Le premier pouvoir

Some movies get a bit lost in the shuffle and The First Power seems to have suffered from bad timing if anything. Released at the start of the 90's when horror was on the decline, it didn't seem that there was much of an audience for this kind of movie, but it's not a bad movie at all and a lot of fun.

Lou Diamond Phillips plays a cop whose track record for finding and imprisoning serial killers is some sort of legend. He gets an anonymous tip from a mysterious woman about the whereabouts of a killer named The Pentagram Killer, but warns him to only catch him and imprison him - not to kill him. He catches him, but the killer ends up getting executed in prison and his evil spirit is now free to torment and kill more people - this time, by jumping into other people's bodies.

The First Power might have a few missteps here and there (the killer's need to crack jokes reeks of late-stage Freddy Krueger and the nun character only seems to show up when necessary and is pure plot device), but the pacing is pretty even and the performances aren't bad with Phillips holding down the fort well as the lead and Tracy Griffith does well as the psychic.

Entertaining movie, which has a sort of dream-like quality, a good share of scary moments and is quite well thought out. A serial "Pentagram" killer is sentenced to death. It doesn't end here, though, as he's resurrected by the Devil himself and comes back for vengeance. Lou Diamond Phillips is convincing and red-headed Tracy Griffith is a babe. The arch-villain will give you the creeps. Personally, I quite enjoyed this and have it in my personal video collection. Good choice for all occult fans! Rating: 7 out of 10

In my opinion this is a very good film. A super underrated flick and that is usually going to be one of those ones that go under the radar the end up being a very good movie.

Jeff Kober ... doing his thing as is Lou Diamond Phillps. Funnily enough I had never seen this and it looks and feels like a movie I would have cherished in the late 90s - video store glory days and all that.

It seem to be infamous enough (to get a release by 88 Films and being talked about a lot too), but hey: better late than never, right? So this is as out there as it gets and the movie really needs you to suspend your disbelief. You may need as much time as Lou Diamonds character needs in this movie ... it may still not be enough to wrap your head around it though.

This is flawed and has not aged gracefully. Still it can be campy 80s/90s throwback fun, if you let it. Not much in the story department, apart from that idea of ... supernatural madness.

A Los Angeles detective (Lou Diamond Phillips) teams-up with a winsome psychic (Tracy Griffith) to nab a nutso serial killer who was executed, but uncannily continues to manifest for more slayings.

"The First Power" (1990) is a fast-paced crime thriller with occult-oriented horror. It takes "The Night Stalker" (1972) template minus the vampire angle and mixes it with the real-life Richard Ramirez case, "Spellbinder" (1988) and "The Hidden" (1987).

It's as entertaining as any of those three movies, as well as more amusing, but it's hampered by predictableness. For instance, when the protagonist goes into the confessional you know exactly what's going to happen. Then there are some unlikely bits, like a vat of acid strategically placed in a sewer that explodes. Why Sure! Meanwhile the final scene leaves a sour taste.

Nevertheless, likable Lou works well as the driven detective while Redhead Tracy Griffith is a highlight. You might remember her from "Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland" (1989).

The film runs 1 hour, 38 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles.

GRADE: B-