05/19/2026
Today I’m watching The Power, which I think demands an exclamation point. The Power! This one revolves around a tiny statue that contains the spirit of the Aztec demon Destacatyl. Old Desty is a real mean demon, so anyone who encounters this little statue either dies, gets horribly disfigured or, most commonly, gets their room destroyed by stop motion effects and big wind gusts. This movie has a main character problem. Every 20 minutes, we jump to a new character. We watch them have an encounter with Desty and then we move on. Desty lifts one old guy up into the air and impales him. He wrecks another person’s bedroom, which includes a random pickle that is just sitting on a desk with no plate or anything under it… so that guy had it coming. Eventually the tiny little statue settles in with a sad sack guy named Jerry, who confesses his love to his female best friend in his first scene and is rejected. Fueled by this rejection, he embraces that Desty power and becomes a monster in the process. This sets up a great final 10 minutes where the Jerry Desty hybrid runs around a house, breaking s**t and screaming while his face and body get progressively more stretched and contorted. And then there’s a fantastic final scare after that. This one has all the ingredients to be a classic, but it just can’t bring it all together. The beginning sets the table and the end is great, but the middle hour is a bit of a drag. If this one is on, it’s definitely worth a watch and if you’re into Aztec history it’s DEFINITELY worth a watch. As far as seeking out a copy, I don’t think I’d go that far. THE POWER!
