The Power

An Aztec idol, Destacatyl, ends up in the hands of three high School students on the coast near Los Angeles. After an unexpected death, the trio seeks the aid of a tabloid writer, but it's her ex-beau who's fascinated by the artifact and the evident power thereof. Havoc ensues.

"The Power" (1984) mixes the evil spirit shenanigans of "The Exorcist" (1973) with the misshapen man-beast bits of "Altered States" (1980) while the faith-in-the-idol angle is done better in the future "Wendigo" (2001). It's one of those 'almost' movies that almost works enough.

Both Lisa Erickson as blonde teenager Julie and Suzy Stokey as brunette journalist Sandy are effective on the female front. Meanwhile the three teens investigating the spooky happenings is reminiscent of Scooby-Doo, albeit without the dog.

Unfortunately, there's just not enough to push the flick beyond mediocre. It needed a rewrite to flush out the potential, but that takes time and time is money in the movie biz. Still, I enjoyed it well enough for a streamlined mystery/horror from the early '80s.

The film runs 1 hour, 24 minutes, and, was shot in Redondo Beach, California, which is just southwest of Los Angeles.

GRADE: C+

THE POWER is about a man named Jerry (Warren Lincoln), who comes into possession of an Aztec idol. Jerry has little idea of its dark history, beyond the fact that some kids claim that it caused a death.

Many unexplained events take place, and Jerry undergoes a drastic change in personality, becoming a danger to himself and others. Mostly others.

THE POWER is enjoyable in spite of / due to its inescapable, 1980's cheeeze-vibe. Jerry's transformation scene is quite impressive, as are his massive tumbleweed hairdo and matching sideburns!

Definitely recommended for all of those who are addicted to the movies of this era...

If you remember liking the "Friday the 13th" TV series, with its basic concept of inanimate objects possessing the souls of their unsuspecting owners and eventually causing death and destruction, then this movie - about a creepy small Aztec idol - may be enjoyable for you. The special effects are not bad, considering the budgetary constraints, and there is also a pretty good shock ending. The problem is that you get to see the idol's power in the first few minutes, so you have to wait for the characters to find out (and argue about) what you already know. And some of the acting is pretty amateurish, too. (**)

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".

Man comes in contact with an ancient Aztec figurane that is cursed by an evil spirit. The spirit takes over the man's body and begins a massive killing spree. Swift, fast paced horror film with it's fair share of shocks. This is one film where the low budget actually helps the move and gives it a more realistic feel. The special effects are even pretty good for this kind of movie. Rated R; Violence and Profanity.