oneguyrambling Lou Diamond Phillips has no less than 95 IMDb acting credits since his 1984 debut as "Punk 1" in Interface – yeah I missed that one too. Many of them are starring roles too, though since his big break in La Bamba in 87 none are bigger than his supporting role in Young Guns. Running down his list of credits shows several familiar films where you sorta think you might've seen it but can't be sure… (From a personal perspective I think I have seen around 15 of LDP's films, NONE since the 90s finished. But I quite like a few of his 90s efforts: Renegades / The Big Hit / Young Guns / Disorganised Crime). But especially The First Power. Watching this film provides all the evidence that you might need to write it off as a disposable B movie, only it is so much better than that. Sure there are cheesy moments and a couple of botched ideas, but in between there are some frankly inspired sequences and a couple of really effective parts.According to me this is the most underrated film in recent history. So there's that. That should make LDP sleep a little more soundly in his cardboard box by the side of the road.LDP is a cop named Russell Logan with a reputation for nabbing the big bad guys. Early in the film Logan nabs a guy known as the Pentagram Killer, a guy named Patrick Channing (Jeff Kober) after a lengthy investigation, a knife to the guts and an anonymous tip. It garners big press because Channing is the most notorious serial killer going, a guy who kills all his victims after various satanic rituals are performed, and he has taken many, many victims.When Channing gets the electric chair it is seen as good riddance to bad rubbish, only Logan receives a call from the anonymous tipster reminding him that the death penalty wasn't part of the deal.Too late, barbecued Channing for all! Who wants the lips, they're considered a delicacy? The only problem is that far from dreading and resisting his fate Channing seems to relish his early exit. Gee wonder why? (Kober as Channing is one of the strengths of the film, he is legitimately creepy looking and plays his role to the hilt.) So that's that then? A 25 minute film! I knew it was low budget but geez… No wait: there's more. After the execution Logan begins having visions and hearing things, If that wasn't bad enough someone has started killing again in the same way as the Pentagram Killer, all the way down to the locations and rituals.Curioser and curioser.To explain matters a red-headed psychic named Tess Seaton (Tracy Griffith) shows up unannounced at the station one day asking for Logan. After a brief back and forth Seaton gives information that only the cops or the killer would know; Logan is of course very intrigued. That is until Seaton claims that none other than the Pentagram Killer himself, Patrick Channing is behind the new batch of murders… obviously a wacko.But then people close to Logan start getting bumped off, mainly cops. He has a change of heart and revisits Tess Seaton for her thoughts along with his partner Ali (Mykel T Williamson). Tess explains that Channing's spirit has been released by his execution and is now free to roam free and possess whichever body he wants in order to perform his naughty acts.Channing preys on the weak and vulnerable, alkies, junkies and the homeless and destitute mostly, and if his "host" dies – or if he just gets bored – his spirit simply jumps to the next blissfully ignorant person. This makes him practically immortal and almost invulnerable, a welcome side issue seems to also be that the inhabited body is granted near superhero status. At times during the film they leap cars, walk through huge fireballs and jump off buildings unharmed, not a bad trade off for having one of Satan's disciples along for the ride.After finally coming around and realising there may be a grain of truth to Tess's story, helped along by him witnessing some of Channing's handiwork in person (so long Ali!) – and having a chat with him no less – the pursuit is on.So for the remainder of the film Logan and Tess are at turns hunting and hunted by Channing. They follow the trail to his childhood home, and consult with a local religious expert who explains the lengths they must go to kill him. All the while Channing keeps on killing and leaving a trail of previous discarded "hosts" in his wake.There are two spectacular stunts, a couple of quality setpieces and a few quotable lines, and thankfully the ending is also strong.Sure The First Power isn't a world beater and there are a couple of moments that show poor judgment, but if you like the vaguely sci-fi, supernatural genre there is much to admire about this film.Final Rating – 8 / 10. LDP might not have been kept too busy in recent years – at least in high profile gigs – but there is some cinematic gold hidden away in the 90s that too many are yet to discover. Combine this film with Renegades and you have a great DVD night at home.

Coventry People tried to make me believe that the premise of this rubbishy supernatural horror/thriller was inspired by the actual last words spoken by an authentic serial killer (whose name escapes me at the moment). Whilst awaiting his execution in the electric chair, he claimed that his soul would return to life and continue to go on a never-ending murder spree. It's not a highly original idea to revolve a horror film on, by the way. Other low-budget turkeys implemented the exact same basic premise, like "House 3", "Shocker" and "Ghost in the Machine". Anyway, "The First Power" (a.k.a "Pentagram") isn't a completely terrible effort, but the script overly reverts to clichés and lacks genuine thrills. The film starts off as an okay, albeit mundane serial killer flick in which obsessive cop-hero Lou Diamond Philips pursues a maniac who carves bloody pentagrams into the chests of his victims. He receives unexpected help from a spiritual medium, played by the gorgeous and underrated Tracy Griffith. She leads him to the killer but also begs not to execute him, as that would result in an even bigger catastrophe! Thanks to Tess' helpful hints, Detective Logan quickly captures the killer and celebrates his death penalty, but Patrick Channing made a pact with Satan Himself and returns to the rotten streets of California to do some more killing. "The First Power" gets pretty bad once the murderer reincarnates as a vengeful spirit. Instead of using his newly gained satanic powers to wipe out the entire world (that's what I would do in his position), Channing simply prefers to play cat and mouse games with his nemesis the copper. He annoyingly calls him "Buddy-Boy" all the time and possesses the bodies of Logan's friends and colleagues in order to trick him. Even though never really boring or poorly realized, it's a very weak film to endure, mostly because you constantly get the feeling of déjà-vu. Writer/director Robert Resnikoff shamelessly uses every dreadful cliché (the killer got sexually abused as a child) and even the players' lines can easily be predicted. As soon as Griffith explains she's able to predict the future, you just know that, somewhere at some point in the film, she's going to say the ridiculously overused line "I tell people who to live their lives, but my own life is a mess". Yawn. Lou Diamond Philips' performance is adequate enough, but it's rather difficult to take that youthful rebel of "La Bamba" and "Stand And Deliver" serious as a tough copper. There also are decent supportive roles for Mykelti Williamson ("Forrest Gump"), Carmen Argenziano ("When a Stranger Calls") and B-movie horror legend David Gale ("Re-Animator") appears in a minuscule cameo at the very beginning of the film.

mobile707 Obviously, a movie like First Power cannot be taken seriously on all levels. But if a viewer is willing to judge it on its own terms, I think there were a few strong scenes in its favor: 1. The scene-- near the beginning of the movie-- where the nun alerts the bishop of her concerns. I particularly enjoyed how the bishop tries to envision how the press will portray the Church if he goes public. One can sense that this man has been burned by the media before, and dreads having to say anything "weird" or "controversial" in front of the cameras.2. The scene where L.D.P. is in confession, and the priest morphs into someone else. The priest's response ("First, I must ask a question of my own") was very effective, and the fact that L.D.P. admits that he has fallen away from the Church shows that he is slowly realizing that he is confronted with something/someone that his own world-view (which is implicitly agnostic) cannot explain or understand.3. The scene where L.D.P. dreams of the execution in the gas chamber-- interesting because the audience thinks it's "real"...I disagree with the other reviewer who could not understand why the villain did not move on to "more important" stuff instead of toying with Phillips. I imagine that corrupting the cop's soul was at the very top of his agenda from the start.Anyway, 1st-Power is hardly a classic, but I thought it did stand out from the crowd of horror-thrillers.

dagger-7 Entertaining movie, which has a sort of dream-like quality, a good share of scary moments and is quite well thought out. A serial "Pentagram" killer is sentenced to death. It doesn't end here, though, as he's resurrected by the Devil himself and comes back for vengeance. Lou Diamond Phillips is convincing and red-headed Tracy Griffith is a babe. The arch-villain will give you the creeps. Personally, I quite enjoyed this and have it in my personal video collection. Good choice for all occult fans! Rating: 7 out of 10