La force

I like this film. During the early 80's these type of genre films were cropping up every other week, but this one i still remember to this day, so i watched it recently. The film has dated quite badly (like most straight to video movies of this era) although it's quite well made and acted and the gore scenes and special effects are carried out competently, considering the small budget it would have had. The story is not bad as well ; ancient Aztec charm possesses all who come in contact, with inevitable results. The ending also has a nice sting in the tail. Overall as far as eighties video fodder goes this could be called an exception !!

I wasn't expecting much from this film, but was eager to try something which I initially thought would primarily be an early 80s teen horror. Although three teens are somewhat critical plot, it is by no means a teen horror film.

'The Power' is about a little Aztec idol that exchanges many hands as its possessor (who must be adult and thus, 'corrupted') becomes the vessel for unleashing all of the idol's evil, and often with deadly implications for not only the victims of the possessor, but of the possessor himself. After making several exchanges in vying over control of this thing, three teenagers wind up finding it and can't figure out what it is, except that since they found it, strange and dangerous things are afoot. They offer to explain the situation to a news reporter who doesn't buy into the spiritual bologna. Although, it is her producer who wants to investigate further, especially if it means he can get control of the idol (I presume the teens are even not yet corrupted enough to feel the dangerous desires encouraged by the idol). It is a story told a thousand times, particularly in 1950s and 60s horror and science fiction fare.

This one was at least, for me, able to sustain some interest. Though low budget, it was not done so obviously cheaply or loaded with bad acting as many of the low-budget, come-and-go horror fare of the earlier decades had (nowadays, they have the same cheesy qualities, but bigger budgets). We are spare enough of it to at least allow ourselves an opportunity to become at least a little bit absorbed with the eerie atmosphere and so forth, despite a story of clichés. And, though not terribly gory, the special effects were done nicely.

Again, it is routine horror tale, especially with the ending (which by modern standards has become a device that is annoyingly overused), but one that is not so embarrassingly bad. It might be worth checking out, even if just for laughs.

My review was written in January 1984 after a Times Square screening.

"The Power" represents a return to horror film basics: the requisite scares and flashy makeup jobs but little else to sustain viewer interest over the length of a feature. Also known during production as "Evil Passage", film is unrelated to the late George Pal's 1968 sci-fi thriller "The Power".

Supernatural tale concerns a tiny (two inches tall) Aztec idol, Destacatyl, which pases from hand to hand wreaking mucho havoc. Stolen by Francis Lott (J. DInan Myrtetus) from a professor, it ends up in the possession of three Los Angeles high school students (Lisa Erickson, Chad Christian, Ben Gilbert) who use it during their amateur attempts to contact the spirit world.

The idol causes the death of a cemetery caretaker during one of the students' sessions, and the kids seek the aid of reporter Sandy McKennah (Susan Stokey) after she writes about the incident for her tabloid The Eyewitness. Sandy's boyfriend Jerry (Warren Lincoln) steals the idol, which possesses him, cuing familiar expanding-bladder makeup effects and general mayhem.

Filmmakers Jeffrey Obrow and Stephen Carpenter reprise low-budget versions of the levitating and objects-flying-around-the-room special effects pioneered in "The Exorcist" at every opportunity, but fail to create interesting characters or situations. Makeup effects by Matthew Mungle vary in quality but deliver some effective grotesque faces as "evil" is mirrored on the visages of the least scrupulous players. Acting is unimpressive, as is a silly "three years later" epilog scene.

"The Power" departs from recent trends in the genre by being almost devoid of sexual content, except for a scary nightmare scene wherein Sandy imagines a dozen hands grabbing at her from beneath her bed.

Chris Young provides a suitably spooky musical score, which is overly derivative of Camille Saint-Saens' "The Aquarium", previously used on the soundtrack of "Days of Heaven".

The 80s low-cost independent horror "The Power" is an atmospherically inventive and dark with its fascinating concept involving an ancient Aztec idol that's harbouring a powerful force which infatuates those in possession of it, bringing out their dark side. It's starts off really steady and talkative but still remaining effectively compelling within its moody and fearful superstitious framework, but then it goes off the rocker becoming a ghastly, if typical little shocker with some very well executed, icky make-up FX for such a cheap budget. The deaths are few, but they bestow imagination and atmosphere --- however it's the underlining surreal creepiness that's held throughout, which makes up for it.

Dual director's Steven Carpenter and Jeffrey Obrow's (who brought us the hokey slasher "The Dorm that Dripped blood" and monster carnage of "The Kindred") minimalist set-up is tidy, even with its gritty look but they do a decent enough job with their touches of brooding suspense and jarring visuals. Limited resources and amateurish acting (although Lisa Erickson was fair) don't distract too heavily as the creative and unusual story is well thought out in its context of forbidden power and the temptation of it that simply attracts evil. There's just a sense of doom that just won't waver, but while it might be a mystery to the characters it's not so for the viewer. Sometimes slightly muddled and random, as there much to gather but it comes together in an ending that's nothing more than a final cheap, but lasting shock. The eerie score accompanying only adds more to the mystical edge, demonstrating an intense, ripple-like grip. Susan Stokey's clueless character is somewhat grating in her self-absorbed attitude and Warren Lincoln gives the film much needed energy as his erratically idealistic character investigating the idol, to only fall under its corrupt spell.

It would actually make a good, interesting double viewing with "The Returning (1983)".

Trivia note; One thing I found somewhat unnerving is a scene in the film, which I don't know if it was purposely staged or not. In the sequence we catch a reflection (less than a second) in a mirror of a bearded man dressed in black just standing there watching Stokey. I never saw this character before, nor does he even reappear in the film. Nothing is mentioned. If it was one of the crew accidentally getting in the shot, it was a strange place to be standing and boy did he look scary. Just look at the face!

The directors duo Stephen Carpenter and Jeffrey Obrow released three divergent low-budget horror movies during the 1980's before their paths separated. Perhaps they really ought to have stuck together for a little while longer, as the quality level of their work improved with each film. Their first feature "The Dorm that Dripped Blood" is a horrendous and suspense-free slasher that is better left forgotten. This one – "Evil Power" - is a nonsensical but fun thriller about psychic possession and their last collaboration, entitled "The Kindred" and dealing with a genetic monster, even is a slick but heavily underrated mixture between horror and Sci-Fi. Maybe if they had stayed together, they would have fabricated some hidden gem of horror during the 1990's, who knows?

"Evil Power" knows a promising and very exciting start, but sadly suffers from an overlong and dreadfully boring middle section. Pivot element of all the horror is a small statue made of clay, representing an ancient Aztec deity with a hardly pronounceable name. The statue provides tremendous amounts of power to whoever possess it. The only problem, however, is that the power isn't a very useful one… The statue brings out your darkest side and eventually causes its owners to transform into horribly deformed maniacs. The little Aztec bastard comes into the hands of three high-school students that learn about its powers during a séance held at an old abandoned graveyard. They wisely decide to give the statue to a newspaper reporter for further research, but she's a firm non-believer of the supernatural. Her boyfriend Jerry, on the other hand, quickly becomes obsessed with the thing. "Evil Power" is well worth checking out in case you're a sucker for 80's horror nostalgia. The special effects, especially during the first ten and last fifteen minutes, are delightfully cheesy and gruesome. They're fairly well-handled for being a low-budgeted flick and include some gooey melting parts and impalement. The atmosphere is relatively sinister as well, with two memorable sequences in particular. One in the graveyard and the other in the remote Mexican desert. There are some massive holes in the plot and, quite honestly, it's a bunch of senseless nonsense, but I definitely don't regret watching this little-seen oddity of the early 80's.