mfnmbessert-224-279128 The beginning title cards make 'The Dark Power' look like it might be a well-made nostalgic campy horror film, but after the first ten or so minutes, one will struggle with the film for a while, lying in wait for the actual story to unfold itself. Alas, there isn't really any very good excuse for a plot to be found here. Instead, just classic 80's camp filled with scantily-clad girls the audience wishes would get naked (but don't, save for one scene), and a bunch of oblivious wops who the audience begs the filmmakers to kill off immediately, but instead lie around throwing empty beer cans and smoking cigarettes.This isn't to say that the film itself is bad, our characters are just pretty terrible, typical non-actors, but their dialogue at times seems to transcend their acting abilities. The infamous Lash La Rue who gets everyone excited about this film hardly makes an appearance at all, but is noteworthy as producer. He comes in at the end, complete with trademark 1950's Western movie soundtrack.This is a sometimes fun amateur B-flick for damn sure, and reminds me of other well-made crap films I have seen in recent times such as 'Winterbeast', 'Zaat', and 'The Boogens'. Enjoyable enough for those with the attention span to tolerate generally well-made awful films. And if you are still commenting to yourself about the hokey costumes, trust me, there is worse out there.Lots of Budweiser references, maybe have a few of those and the film won't seem like 78 minutes of intense bass and muddled dialogue. Definitely worth the watch for bad film geeks.THE DARK POWER -----6/10.

Coventry Ladies and gentlemen, allow us to introduce to you …. The Toltecs! This ancient Latin American tribe, even preceding the Aztecs, supposedly had the most malevolent and bloodthirsty sorcerers, yet they get their asses whooped by a couple of college floozies and a one-hundred-and-seven-year old lawman with a whip! But before you get to see this, however, you have to struggle through more than 40 minutes of sheer boredom, infantile pranks and sleazy sequences that don't contain any actual sleaze. In case I haven't made myself entirely clear yet: "The Dark Power" is an indescribably cheesy and inept piece of 80's horror crap that still manages to be amusing because of its sheer and somewhat charming stupidity factor. Writer/director Phil Smoot's intentions were obviously admirable, but he – as well as the rest of the cast & crew – lacked the talent and financial means to deliver something even half-decent. Smoot carefully watched "The Evil Dead" and other similar demonic-themed movies, and somehow must have thought he could pull this off as well. The movie opens with an old Indian guy dying in his isolated countryside house; barely speaking out his last word above a whisper … Toltecs. His grandson promptly rents out house to a bunch of college chicks, including a typically 80's aerobics babe, a cute black girl and a racist redneck gal. Soon they will discover why exactly the old Indian lived like a hermit, as he was actually the guardian of an ancient Toltec burial ground. Toltec sorcerers buried themselves alive, only to emerge again thousands of years later and feed on the flesh of the living. And, honestly, is there any better tasting flesh than that of bimbos? As hinted at before already, the first half of "The Dark Power" is terribly lame and sleep-inducing. The clichéd pranks, the retarded dialogs and the ridiculously overlong footage of Lash LaRue swinging around his whip seem to go on forever. Then, the movie loses its last smidgen of credibility when the Toltec sorcerers emerge from the ground. Instead of menacing, they look like drugged out hard rock stars with imbecile masks and drunken gestures. Exactly ONE gory moment is worth mentioning, when a guy's lips are stretched out over his entire skull, but overall even the carnage aspect of this movie is disappointing. The only remotely worthwhile moments are utterly senseless, like when a 9-year-old kid (named Cletus!) goes joyriding with his uncle's truck or when the vulgar naked chick sips beer in the bathtub after working out. Seriously, unless you get turned on by the sight of a 1940's western veteran swinging around his whip at nothing, I'd advise to skip this film.

DBCely This was my first movie as "Gaffer," or Chief Lighting Technician, and boy does it show. My apologies to all viewers! Director-Producer Phil Smoot, is one of the nicest guys in the film business, however, and he constantly encouraged everyone to do their best on this little film.One of my fondest memories was working with Lash LaRue. Lash was a consummate professional, full of great stories and patient with our inexperienced crew. I'll never forget how one night, waiting what seemed like hours for a shot to be set up, Lash just sat on an applebox, casually flipping his ever-present whip. There was a roll of toilet paper hanging from the handle of the tripod head mounted on the camera dolly. Lash would flick that whip of his, neatly tearing off one sheet of TP at a time. There was a little pile of single toilet paper sheets, steadily growing as time passed by.Funny how little memories stay with you.

Ryanhorror This movie rocks! It has everything! Four evil indian sorcerers, a bunch of college students getting what they deserve, and of course: a heroic park ranger who takes the evil down with nothing but his special whip. The acting isn't that bad for a mid 80's zombie movie. And there is a pretty decent amount of gore. If your a fan of zombie movies..you should at least watch this movie once. And don't use Ranger Girard's weapon, (a whip) or your asking for it, big time.