‘The darkest place is within’
The Power is a 2021 British horror film in which a young nurse has to work the night shift in an old hospital where a dark presence lurks.
Written and directed by Corinna Faith (The Protector; The Innocents TV series) – making her feature directorial debut – the movie stars Emma Rigby (American Violence; Demons Never Die), Rose Williams (A Quiet Passion), Charlie Carrick and Gbemisola Ikumelo. Produced by Rob Watson, Matthew James Wilkinson and aforementioned Ross Williams.
The soundtrack score was composed by Gazelle Twin and Max de Wardener.
Plot:
1973, Britain: A young nurse is forced to work the night shift in a run-down hospital during the striking miner’s strike that caused blackouts across the UK. Unfortunately, inside the crumbling hospital walls lurks a terrifying presence that threatens to consume her and everyone around her…
Reviews:
“The excellent costumes and setting contribute to the overall atmosphere of the film. It is a reminder of the desperate days of the early 70s and the ways in which people were kept in their place. I give The Power an excellent four out of five stars and recommend to fans of dark, atmospheric and claustrophobic horror.” Addicted to Media
“It imbues a familiar haunter with a profound and triumphant catharsis. Faith wraps a timeless tale in period clothing, delivering an unsettling atmosphere and compelling characters. While it does employ some standard tropes, The Power succeeds in crafting an emotional powerhouse with a few memorable scares.” Bloody Disgusting
“There are some problems with the pacing, and the more obvious and predictable moments that feel as if they’ve been ripped straight from almost any glossy, supernatural-tinged, thriller from the start of the 2000s, but the journey you get to go on with the lead character makes everything more than worthwhile, and the very last scene shows how the nightmarish darkness can also be a dreamy escape.” For It Is Man’s Number
“Taken on its own terms, The Power certainly gets its message across, and as its tortured, vulnerable heroine, Williams embodies a victim finding the strength to expose her tormentors. It’s a shame The Power couldn’t explore its theme in a more nuanced, genre-savvy fashion.” The Movie Waffler
“The Power had a great setting. The darkness, lack of people, and medical noises made the hospital an eerie atmosphere. Faith taps into a primal fear because our senses are heightened in the dark and we are all easily more frightened because of it.” Pop Culture Maniacs
“Sure, it’s set during a power cut, but it’s murky rather than moody, the attempts at jump scares fail miserably (lacking both jumps and scares) and everything has the flat, mumbling, worthy feel of a BBC TV drama.
The title, of course, has a double meaning – the real power being examined here is the power of patriarchal society and of course, every male character is uniquely awful to the point where it becomes ludicrous. Better films have made these points without sacrificing the narrative, but here the point is laboured to where even Andrea Dworkin might have found it a bit much.
There’s also a nasty classist thread at work here – the working-class hospital staff seem uniquely horrible – and the whole thing feels like a constant finger-wagging. Had the film delivered on any level as a horror film, perhaps these elements might have been less irritating – but this is a one-dimensional movie that is full of its own self-importance but ultimately empty.” The Reprobate
” …Faith demonstrates an unerring sense of composition and staging to create maximum mood, which is visually rooted in realism with the occasional flourish (like a generator room, lit by flashing red lights, that resembles something out of a spaceship) […] The Power largely eschews going over the top, though, remaining throughout an unsettling mix of the paranormal and the personal.” Rue Morgue
“Akin to a classic horror like The Exorcist and with plenty of horror films being set in a hospital (or asylum) viewers may find The Power to be a fairly familiar endeavour on paper. Rarely, however, do these films venture into stronger thematic depths like Faith does, especially ones feeling so importantly relevant right now.” UK Film Review
“The Power isn’t a particularly original film, there’s the expected dark secret shared among several of the staff. One that the spirit wants revenge for, and is more than willing to use Val as its weapon of choice. That doesn’t stop the film from delivering plenty of scares though. There’s plenty of tension and the payoffs tend to be effective, whether jumps or something deeper and more disturbing.” Voices from the Balcony
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