The Power

"I love that my first feature film is a ghost story. I've always been drawn to anything disturbing and mysterious. From a practical standpoint, I knew that the poetic nature of a ghost story would allow me to deeply explore my fascination with atmosphere, design, and tension." - Corinna Faith

We never cease to be amazed by the way British cinema renews itself and takes a different approach to genre film. The first film written and directed by Corinna Faith is certainly a supernatural thriller dealing with possession but also incorporates a rather relevant analysis of the 70's by not only finding the atmosphere of the old horror films but also by paying homage to the masters of horror such as John Carpenter and Wes Craven. Playing in a very convincing way on the fact of being immersed in a disturbing environment in which death is omnipresent (a hospital) and by maximizing the effects by playing on the absence of light, The power is a true cinematographic experience which despite an obvious lack of means maximizes and takes care of its horrific effects with an undeniable talent.

The action takes place in January 1974 in London, at the end of a day and a night, and follows the first day of a young trainee nurse, Val Brown (Rose Williams) in an old dilapidated hospital. This young person will not only have to confront her hierarchy and outdated principles, but above all will have to deal with a demonic entity that seems to want revenge for events that happened in this place several years ago. A truly frightening cat-and-mouse game ensues and little by little Val Brown will have to understand what happened and face his dark side to save a young patient and face his responsibilities.

The scenario of Corinna Faith has certainly a predominant social side not only by placing the setting of the story in a precise period in which a labor crisis has brought strikes in the whole country. Indeed, the miners' strike caused a real earthquake in the coal industry and made the country save as much as possible the little energy still available by implementing recurrent power cuts. This explains the fact that the hospital is often in darkness and gives the scenario a rather realistic aspect. In the same way as Stephen King does, in a plausible universe supernatural events will intervene and gain in strength and presence confronting simple humans to a force beyond them. 

In the same way that John Carpenter placed a powerful serial killer in the streets of Haddonfield, Illinois on Halloween night in a realistic setting. This desire to create a realistic setting makes The Power seem to consist of two distinct parts, the first dealing with Val Brown's first day in the hospital and confronting her colleagues and her hierarchy, and a second in which she has to deal with a supernatural entity shaking her conception of reality. By maximizing the horrific effects Corinna Faith proves to be very talented to really surprise us and make us afraid. She also benefits from a convincing cast and a music that plays an important role in maximizing the effects.

However, we regret that the pace of the film is a little too slow, as if the director had doubts about the creativity and organization of her film. Compared to the numerous American supernatural thrillers, this first one doesn't benefit from John Carpenter's visual genius nor from his ambition to dynamite a genre from within. Certainly The Power is a first film and the director Corinna Faith proves to be very talented, but we would have liked a different ending and visual special effects beyond those already seen on the big screen.

The Power
Written and Directed by Corinna Faith
Produced by Rob Watson & Matthew James Wilkinson
Starring Rose Williams, Emma Rigby
Cinematography : Laura Bellingham
Edited by Tommy Boulding & Rebecca Lloyd
Music by Elizabeth Bernholz & Max De Wardener
Production company : Air Street Films & Stigma Films
Distributed by Shudder (United States), Alba Films (France)
Release date : 8 April 2021 (United States), February 16, 2022 (France)
Running time : 92 minutes

Seen on April 10, 2021

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