The Power (2021)

 

Streaming Services: Shudder
Movie Name/Year: The Power (2021)
Genre: Horror
Length: 92 minutes
Rating: Unrated
Production/Distribution: Air Street Films, British Film Institute, Head Gear Films, Kreo Films FZ, Metrol Technology, Stigma Films, Shudder, VR Films And Studios
Director: Corinna Faith
Writer: Corinna Faith
Actors: Rose Williams, Emma Rigby, Charlie Carrick, Clara Read, Paul Antony-Barber, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Diveen Henry, Robert Goodman, Marley Chesham, Nuala McGowan, Shakira Rahman, Joe Haddow, Maria Major
 
Blurb from IMDb:  1973: a young nurse is forced to work the night shift in a crumbling hospital as striking miners switch off the power across Britain. But inside the walls lurks a terrifying presence that threatens to consume her and everyone around her.

  
Selina’s Point of View:
I was looking forward to The Power. The trailer seemed a little tropey, but I figured the setting and time period would elevate it.
 
I wasn’t completely right.
 
The Power did have some elevating factors, but it was – at its base – a recipe film.
 
For the majority of the movie, it delivered typical jump-scare fare. There were a few shocking moments, and I jumped a couple of times… but nothing really stood out as original. The setting and the period really didn’t alter anything. It could have taken place anywhere, during any time, and been exactly the same.
 
That said, it is not a bad film.
 
Any recipe flick can be good. It needs a creative team and actors that are on point, as well as something to make it stand out.

Rose Williams (Reign, Changeland, Curfew) did a decent job with the main character. I believed her performance and she helped those jump-scares land properly. On top of that, Corinna Faith (Nature, Ashes, 16 for a Day) did a good job with the script. Neither of those facts were the stand-out needed, though.
 
The real stand-out was the ending.
 
Now, the twist was relatively predictable. The foreshadowing was not subtle. How the movie treated the twist, however, made it worthwhile. Not just in the way that the paranormal aspect is realized, but in the way the title fits the flick.
 
The ending was special, and it made the rest of the film more rewarding. It’s a little difficult to go into without spoilers, so that’s the most I can say.
 
The Power comes out on Shudder, April 8th. 

 
Cat’s Point of View:
I was super jazzed to learn we’d gotten a screener for The Power, considering it had made it onto my Top 20 list for this month. The trailer gave me an ominous feeling which I hoped was a harbinger of good things for this scary story from yesteryear.
 
Many will laugh at those that are afraid of the dark. Some of us just can’t help it, though. Sometimes it’s trauma that makes the fear linger past childhood. Other times it could be sensitivity to things that are simply unseen. When you’re in tune with your environment to that degree, you know that sometimes you’re not alone in the dark – but that’s an entirely different story for another time. I digress… The point is, it’s hard-coded in our DNA from times of old when ancient people huddled around the fire for safety. Danger awaits in the dark where human eyes cannot see. It’s instinct. Of course, in this ‘modern age of reason,’ we can generally mind-over-matter the issue and move past it – most of us at least.
 
I have a confession. Darkness doesn’t scare me, but it makes me highly uneasy. I don’t like the unsettled feeling, and so I’ll beeline for a light source when available. It’s not even all darkness. It’s hard to explain. My rambling point is that I can identify with this movie’s protagonist on some level. I would not want to be in a hospital like that with all the lights off. Nope.

There’s more to this story than a potential boogeyman in the dark. As we learn more about our plucky main character, Val, we begin to understand why the darkness is extra scary for her. I think they handled expressing her PTSD rather well. I don’t want to spoil the movie for you, so I’m afraid I can’t get into that in detail.
 
The era of this story’s setting wasn’t that long ago, but there was still a lot of progress yet to happen for women’s rights in Britain in the mid-1970s. The story deftly highlights some of that rather well also.
 
If you asked me if there was anything about this movie that bugged me, I’d really be hard-pressed to give you an answer. The special effects were generally on point. The yawning expanses of deep darkness gave the appropriate sense of dread and foreboding. The puzzle pieces of the young nurse’s story and the mystery of the issue at hand came together nicely, and the ending was very satisfying. I had figured someone else for the story’s antagonist – but I was silly and fell for a red herring.
 
This is definitely a movie that should be watched in the dark, if at all possible. If you find yourself in a lighted situation, you should still be able to see what’s going on for the most part, however. The pitch black of my room only added to the ambiance of the film for me, leaving me on edge after the credits rolled. All the same, I’d definitely give this movie a solid recommendation if you find yourself searching for something to watch on Shudder starting April 8th. 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None
Metascore –None
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score – None
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 3/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3.5/5

Trust-the-Dice’s Parental Advisory Rating: R
 
Movie Trailer: