Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10
Cast: Aleksey Chadov, Pyotr Fyodorov, Svetlana Ivanova, Lukerya Ilyashenko, Kseniya Kutepova, Konstantin Lavronenko, Filipp Avdeev, Artyom Markaryan, Sergey Godin, Artyom Tkachenko, Yuriy Borisov, Maksim Emelyanov, Svetlana Miloradova.
If you believe Hollywood, or even British science fiction television serials, you might well consider that alien life forms would only ever deem that the United States of America and the U.K. were viable places for alien invasion, that the rest of the world, just is not the right place for first contact, or for the end of humanity.
Such thinking does cinema no favours, and whilst other realms of film making, other studios in countries around the world will always do their upmost to market large screen adventures where humanity’s existence is at stake, it seems that Hollywood is the go-to avenue where these science fiction tales of suspense can be told.
The Blackout: Invasion Earth is a Russian film that goes a long way to fight back against the English language dominance in the genre, and whilst at times the feeling of commentary is akin to the classic The Invasion of The Body Snatchers, the reverse of the ideology at the heart of the script and the inference of the fear of Communism taking root in the American heartland, in this case the suspicion that Russia herself is encircled and hemmed in from the rampant surge in consumerism, the film is one that is both entertaining, passionate in its delivery and one that tackles religious fervour and myths with the dark skies of what lays beyond our vision.
Except for a small circle of Earth, which encompasses the area around Moscow and with parts of Finland, Belarus and the Ukraine, the world has been decimated by an EMP surge that has taken out all communications from all parts of the globe. The Blackout is deadly, it is the darkness than in ancient myth saw the first-born sons of Egypt die, it is the unexplained fear that is only banished by light, and so it is only reasonable that the crux of the film is based around two alien beings with their own design for humanity, and that the cruelty of our own existence is by itself a plague on the planet.
For those that cannot abode a film with subtitles, then The Blackout is perhaps not for you, however what the narrative dislodges with the language barrier, it more than makes up for in its adherence to action and symbolism, the battle scenes with the controlled human slaves are graphic and well produced, the final reveal is enough to make you question your own ethos and structural belief, and whilst the film is not the finest acted in the history of cinema, it does throw up some great performances by actors such as Aleksey Chadov and Svetlana Ivanova.
The Blackout: Invasion Earth does not possess the thrill of its American backed counterparts such as Independence Day, The Faculty, or even the excellent Cloverfield, however it is a film that should be considered as vital viewing in the genre, one that catches the eye and the imagination with real intent.
Ian D. Hall