Movie Review: HIGHER POWER

Joining the ranks of such films as BRIGHTBURN, FREAKS, ARCHENEMY, and M. Night Shyamalan’s UNBREAKABLE trilogy is the trippy HIGHER POWER, becoming a part of a new subgenre that straddles the line between Horror and superhero movies. In this one Ron Eldard (from SLEEPERS among numerous others) takes the lead (and gives a credible performance) as a down-on-his-luck everyman who, for whatever reasons, has the power within his DNA to attain Doctor Manhattan levels of power, which he is going to need to save the Earth from the eruption of gamma rays from a black hole. The means by which this hidden power is unlocked are never explained, as much in the film is left unexplained. This constitutes the only real weakness in an otherwise solid film, and not everyone would consider it a weakness. Personally I would have liked a tad more exposition, but others might prefer to just go along for the ride.

Matthew Charles Santoro made his directorial debut with this one, having previously done work as a visual artist on such films as ALIEN VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERIE, and X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, and you can sure tell, both in terms of the film’s visuals and its narrative.

HIGHER POWER is a dark superhero flick with a high body count. If that sort of project appeals to you, then I recommend this one, as it is quite well done, if lacking a bit in terms of story.

Published
Categorized as darkness

By The Evil Cheezman

Purveyor of sacred truths and purloined letters; literary acrobat; spiritual godson of Edgar Allan Poe, P.T. Barnum, and Ed Wood; WAYNE MILLER is the head architect of EVIL CHEEZ PRODUCTIONS, serving up the finest in entertainment and edification for the stage, the page, and the twain screens, silver and computer. He is the axe-murderer who once met Andy Griffith.

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