The Power (2021)

Directed by: Corinna Faith | 93 minutes | horror | Actors: Rose Williams, Diveen Henry, Amy Beth Hayes, Maria Major, Paul Antony-Barber, Robert Goodman, Nuala McGowan, Anjelica Serra, Sarah Hoare, Shakira Rahman, Charlie Carrick, John Mackay, Joe Haddow, Emma Catherine Rigby, Theo Barklem -Biggs, Clara Read, Shubham Saraf, Paul Brightwell, Janette Sharpe

As long as the horror genre has existed, there will always be movies about haunted houses. After all, creaking doors, deserted hallways and unpaid electricity bills create an uncomfortable atmosphere. ‘The Power’ is one of those films that dutifully ticks all the boxes and fires these clichés at the viewers. You should not watch this film for the special plot twists or clever finds. However, if you fancy a tasteful haunted house movie, this is the one for you. Director Corinna Faith canned a nice horror thriller that is quite exciting at times.

The film is set in 1974 in London. When the power goes out in several places in England due to clumsy miners, it causes a lot of stress and unrest. Val (Rose Williams) is a young nurse who works the night shift. Many patients and employees of the hospital are evacuated, leaving the nurse almost alone in the hospital. After a while, Val discovers that she is not alone. A dark entity haunts her workplace.

An abandoned hospital produces some nice, creepy scenes. Williams portrays the nurse impressively. Val comes across as a sympathetic person and you like to follow her as she walks through the dark hallways and hears scary noises. Although the build-up is not very original, the game with darkness and scary sounds works fine. Williams is a nice heroine and the atmosphere is just fine.

If you like traditional horror movies, ‘The Power’ is for you. The film is well put together, uses well-established shock effects and has a strong lead actress. Despite the limited budget, Faith has managed to create a beautiful genre film. Don’t expect a masterpiece, but a well-made – almost artisanal – old-fashioned haunted house film where the things you don’t see turn out to be scarier than the atrocities shown.