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The Power (1984) - Blu-ray Review

3 beersOuch!  My head really hurts after watching this one from 1984.  The scene where a very much deformed and noggin-trumpin’ man suddenly finds his head growing three sizes too big is a real find.  He then growls and shoves a girl’s hand down the garbage disposal. That’ll teach her not to laugh at his sudden and very intense deformities. 

The Scooby Doo level drama begins simple enough.  Three curious teens are in a graveyard doing something stupid involving a spirit board.  You know how it's going to go.  Later on that same sleepy night, one of them sits at his desk.  There is a rare sculpture on it; it looks exotic.  He begins to nod off and suddenly, a series of objects – pens, paperclips, baseball bat – attach themselves to the base of the statue.  Suddenly, the goldfish are fried in their tank.  And the whole world starts to suck in through the teen’s room.  And, in that way, The Power is unleashed upon all of mankind and it can never be destroyed. 

And this is why you should never ever FUCK with anything Aztec.  YOU WILL DIE.  The Intrigue is certainly strong with this one.  And truly that’s its main source of … power.  Made by the same creative crew responsible for The Dorm that Dripped Blood, The Power – while basic in its rollout – manages to tell an earnest tale with a lot of great squishy-headed effects.

Picture it.  A lone jeep cuts through the high desert.  A fat man emerges from the kicked up sand.  He waits alone.  Time passes.  Dusk falls.  Suddenly, a boy is standing on the other side of the road.  He turns when the man spots him and, as if expected, the boy begins to walk away.  The man follows.

The man, upon the death of a professor, is searching for the last known whereabouts of the trinket that could potentially be responsible for the death at the college campus.  But he is impatient and doesn’t like to be told no.  The God-possessed object will be his.  Even if he has to kill for it.  Do you see now how the God’s angry influence can spread?

And all of this is to get to the bottom of the mystery that surrounds an object that one college student suggests is merely a Mexican saltshaker.  Destacaytl is an angry God; a regulator of the dark forces at work in the human experience and this is a movie all about his power.  And he won’t let anyone stand in his way.

The Power, written and directed by Stephen Carpenter and Jeffrey Obrow, is a horror film that overcomes its budgetary limitations due to its robust use of creaky atmosphere as three Los Angeles teenagers – actors Lisa Erickson, Ben Gilbert, and Chad Christian – cross paths with the power of this pissed-off Aztec god.  And one of them, after the teens make momentarily contact with the other side, suddenly has a series of supernatural run-ins happening to him; all because of the statue on his desk.

They can’t bury it.  They can’t ignore it.  And talking to a local reporter named Sandy McKennah (Suzy Stokey), who passes on the story for her friend Jerry (Warren Lincoln)  to pick it up, gets them nowhere.  Things are sticking to it.  Bizarre things.  And that’s only the beginning.  Now that Jerry has his hands over the power and the pulse of the statue, things in LA County are about ready to EXPLODE.

Anyone who comes in contact with The Power emanating from this object are at risk.  And the scares elicited from the contact with the statue include vibrating objects, loud noises, and a weird scratching noise that is sure to freak some viewers out.  There’s also this light and when Sandy is attacked in her bed by a mattress full of arms and grabbing hands, all bets are off for who exactly has the cojones to survive this tale of human sacrifice. 

Time to ditch the candles.  The Power, thanks to Code Red, has been fully restored.  Pray there aren’t any more storms…

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The Power - Blu-ray Review

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime:
98 mins
Director
: Stephen Carpenter, Jeffrey Obrow
Writer:
Stephen Carpenter
Cast:
Suzy Stokey, Warren Lincoln, Lisa Erickson
Genre
: Horror
Tagline:
Pray for them. They have unleashed ... THE POWER
Memorable Movie Quote: "I feel a presence here."
Theatrical Distributor:
Artists Releasing Corporation
Official Site:
Release Date:
January 20, 1984
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
August 22, 2017
Synopsis: An Aztecan idol is stolen from a professor and ends up in the experimental hands of three high-school students who use it to get in touch with the spirit world. Things start to go wrong when a cemetery worker dies during one of these spirit sessions, and everything goes wrong after the Aztecan god possesses the body of a young man who steals the idol for his own purposes as the horrors of Destacatl is unleashed.

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The Power (1984) - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Code Red (Diabolik)
Available on Blu-ray
- August 22, 2017
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: None
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Code Red presents The Power in all its demonic glory thanks to a brand new 16x9 widescreen master.  Black levels are strong and details in the sets stand out.  There’s a nice texture throughout the presentation and the colors are bold enough, never standing out.  They don’t disappoint either.  Framed in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, the movie looks as fresh and as furious as day one of its life.  There’s a slight texture to the print, which is appreciated.  Bits of dirt and debris pop throughout the presentation.  A strong DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track carries the adequate sound track.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

We only get a few and a couple of those are ported over from Scorpion Rising’s DVD release of the movie.  Here, we have an interview with composer Chris Young about his score, an original trailer, and an episode of Katarina’s Nightmare Theater with hostess Katarina Leigh Waters.

  • Katarina’s Nightmare Theater
  • Interview with Chris Young
  • Original Trailer

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[tab title="Art"]The Power - Blu-ray Review

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