. Harry Green (Richard Brake) looks like evil personified and many other unknown actors are aptly cast based on their looks as well (Darren Kent, the hairless guy…). The film allegedly takes place in the year 1989, which is quite clever because this way the writers didn't have to take into account mobile phones, GPS systems etc… I'm not going to go too much into detail about the bizarre ending. It didn't bother me that much because, by the time of the climax, I was already seriously impressed by the level of sickness and disturbance of "The Incident". This definitely isn't for sensitive and/or easily offended viewers!

Brad Royal ...this movie could have easily been a whole lot better. The Director seems stuck and confused, so he adds unnecessary and let's be honest unrealistic sub-plots to keep you interested, but, I almost stopped watching I got that uninterested in what was going on. The Director should have kept this simple and to the point, 4 guys trapped in an Asylum, yes, but all the other stuff going on? No, I don't want to go into much detail because it might give away spoilers, but let me just say that the acting was stiff, the pretend accents made me cringe, some of the shots with the lighting were so fake and I got lost in what was the main plot. Other than that, I've seen worse, if you switch your brain off in this movie, you can easily enjoy it.

kosmasp Anna Skellern is definitely underused in this movie. Just wanted to write that upfront. But it's not a movie about her. It's a movie about an Asylum (as an alternate title does suggest, original title being "The Incident") and the people within. It's also a movie about madness and reality shifting (sort of).I couldn't really start to explain what the ending is. Apart from the fact it that it would be a spoiler, it's one of those endings that will split the audience. Some will find it amazing, what the director did there and some will think he's full of himself. One thing is for sure: Up until that moment (or rather moments), the movie is pretty straightforward and has an edgy feel to it. And it is pretty good in scaring you (visually with some hard to stomach violent scenes, so not for the faint hearted then), too. If that is something you like, then go ahead and give it a try

eckmanmj-1 My wife and I just watched Asylum Blackout (or The Incident...which one is it) last night and I have to say, we mostly enjoyed this movie. At one point, shortly after the blackout (this isn't a spoiler since its in the name) we both agreed that this movie was doing a real good job at showing what it might be like to be trapped inside a building with the criminally insane and having no power.The look, feel, setting, and plot to this movie are all well done. Even the acting, especially the performance of the main character George, done by Rupert Evans, is very good. George is a likable character that I could easily sympathize with. He's a struggling musician working a crummy job trying to make ends meet with people who are less than motivated. When things start to go badly, George's decisions don't follow the typical 'forehead slappers' that often happen in movies like this. He makes logical decisions regarding his survival and doesn't fall victim to many of the typical clichés you see in type type of movie.There is a lot of gore in this movie, which some may interpret as a horror movie, but I wouldn't go as far as to say this is straight up horror. Its more like a "terror/thriller". If you can inject yourself into the characters and imagine what it would be like to be in their situation, it would be scary as he**. This, by far is the biggest asset to this movie. Sadly, as with many movies of this type, there is a twist. I wont tell you what it is, but the twist didn't work for my wife and I. Reading through the other reviews for this movie, I am not alone.Frankly, had this movie been as simple as "four guys get trapped in a mental hospital with no power", that would have been a very good movie. Instead, the filmmakers tried to add depth to the story by including twists, that simply did not need to be there.I am actually getting sick and tired of movies with twists in them. M. Night Shyamalan did a good job early in his career with the twist ending, but come on people, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar! Asylum Blackout is a good movie, with a good plot, a creepy setting, good acting, and lots of gore, but the filmmakers tried to make it into something that didn't, and by the end of the movie, I found myself frustrated and disappointed. I recommend seeing it, if only for the first 90% of the movie. If any aspiring filmmakers read this review, please understand that not ever movie needs a twist or some type of profound deeper meaning to be revealed at the end. If you want to make a scary movie, make a scary movie and focus on the scares and be done with it! People will still enjoy your movie! Movies with twists have become so common these days, that I think a good twist ending to a movie would be no twist at all!