The Power (1983)

It must be said that this supernatural excursion is at least a refreshing change from of pace the psycho co-ed killers who have come to haunt low-low budget horror films (like Obrow and Carpenter's Pranks). But the fairly ambitious summoning-up of Aztec demons is undermined by rickety construction and unimaginative monstrosities (flying objects to indicate demonic presence, murder by kitchen disposal unit). For the first half hour, different sets of characters - Lott's occultist colleagues, the idol's Mexican guardians, the teenage dabblers-in-things-best-left-alone, the tabloid journalists - are clumsily introduced. Half of them are killed off immediately, and the rest are arbitrarily shuffled together for a risible farrago with a particularly obvious 'twist' conclusion.
KIM NEWMAN

First Published In: Monthly Film Bulletin vol.51 no.607 (August 1984) p.246 (UK)

Visit Kim's Official Website at www.johnnyalucard.com