The Dark Power (1985)

Why so much hype?

Highly Overrated But Still Good

The acting in this movie is really good.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I heard about and saw The Dark Power film today as it seemed to be a little different from other horror films that were produced around the mid 1980's.Here is my review which shall contain some spoilers throughout!The Dark Power is set in what seems like southern America and in a location where four American Indians have died many centuries before. A reporter and her cameraman are conjuring up a story for their college project about the history of the area and the curse that it has left behind along with some support from the local ranger Girard.A house where the Indians known as Toltec sorcerers where laid to rest has been built over the same area. A group of sorority girls decide to rent out the house whilst carrying out their studies at a cheap price.Out of the four girls whilst Beth gets a recommendation from reporter Mary her very annoying friend Lynn constantly interrupts their conversation. When Beth and Lynn get to the house and meet up with their other friend Susan and it is not until Lynn meets the fourth girl Tammie, the only black girl we are further annoyed by her outspoken racist and spiteful behaviour. I have to say Lynn's character was probably the most racist one I have ever seen in a horror film although the way the the other girls respond to her is with maturity and dignity.Lynn then plans to pester her enemy Tammie once more by inviting her equally annoying and irrelevant brother Craig to stay at the house and have a party with his friends. When night falls the evil sorcerers rise from the ground and terrorise the sorority girls, Craig and his friends. The ranger Girard arrives at the house to help put an end to all the havoc.I know this film is marketed as a horror film but i didn't really feel as though it was one for the most part it was like a drama mixed with some horror, a little blood and then became quite funny or even silly towards the end. I think the film lost any initial serious tone it had by the half way point however the killers did do some interestingly random things that were not always intentional and were curious as to some of the decisions they would make.It was worth the watch for something out of the ordinary and to see what happens to two very unlikeable characters being the brother and sister Craig and Lynn!I would rate this film 5 out of 10.

You like a good time with a whip? Look no further than the cheesy, but charm-ridden 80s horror "The Dark Power". What is an interesting set-up (the story's background is well-devised), eventually makes way to its ridiculous writing, low-brow dialogues and goofy, lightweight execution with a lot whip-cracking and wise-cracks ("Feel my whip you son of a b!tch") thanks to legendary B-western star Lash La Rue. Still this low- budget regional horror was lot more entertaining than it deserved to be… maybe more so unintentional, but entertaining nonetheless. Just listen to what comes out of these character's mouths… its rib-tickling (especially from the red-neck woman)… but it doesn't break loose until a good hour when our four evil Toltec zombie sorcerers come to terrorise some college coeds. For the first hour we got to listen to boring, if exaggerated exchanges, whip talk and numerous legends and theories involving the house on Totem Hill where the girls have moved into. At least you got an attractive buxom cast in Anna Lane Tatum, Mary Dalton & Cynthia Bailey. Then it turns crazy with plenty of hysterical screaming and "Benny Hill" chases, as now I don't know what was going on. You can see were most of the money went to though, as the effects are actually well staged and there is one very memorable face-lift. Too bad these zombie sorcerers looked and acted rather stooge-like, than anything truly threatening. Even watching La Rue go up against one of these sorcerers with his whip -- made out of materials from the four corners of the world was a battle of epic proportions. Watch as these two standoff as they go ahead whipping each other in turns, one a pure amateur while the other a master. Crack that whip! It was hard to tell if director/writer Phil Smoot was trying to be funny or not, but this slapdash effort is playful enough. Now that music score was like something out of an old-fashion western film… it even sounded like if someone's mobile was going off.

A total and utter travesty of a movie.'Dark power'is the kind of film even troma would be embarrassed to release.The script,direction,acting and action sequence's are so dire as to be almost painful to watch and one cant help thinking that it's mere 75 minute running time could have been better spent. The above reviewer must be related to the director as that's the only reason i can see for his/her appraisal of this rubbish,some might call it b-movie fun or 'so bad it's good' just to excuse there enjoyment of it,but when the lead actor ( and most experienced cast member) cant deliver his lines convincingly you know you've got a very,very bad movie.Avoid at all costs.

Wow, what a cheesy movie this is! It starts off looking like it's gonna be a backwoods slasher, with the camera following dogs running through the woods. It then gets a bit boring and follows the story of some girls moving into some house haunted by Indian spirits. We then get plenty of shots of one partially clad girl and another naked girl in the bath. It suddenly gets really cheesy when the "Zombie Indians" arise from the earth and start terrorising the girls. We even get a samurai Indian. This movie starts off pretty boring although I did find the story of the four Indians who buried themselves alive quite interesting. Once the Indian zombies (or whatever you want to call them for they aren't technically zombies) start terrorising the girls is when all the fun begins. This is not a special flick and can't be taken seriously, it's just something fun to watch when you're bored or when you're drinking with friends. I can't help thinking though that it would have worked better as a short story because the first half is tediously boring.