User reviews

Almost all of the acting is terrible and 90% of the dialog is horrible. You never develop any interest in what happens to any of the characters. The main character just does not seem right for the role. The reason I am able to give this movie four stars is because of the special effects. This movie is low budget, but some of the special effects are pretty amazing for it's budget. The end of the movie is kinda strange, but I can say it was almost good for about 5-10 minutes. The rest of the movie is pretty bad. Though, it is hard to get passed the first like hour and 15 minutes to get to the interesting part because most of the movie is just boring and one of the main character's daughters is irritating. Not the worst movie I have ever seen, but FAR from the best. Easily forgotten aside from that 5-10 minutes.

MAN(IAC) CREATES GOD .....

Half a decent idea (based on DC's Doctor Manthattan), very poorly executed. Kept me watching to the end, more out of morbid curiosity, so avoids one star, but a confusing script, unevenly plotted and paced, and very poorly acted throughout.

Unpleasant characters, impossible to engage or empathise with.

Bad: Nasty, mean-spirited, badly made, tripe. Poor characterisation.

Good: Imaginative premise, somewhat wasted. Decent FX for the low budget.

There are worse movies out there, with less of a viable premise, but while it's probably ok to watch at 2am after a heavy night out, it's not the sort of movie you'll probably want to watch again.

The story is an amalgamation of stereotypes, failed attempts to engage the audience with the emotional suffering of the (badly acted and even worsely written) characters, and very confusing and incohesive sequences in which the main character gets observed through some flashy monochrome ... hacking interface?

Clearly the person doing the UI visuals enjoyed themselves. Sadly nothing in this movie makes any sense - not even in a humorous way, since it takes itself very, VERY serious. Which is part of the overall problem. Nobody seems to have done a reality check when getting this sort of script handed in to make a movie about.

I have a hard time thinking of anyone to recommend this movie to.... You cannot have a laugh at it, and you cannot enjoy the story. Better skip it.

Nonsensical story line. Unconvincing acting. Rotten, last century computer graphics. Strawberry syrup blood. Boring, interminable silences. Unbearable.

The highlight of this rubbish is the half second of black and absolute silence at the end of the credits.

If I could have given this unmitigated trash less than 1 star, I would have.

The presentation starts slow and plodding with lots of obnoxious teeth-grading noise. There are lots of flashy CGI scenes that would put a strobe light to shame.

We settle down to cute scenes with tinkling piano background noise. Artsy camera angles (handheld like Blair Witch.)

If you have not turned off the sound by now you are dead. One-fourth into the presentation no change in sound or presentation; now we are into filler mode. Halfway through the presentation "Their lives mean nothing compared to the bigger picture Joe." Who cares?

At 52 minutes in we switched from piano to violin. The awful CGI continues. Joe runs from one absurd location to another insidious situation. And the noise and flashy scenes just continue and continue as the filler goes on.

Wait there is hope; 58 minutes and is there light at the end of the tunnel or is that just another flashy scene?

Rats. Another flashy scene. Please make it stop. "Hey, Joe, where you go' with that gun in your hand?" At 1:13:14 Who let the dogs out? Oh no, now we have supper, Joe. "You don't control me anymore."

And no one can control the pitifully awful background noise. Not even the ending credits.

Ever wonder what happened to Mickey Bunce from Drop Dead Fred? (1991) No me neither, but here he is as the lead of this science fiction epic and he's twice the man he used to be *Ahem*

It tells the overly convoluted tale of a man struggling to keep his family together after his wifes passing only to find himself dragged into a plot that could mean the beginning or the end of mankind.

It's an interesting creature, it really wants to be a Hollywood blockbuster but just doesn't quite have the budget. Because of this the movie flits between looking fantastic and looking like someone just bought a copy of Adobe After Effects.

The plot is certainly original but falls apart and gets a bit silly by the end. In fact to be entirely honest by the 2/3 mark I think they were winging it and it simply didn't have quite the structure it did until that point. It's like they were given a fascinating concept but someone forgot to give them an ending.

For it's originality alone Higher Power deserves praise and had this been given a sizeable budget, better writers and erm.....maybe better cast this might have been something quite special.

There is definetly something there, but whatever it was is sadly neutered, stripped for parts and kicked down some stairs. Poor lil beggar.

The Good:

Some great sfx

Very original

The Bad:

Some poor sfx

Nothing quite fits together

Even the usually excellent Colm Feore seemed to be phoning it in

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Gods are man made, oh wait no already knew that

Mickey Bunce ate Phoenix Cates!

The security guard Joe Steadman (Ron Eldard) is a family man happily married with Heather Steadman (Jade Tailor) with two daughters, Zoe (Jordan Danger) and Rhea (Marielle Jaffe). When his wife dies, Joe becomes alcoholic and estranged to his daughters. Meanwhile, a scientist predicts that Earth will be destroyed by Gamma Rays from a dying star. Another insane scientist (Colm Feore) researches the profile and DNA of the population and finds that Joe is a match to his research. The scientist and his assistant kidnap Joe, implant a chip at his optical nerve and threaten the lives of his daughters to force Joe to retrieve his research, that was forbidden and sealed in a vault by the government since it is too dangerous to be used. But the scientist forces Joe to be the guinea pig of his experiment.

"Higher Power" (2018) is a messy movie with a confused storyline that wastes great CGI. The plot is a mess and corny, like when Zoe misses her father after his apparent death. It is also illogical in many moments and is annoying, with an awful conclusion. In the end, "Higher Power" is a complete waste of time for the viewer. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Um Poder Superior" ("A Higher Power")

I got into this last night without knowing anything about this movie, not seeing reviews, trailers, honestly never heard of this movie before last night and I was a bit skeptical...slow opening then about a qtr of the way through it hooked me..the ending was very unique, a hidden message was in the final scenes if you looked hard enough....don't skip this one.

It's not like I would watch it again but... 500k and this film as a result needs respect. If I would have made this film I would be damn proud of it. It's cringy and awesome, it's ugly and beautiful. Could it been better? Yes! Should that guy who made that film make more? Yes! Is he able to do it with a 1 Star Rating? No! So here you go with 8!

Well, another proof that IMDB rating and review quality is going downhill.

After seeing the reviews I almost skipped this one. Glad that i didn't.

Story: 7+ and actually a fresh take on the superhero saga Cinematography: 7 Special FX: 8, they where actually better than Justice League and on a tiny budget Acting: 5+. This is what makes this film hurt. Better star power would make it a true success.

The CGI gives you a throwback feel of what movies 2 decades ago look like.

The only thing that is good in this movie are the CGI effects. Everything else is not good (bordering - bad). You can watch the first 15-20 minutes and than jump to the last 10 minutes.

The superhero flick that never was.

I can summarize this movie in two sentences without giving you any spoilers...

"Ahhh Aaaaaaaarrrrrhhhhhh!!" and "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME??"

Had this movie had some actors and some dialogue other than the above two sentences it might have been a sleeper hit! As it was, the hero was horribly portrayed and wholly unbelievable. My ears were hurting from his screaming by the end of the movie.

The "villain" was about as good as he was in Riddick, although that's not saying much. However, he was the bright spot in the movie... the only bright spot.

Again... put some actual thought into dialog and make the hero get through the movie without making your own vocal chords hurt and you have a decent movie.

'Higher Power' drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster/cover, an intriguing if not particularly original premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive as well as the low rating and poor reviews.

It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws those films have are present here, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. 'Higher Power' is very bad, with a plethora of problems (huge ones too and the worst assets are awful) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There is next to nothing to recommend.

Lets start with the few positives. The setting is atmospheric and spooky and some of the photography is not bad.

Unfortunately, it is not done justice by the rather direct to video schlocky way it's edited and the drab colour palette, so much so it was hard to appreciate it, it was very clear that the film was made in a rush with no care or enthusiasm. The editing makes one nauseous.

Going on further to the negatives, the story does feel paper thin, disjointed and over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their annoying and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates.

Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The effects are ropy at best, the sound quality is obvious and utilised cheaply (being too loud in the build ups and people's reactions) and it's best not mentioning the uniformly lumbering and histrionic acting that shows a huge indifference to the situation and what is going on and extremely awkward prolonged pauses.

Dialogue can be stilted and rambling, with lots of clichés, lots of unintentional humour that makes some of the film play like a really bad spoof and no depth whatsoever, while the pace goes to a standstill very quickly and drags on forever with very little going on worth caring about and useless padding, never recovering. Found too many the supposedly shocking and fun moments not surprising or suspenseful and the atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness, a lot of dumb and vague moments, attempts to take itself seriously (that it becomes over-serious) and explanations and the lack of tension and suspense. Would not have minded the lack of originality (the film is extremely derivative and in a dumbed and watered down way) if the story and atmosphere were at least alright in execution, in reality they were both very poorly done.

A lot of 'Higher Power' has underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you intrigued or shocked are far from creative, intriguing or tense. The ending makes the film finish on an incomplete and confused whimper, as well as a ridiculous one.

There is not enough threat, and what there is of it tends to be used poorly, it is completely unimaginative and more odd than creepy, completely failing to show any sense of horror or creativity. Everything here is neither creative, suspenseful or nail-biting and a lot of it makes very little sense and induces many face-palms. Some badly sagging momentum too that makes one lose interest too quickly too early. The direction is leaden and like their heart was not in it or ill at ease, with the chemistry between the characters and actors coming over as constantly random and aggressive with the subtlety of an axe.

Overall, very bad. 2/10 Bethany Cox

This movie is perhaps 2018's dumbest movie. Stupid plot and stupid story line and the character is a complete rip off of Doctor Manhattan.

It builds slowly but when the action starts it's explosive and creative. 7/10

Higher Power is the story of a broken man turned into a weapon with the goal of saving the earth, no matter the number of people who need to suffer to get there.

The story isn't bad, the relationships between the father and his daughters, as well as his own demons, is interesting to watch, as well as the progression of his character, but ultimately it's a movie that tells us men in power can use whoever they want, so long as their goal is to save more people than they hurt.

I just can't agree with that, and because of that, the ending doesn't work for me.

This is my kind of movie. Ominous and enigmatic, unfolding into the ultimate highest power. Very beautiful visuals coloring a tale told of a fallen father who rises up after being captured and tortured by some secret, rogue, government scientist project.

Watched this on Amazon Prime. A low budget Sci-fi movie with an original premise, that not only surprised me, but kept me interested throughout. Considering the budget, the effects were very good, the acting was fine, but the plot was brilliant. I wouldn't be surprised to see this being remade by a Hollywood studio. Well done.

An okay watch, probably won't watch again, and can't really recommend.

I don't really have anything good to say about the cast: Colm Feore is kind of a typecast "creepy villain" and he work the role as best he could, and the only other person I recognized was Jordan Danger (Eureka) (I completely didn't recognize Jade Tailer (Magicians).

This was clearly a passion project on a budget, and production value is good fro what it looks like, but it's surprising to recognize this as a 2018 movie.

The concept was magnificent, but the writing just wasn't very strong: I'm not sure how many "regular" people are familiar with "higher power" in a sobriety support system, and this is rather anti-thetical to that mantra when it comes down to it. This movie is very much about taking control, not living with what one can't control.

I honestly have no idea if the writing or pacing was horrible, whether there were things left out to make me care about this situation more (I don't think there were), or Ron Eldard just under performed (the movie is designed for that character to carry the movie, another point against it).

There are some interesting conceptual parts to this, but for most audiences, stay away.

Couldn't stand the seemingly never ending opening credits. I watched eight minutes getting more and more annoyed before giving up. Utterly pointless.