Sunday, November 22, 2020

Movie review - "The Power" (1968) ** (warning: spoilers)

 There's a decent enough story at the core of this - a scientist investigates murders committed by a psychic  but the treatment was needlessly confusing. I also think it wasn't very well directed by Byron Haskin, towards the end of his career/life. The treatment cried out for spookiness, scariness, atmosphere, but too often looks like a flat Universal movie from the late 60s. There's no MGM lushness or style.

As a whodunnit it's not effective because we forget (or I did) who the people at the start of the movie were. I'm not sure George Hamilton was up for the challenges of the role although it is one of his better performances. I wish Suzanne Pleshette, who plays his girlriend, and who should have been the main baddie, had played his part. Or, if it had to be a man, then Rod Taylor, who was attached to this for a time.

Some decent moments like going out to the desert where Aldo Ray tries to kill Hamilton. This needed to be shot outside a studio, with a director really keen to make it work, not an old pro.

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