Review of The First Power (1990) by Jason D — 04 May 2009

In this 1990 religious chiller, the story beats the Denzel Washington film Fallen to the punch by presenting a serial killer (Jeff Kober in a great role) specializing in satanic ritual style killings who is finally caught by tough guy cop Lou Diamond Phillips (overdoes it a bit, but not bad).

Naturally, the state executes him, against the warnings of psychic Tracy Griffith and once again, the killings resume. Turns out Kober is still very much alive (sorta) and is inhabited people's bodies and doing some killing, thus making it a very bad day for Phillips and Griffith.

For the most part, The First Power is rather tame, though it does provide a decent amount of action. I very much enjoyed the "hotel" scene. Very clever use of a fan. If anything, this film is worth a watch just for Kober's uniquely chilling villain.

Be sure to look for bit parts from the late, great David Gale (Re-Animator) as a Priest and a young Bill Moseley (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, The Devil's Rejects) as a bartender. Though it's pretty dated, The First Power is not a bad film.