A teenager comes into possession of a small Aztec idol that happens to be possessed by the demon Destacatyl (which sadly appears to be fictitious, I can find no other trace of that name). It's a Full Moon, three friends go to a cemetery to do a Ouija board in what looks like a cellar/crypt, with the doll present the three teens get badly spooked. They report their story to a couple of journalists, Sandy and Jerry. Jerry has other plans for the artefact and becomes possessed by the demon. I have been watching horror movies for many years but until now I had not seen or even heard of this one. Thankfully Talking Pictures UK TV recently screened a crackly old print and I have to say that I enjoyed it, despite the current 4.5/10 rating. It looks quite low budget but under the circumstances I think that the end product is good. The cast is mainly unknowns but they all put in decent performances. The musical score is very effective. There are some gory scenes (a man is levitated then impaled, another man has his head crushed by a concrete block, Jerry slits one of his forearms from wrist to elbow, etc), and the possessed Jerry make-up is very good. None of that horrible CGI here folks! It is never slow or boring and the finale with teen Julie and Sandy versus possessed Jerry is great. There is one final "twist" at the end but I'm not going to spoil that! I did like this movie and would certainly give it a repeat viewing.
Review of The Power
