O Poder da Mente

If you like horror films this one delivers the goods well enough, with plenty of special effects and at least an attempt to rationalise the thing with a psychological basis. Ally Sheedy's low-key performance tends to increase the effect, making her the fulcrum around which everything moves, but is this really the sort of role she wants to play? The other performances are more than acceptable, but I won't be rushing to see it again.

Centered around a couples divorce is the possibility that their son is a portal for a poltergeist. Focusing on this issue, is the plot for this made for TV movie. The acting is average and the writing is decent. The movie is interesting enough to hold your attention. It builds the suspense as each supernatural event climaxes at a more disturbing level.

Jimmy Hanlon (Vincent Berry), a child of about 10 years old, has gone through a number of recent traumas--he found a local man dead, possibly killed by a ferocious dog, and his parents are separated and probably getting divorced. He also is the center of some mild supernatural events that end up looking like vandalism, and which are interpreted by the adults in his life as him acting out his emotions. As the film goes on, the supernatural events heighten. Is Jimmy making the events happen somehow, or is something else occurring?

As long as you don't analyze the plot too much, The Fury Within is a decent made-for-television horror film. The supernatural events were quite engaging and more often than not suspenseful, and the effects were very respectable for a film that surely had a relatively small budget.

Another asset is that rather than just being a by-the-numbers shocker, The Fury Within is both literally and metaphorically an examination of typical problems encountered in family breakups due to divorce. The cast is decent to good, and all of the technical aspects, such as cinematography, sound, lighting, etc. are more than competent.

After you've watched the film, if you spend too much time trying to analyze plot points, some aspects of the script begin to fall apart--it's not very clear why some events happen to some characters, if the force behind the supernatural events is truly what the final revelation says it is, and some threads are dropped, but maybe that's not so important. The points here are really the casual entertainment value and the allegory about divorce.

Ally Sheedy and her family are tormented by the supernatural in this hopelessly silly combination of Poltergeist and Carrie cliches. Airborne cutlery, a hungry rottweiler, a concerned parapsychologist, and a lot of condensation appear in the proceedings. The acting is good (especially Sheedy), but bland writing and presentation--not to mention a ridiculous computer-generated "monster"--keep it from excelling. The ending might make you scream, but only with laughter. Watch Trilogy of Terror instead.

It starts out good, but finishes flat, a promising idea that disappoints. The acting/direction in some of the scenes is wanting. If you have something better to do, don't let this one stop you.

This seems to be a low budget affair. There are times when Costas Mandylor's accent seems to have about three variations.

One bright spot, the architecture of the house.

The movie was made in Queensland, Australia, but you can't tell it from the movie. It is set in California, and goes to great lengths not to show anything recognizable. It is a shame that they didn't go ahead and make the setting Queensland, and shot some local landmarks.

One goof: During the baseball game they had the home team at the top of the scoreboard. Anyone who knows baseball, the home team goes on the bottom.