“The Beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them and shall overcome them and kill them and their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city.”
“Sister this is the 20th century, so one mustn’t mention Satan in polite company.”
Directed by Robert Resnikoff
What kind of horror movie is it? Cop/Satanic/Serial Killer Thriller
Did you know that God and Satan can bestow three powers on their disciples, and that the first power is resurrection?
No, neither did I.
But it’s true. A nun said so.
Also: Jesus left us magic weapons to fight the minions of Satan.
These are the sorts of lessons you will learn while watching The First Power.
Lou Diamond Phillips is a cop who doesn’t play by the rules on the trail of a serial killer who carves a pentagram on the bodies of his victims. The cop is getting help from a mysterious informant, who seems to know where the killer will strike next. The informant demands that when the killer is caught he must not be killed, or given the death penalty. Phillips agrees, but once the killer is in his hands the promises are forgotten.
“The Pentagram Killer” is tried, convicted, and sentenced to death.
If this were a regular film, that would describe the entire plot, but that’s just the first twenty minutes of The First Power.
Soon the killer is back from the grave and people involved in the original investigation are turning up dead. The mysterious informant turns out to be a beautiful psychic, and now it’s up to her, Phillips, and a renegade nun to stop Satan.
This is a very fun movie.
The plot is ridiculous, and the story logic goes out the window towards the end. I think they even made up the Catholic mysticism that forms the premise, but who cares? What we get is 80s-style cop action, with the added bonus of a satanic villain with super powers! Watch as a possessed bag lady kung-fu fights Lou Diamond Phillips after crashing through the window of his high rise apartment and just try not to smile.
This was director Robert Resnikoff’s only feature length film — though he also wrote a cop/buddy/comedy starring Mr. Miyagi, and Jay Leno — and from what imdb tells me he never worked again.
It’s too bad, I enjoy his style of wackiness.
Lou Diamond Phillips is from the Keanu Reeves school of acting, but has a little more charm. He brings just the right amount of “I don’t believe for a second that this pretty boy is a cop” to the screen. Nobody else is particularly good either, but like I said, with the plot it just doesn’t matter. It seems nothing can stop this movie from being a good time.
Availability: The First Power is available on DVD from MGM.
October 11th, 2009 at 11:56 pm
The first and only time I saw this movie was during one of my many bouts of insomnia as a youngster. Naturally, my first choice was cruising arounf the channels for vintage television or a horror movie. The First Power was scheduled to start at 4AM on UPN and I gave it a look. Within minutes, I was ecstatic to see Re-Animator’s David Gale as a Monsignor. Doubtlessly I was in store for 90 minutes of debauchery with Gale running the show at the Catholic church. I was crushed when his role turned out to be just a cameo. CRUSHED!
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October 11th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Also, Collision Course makes Cop And A Half look like The French Connection.
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October 12th, 2009 at 2:00 am
Jay Leno made a goddamn movie?! All copies must be burned and the ash remains sent to the bottom of the Mariana trench..
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