TeeJay1992 Twenty-somethings Kate and Leah are in a rocky relationship when Leah plans on heading out of town. Kate lives in the heart of NYC, pretending to like it just to make her relationship survive. Once a blackout occurs, Kate starts to have an internal struggle on what to do without Leah and coping on her own. I would have rather had Leah stay during the blackout and Kate go out of town, but the actress that played Kate (Whitney Able) did a superb job at bringing out all of Kate's character flaws. Leah didn't show any character flaws while she was onscreen. There are some editing flaws - as in the sound doesn't match up correctly with the characters' lips on screen. This happens about five times in the movie. Check out this movie if you like psycho-dramas. I watched this on Netflix.

Darkdaxter First of all, I must say I really enjoyed this movie. This is a very good character study, and this movie builds tension and suspense quite masterfully. My major problem with it is that starting from the bar scene most of her actions make no sense. There's clearly an increased potential for danger in the dead of night during a blackout, so why she so stubbornly refused the accompaniment home is strange. I get that she felt rejected after being so forward with Benny, but he didn't exactly say no to sex, so much as 'let's call it a night.' The night would've ended the same way if he'd said yes anyways. She was obviously way too drunk to be by herself too. In this case, while his actions are creepy, in a way he did the right thing by making sure she got home okay. The scene where she's talking to herself doesn't make sense without context. Is she schizophrenic? Was that the pill she was spit out? If so, why smoke weed to make the hallucinations even worse? Throughout she continuously leaves the door unlocked, often locking it only after something weird happens. She keeps the window to the fire escape open, and keeps leaving the room to peer into the darkness, away from the safety of her home. She even abandons her flashlight because she can't see the bottom three stairs. The entire scene on the fire escape is stupid. It's like she's intentionally making herself as vulnerable as possible. Also, how does a grown woman not understand power outages? She let out all the cold air in her fridge and tried to connect to the internet.I do like the ending, and her realization of events. I find her fear and disgust for her male neighbor realistic and saddening. Only in the end does she laugh and realize how similar they were. It gets a 6.5 from me.P.S. I didn't see any undercurrents alluding to rape, but maybe I missed them. Any past trauma could've led to her behavior, so I'm leaning towards abuse. I just saw it all as depression and self-harming.

JimmyT After seeing this I can understand why this film seems to be so polarizing. If you go into it expecting a typical plot driven suspense/horror film you'll be disappointed. If you go in with an open mind and click into what the film is doing you'll be treated to an experiential, character driven thriller which pays off in the end. At its center is an award worthy performance by Whitney Able as a very damaged young woman (ex-model) whose internal demons manifest themselves in the darkness of her New York city apartment during the 2003 blackout. The performances are strong all around and it's beautifully shot, especially it's use of darkness and what you don't see. The film can be slow in parts but is ultimately in the service of character arc and building atmosphere. If you have patience you'll be rewarded with an astounding performance and suspenseful voyage into the id.

Alison P This film rather took me by surprise. I went into this with no preconceived notions other than it was about the North American blackout of 2003 and had Alexandra Breckenridge (The Walking Dead) in it. This film hit me on a deeper level than expected and stayed with me for quite a few days after seeing it. It's portrayal of a young woman with mental issues, suffering from a very deep depression played to perfection by Whitney Able (Monsters) related to me. Knowing someone personally who dealt with depression, I thought the movie captured that state of mind completely. The subtle depiction of the lead, Kate's, slowly devolving emotional state through to it's brutal ending was uneasy to watch. I can see why some people may find the movie slow but I was gripped throughout because of the lead character. The acting is superb as well as the "jump cut" editing style and the cinematography, naturalistic and beautiful. The sound design, particularly in the second half, was really well done, especially considering most indie films usually fail on sound. It makes NY seem like a very intimidating place, at least in the main character's mind. Even though the film is set in NYC, it feels very much like a European film. Having grown up in the UK and loving a lot of art house films, most European cinema has never been plot-focused. European directors usually focus on the accurate representation of internal states, rather than external drives. This film's goal can be described in the same way and pulls it off quite successfully. It's definitely a movie that will not please everyone. It's not "entertaining" in the traditional movie sense but rather a cathartic, intimate experience for 93 minutes. If you like arty cinema with dark subject matter, you'll absolutely appreciate this indie gem.