[Film Review] The Power (2021)

Nyctophobia, otherwise known as fear of the dark, is considered by some to be one of the oldest fears known to mankind. Fear of the dark is the fear of the unknown, the fear of the possibility of what may be lurking where we cannot see it. Corinna Faith’s film The Power attempts to confront that fear of the unknown, both out in the dark and within ourselves. 

In early 70s London a young nurse named Val (Rose Williams) is preparing for her first shift, full of enthusiasm for the job and ready to help people. Unfortunately, all she encounters is a stern matron and jaded co-workers. To make things worse, she’s been assigned to work the lonely night shift during one of the regular power cuts, and the dark brings up traumatic memories for Val. There’s also something else walking the corridors of the hospital in the dark, something that has dark secrets of its own and will do anything to be heard.

The biggest strength of The Power is in its lead performance. Rose Williams balances troubled naivete with a certain unique edge that works so well. Val quickly forms a bond with a young patient, her fear is palpable and genuine, and her awkwardness with the other nurses, particularly one who knows a version of her past, drives your curiosity to find out more of the character’s history. She is the classic repressed ghost story protagonist, and that is reflected in the way she’s pin-perfect and buttoned up in her nurse’s uniform at the beginning, but as the night goes on and strange things happen, she becomes more and more undone, both physically and emotionally. She also becomes a conduit for the spirit in the hospital in ways that reflect her own trauma, and the scenes of her twisting and writhing are certainly effective. It’s also never clear whether Val’s behaviours are a genuine phenomenon or the by-product of a fragile mind breaking. 

In terms of atmosphere,, there is nothing to fault as Faith knows exactly how to use space and build the best atmosphere for this kind of story. Every dark corridor looks the same but also like a never-ending void. The layout of the hospital map also has a yonic feel the more you look at it, bringing up sexuality in a way that is very relevant to the plot.

So why then does The Power fall short when it has all these great elements working in its favour? The pacing drags in a few areas, meaning that while the story both starts and ends very well it gets a little muddled in the second act. That might not have been so bad if the film could have carried itself through that with great scares, but The Power never gets much beyond atmospheric eeriness. The possession scenes, whilst impressively done, aren’t anything special and many of the rest of the scares fall into the “it’s behind you” category. 

In some ways The Power reminds me of 2018’s The Devil’s Doorway, a retro found footage film directed by Aislinn Clarke about two priests investigating a possible miracle in a Magdalen Laundry. Both films deal with the supernatural in a recent period setting, both feature strict institutions with a measure of corruption, and most particularly, both films feature real-life horrors that in many ways are so much worse than anything otherworldly. Here the title The Power can be applied to the film twofold; the obvious premise of the power cuts, but also in the ever-present theme of those with and without power in a hierarchical sense, and the rage and desire for retribution that those who are abused by those in power feel. However, where The Devil’s Doorway had moments that really hit you, there’s nothing quite on that level in The Power.

This is a small creepy gem that (whilst not containing the most intense scares), uses both its central performance and its location to good effect in telling its story and is worth seeking out for fans of ghost stories.

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