The First Power

Plot synopsis:
A nun, called sister Marguerite (Elizabeth Arlen), is trying to convince her superiors, the Cardinal (Philip Abbott), and the Monsignor (David Gale) that something must be done about a brutal psychopath who is killing people with a satanic ritual. Her superiors don't pay attention to her.A heavily made-up woman phones Russell "Russ" Logan (Lou Diamond Phillips), stating that the murderer will commit another crime at a particular place -Sunset Boulevard- at a specific time. The woman makes Logan promise that the murderer won't be killed or given the death sentence.That particular night, the third night, it's rainy, and cold. One police officer pretends to be a bum (Brian Libby), Carmen (Sue Giosa) poses off as a prostitute. Russell and another cop friend, Detective Oliver "Olllie" Franklin (Mykelti Williamson) of his, stay in the car.While Logan's lieutenant tells him off because he's using 12 people for 72 hours and nothing has happened now, Carmen has disappeared.The murderer has tied Carmen down. He takes off his mask, and saying that she must calm down so that he can help her, he puts his mask on her face. He shows a knife to her and is about to cut her bad when Logan appears to save her. The murderer runs away and Logan goes after him. Logan captures him, but he gets badly hurt.Patrick Channing (Jeff Kober), the murderer, was a kind and meek man who worked for the running water department. Channing is sentenced to death. Channing had threatened Logan outside the court before being eventually sentenced to death. The news breaks it to the first page, and there is a party to celebrate it at the police station. Obviously, the woman who had tipped Logan is not happy about it. She phones an exultant Logan to tell him that she had advised him not to consider the death penalty, and she tells him that he'd better solve the situation. However, Logan has not intention to do anything about it. Channing is sent to the gas chamber, but when the gas is taken off, he can release himself, he produces a knife, breaks off the mirrored wall and tries to stab Logan, who has to shoot him in self-defence.Obviously, all this is a nightmare. His cat wakes him up and makes him nervous. Logan picks up his gun and threatens the cat. He wakes up, enters a room and sees all the walls stained with blood. When two police officers knock on the door to take him to another crime site, he tells them to get inside and take all the fingerprints. When he enters the very same room again, there is nothing out of the ordinary.Logan visits a luxury mansion to see to another body.A red-haired woman called Tess Season (Tracy Griffith) has the vision of a pool of blood in the parking lot when she leaves her car. A passerby (David Katims) pushes her to save her from being run over by a car. That passerby had a newspaper on whose first page another murder of a beautiful woman is talked about. It is Carmen, the female cop. Seaton thinks that Channing's spirit has been freed and released back into the world although his body had been exterminated. Seaton asks to talk only with Logan, and she discovers herself as the woman who had tipped off Logan in the first place. She seems to be a kind of psychic who helped the police to find a child some years before. SeatonA dozed-away drug addict is accused of having killed again. Logan hears the voice of Channing insulting him, but the drug addict didn't say anything, and nobody else heard anything.Logan and Franklin enter Seaton's mansion house. They listen to her answering machine messages. She had a recorded message from Channing. Logan listens a third message - which has mysteriously disappeared- which sets a date in a particular place, the church of Olivera Street. Logan and Franklin take Seaton there by force. She blames Logan because she is now in danger - as both cops are. She stares at Franklin and tells him to be careful, because he is in direct danger.There is a fair. There are many people and attractions. A hanson pulled by some horses starts running all over the place. People gets out of the way, but Ollie cannot. He is run over. One of the horses gets frantic and hits him with his legs. When Logan and Seaton tend to him, Ollie says: "I've seen him. It is him."A young man tries to run away. When Logan threatens to shoot that young man on the rooftop of a 10-storey building, that young man jumps off. The young man gets to the floor, stands up and leaves without being seen by everybody else, mocking Logan once again. Nobody believes Logan. Two gang members who were at the site (Charles Raymond & Scott Lawrence) didn't say anything.Commander Perkins (Dennis Lipscomb) tries to reason with Logan, but another of his bosses, Lieutenant Grimes (Carmen Argenziano) laughs about Logan. Seaton is taken away by her lawyer, and she threatens to sue Russ and the police department. When another body of a young male appears crucified, Perkins gives to case to Grimes. Logan is afraid that Grimes is not going to do anything about the murder.Logan goes to a church and confesses. He asks an unknown priest (J. Patrick McNamara) to listen to him. Logan says that he lost his faith because his father died and his mother said that it was one of god's kindnesses. He asks the priest whether there may exist cases of possession, and a bad spirit entering people in order to make them commit crimes. At that moment, the priest becomes Channing again. Logan runs after him. Channing can fly, jump as a super-hero. Logan goes after him. Channing appears with a mask and an axe and tries to kill him. ---It was a vision suffered by Seaton. She was at a department store trying to buy a bottle of perfume. With the surprise, she breaks the bottle. The shop assistant (Melanie Shatner) tries to convince her of paying the perfume without success, as she is already running towards the place in her vision. She goes to the dereclit where he is following Channing to help him. She arrives just in time to shout "Logan!" That way, Channing misses his shot, but the scene is quite similar to Seaton's vision. Tess was able to scare that man away with an iron colgant of the pentacle.Channing takes a ventilator and is about to turn them to pieces with it. Logan and Seaton run away, and he confiscates a driver (Robert Colaizzi)'s car, using it to run away. Channing jumps on top of the car, but they finally succeed. Logan gives his card to the driver and tells him to ask about Grimes, who will pay for repairs. They discuss the matter, and the hot-dog street vendor (Gokul) overhears their conversation. He says that he's taken her out of hospital, and he humorously suggests that he should take her back there fast.Seaton takes Logan to see sister Marguerite. A nun (Lynne Marta) tries to tell them away, but they insist. Sister Marguerite finally agrees to see them. She tells them not to mess with the third power, and finally rejects to talk to them anymore, as the church considers it very dangerous. Logan says during their short conversation that he couldn't care less about the church. Tess tells Logan that he sees Channing because that's the look which the devil wants to to show him.They visit Channing's home. His grandmother (Julianna McCarthy) cautiously opens the door. She lets them in because Logan says that they think that Channing was innocent. She says that Channing's sister Sarah was a very good girl who died young. His father was a good man, as was Patrick -- sweet and quiet. Patrick didn't know his own father.Tess Seaton has a vision. Patrick's father had raped his own daughter and had a son from her - Patrick. Tess run away, as she was able to feel and repeat Sarah's words. Tess runs to the underground sewers. Another technician, (Grand L. Bush) tells them to go away. Some years ago, a child was drowned there, that's why that particular area is usually closed down.Sister Marguerite wants to leave the convent and tries to steal an image, to use it against the devil who is using the third power to possess people. Father Brian (Hansford Rowe) says that he'll pray for her. Marguerite leaves.The police car radio tells to Tess that Logan needs help. She runs after him. He had entered the water system with a shotgun, meaning business. Logan pulls her close and tells her to go back outside, but she says that he is there.Channing faces Tess Seaton. She shows her the pentacle, but it doesn't scare him away: she forces her to show it to herself, saying that she was using it the opposite way, and that he'll keep on killing as much as he pleases. Logan sees them, Channing threatening her with a knife. Tess Season pushes Channing to the floor from an unsafe building structure. When they go to the floor, it's drunk Grimes who appears pierced by a piece of tube.Perkins can't believe Logan, but he lets him go with a day off.Seaton and Logan go out together. They don't know what to do. On their way to Russ' apartment, he gives a coin to a female bum (Nada Despotovich). He produces another gun -an unregistered one- and says that he'll kill everyone who threatens him. Tess tells him that that isn't a plan.They kiss. A noise startles them. They kiss again. This time it's a sonorous thud. He says it's madness and pulls away.The attractive young bag lady appears dancing on the air outside of the room. Tess is startled twice. When she tells Logan, he can't see anything, until the bag lady appears again, breaks through the glass and attacks them. They run away in Logan's car.The bum appears on the back seat of Logan's car. She makes sexual comments and gestures to both of them, and she magically sits on his lap. Obviously, they end up having a road accident. Their car spirals out of control. Russ gets out on his own feet, but Tess has disappeared.Logan visits Marguerite again. She says that future tellers may have the second power, but that only god can give somebody the first power. She produces a crucifix with a knife inside.They go to the place where Channing used to make her rituales. Logan kills the bag lady and releases Tess Seaton. Marguerite performs a ritual on the body of the bag lady. She sets the pentacle on fire.Tess and Russ leave through a hole in the wall. Marguerite is slow. He goes to pick her up, but she has been possessed. Russ tries to talk to Marguerite, saying that she can win over the devil. Possessed Marguerite threatens to shoot him.Russ talks to Patrick on Marguerite's body. He asks him who he killed first - his father?, his grandfather? were they the same people? Marguerite tries to stab herself with the crucifix/knife. Suddenly, it's Patrick who fights with Logan.Tess opens the doors of the resevoir. Littres and litters of water flood the place. Patrick pulls her to the water when she was about to leave. She cries for help. Logan jumps to the river of water, which takes they three through tunnels and tunnels of water. Patrick and Tess are above a pool of acid. They fight. Russ appears to help him and it's Patrick who falls onto the pool of acid. Russ throws a lit lighter onto the pool of acid.Russ and Tess get down the stairs. Patrick attacks him again.The police arrive. Russ is sat on top of Sister Marguerite. The police (Michael Wise) threaten to shoot him. Logan stabs her with the crucifix. Suddenly, it's Patrick who was stabbed and died on the floor. A strong light wraps everything and confuses Tess Seaton, who can't do anything. The police officers shoot Logan. Patrick is dead.Russ is at hospital. He wakes up and attacks Tess. Tess wakes up -- it was a dream.She stares in horror at Russ - is the devil inside him?Fade to black.Credits roll.

Tags: paranormal, violence, murder

Review:
There are car chases, horse and buggy chases, foot chases and innumerable shoot-outs, and at one point the killer even brandishes a ceiling fan as a rather laughable weapon and all the action movie huggery-muggery sits rather uneasily on top of the supernatural elements.Lou Diamond Philips, though a tad young-looking to be such a seasoned detective, gives a competent performance.
Also, there's a point where it's necessary to have some Horror related scenes but the movie focuses more on drama and thriller.Lou Diamond Philips' performance is the best thing about the movie.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This is no oscar-winner but is an entertaining movie, if you overlook several cheesy moments (like a cross/knife wielding nun?)  I think this could have been an even better movie with a little more work on the script, because it is well-directed and all the actors are excellent.
Entertaining movie, which has a sort of dream-like quality, a good share of scary moments and is quite well thought out.
I'm going to agree with Ava de Lara (no relation): Jeff Kober as  the serial killer Patrick Channing is the best thing about this movie.
The stage curtains open ...Patrick Channing (Jeff Kober) aka, The Pentagram Killer, a serial killer on the loose, is being sought after by Detective Russell Logan (Lou Diamond Phillips), who thinks the only just punishment is the death penalty.
This film finds both of our young actors in the prime of their careers.When Logan receives an anonymous call from a woman, a psychic who claims to know where the killer will strike next, they stake out the area and are able to apprehend him.
The murders start again, leading Logan and his psychic friend to seek out the aid of a Nun who seems to have all the answers.This slice of early 90's action/crime was such a fun movie.
There are some cheesy moments, but overall, this movie keeps your attention, is very well made and still holds up well today.Lou Diamond Phillips does very well in his role, carrying the movie - believable and up to the task of the heavy action sequences.
Kober is a worthy successor to Lyle Bettger who specialized in those parts back in the Fifties.But it's not enough, The First Power is a souped up slasher flick that has Lou Diamond Phillips wasted as an LAPD detective who has a specialty in catching serial killers.
Even after Kober is given the gas chamber, his spirit comes back in all kinds of guises.Mykelti Williamson is on hand as Lou's partner who meets a nasty end involving a demon possessed horse and Tracy Griffith as a psychic and Elizabeth Arlen as a nun with insights are around to help Lou. Will he succeed in battling forces from beyond?By the time the film ends, you no longer care.
An anonymous woman calls LA police detective Russell Logan (Lou Diamond Phillips) with a tip on a serial killer.
His team catches serial killer Patrick Channing (Jeff Kober) who is eventually put to death.
Tess Seaton (Tracy Griffith) reveals herself to be the psychic who called him with the tips.This is filled with the leftovers of a supernatural serial killer thriller.
The First Power is a solid and suspenseful mix of horror and action starring Lou Diamond Phillips.
LDP plays Russell Logan, a tough LA detective on the trail of a serial killer that carves pentagrams in the chests of his victims.Logan gets his man with the aid of a smoking hot redhead named Tess played by Tracy Griffith.
The Pentagram Killer, played excellently by Jeff Kober gets marched to the gas chamber anyways.What Logan did not know is Satan's most favored serial killer has been granted supernatural powers of resurrection and possession.
as far as the cannon of supernatural movies goes,this one ranks fairly high.it's a really good fast paced thriller,but the Catholic Church is not painted in a very positive lite.if you're Catholic,you might be bothered by this film.most people probably would take it for what it is,a thrilling,genuinely creepy mini portrayal of the occult and it's mysticism.there are a few things that don't quite make sense,but many movies of this genre have that designation.obviously,you have to really suspend your disbelief.if your person that doesn't easily do that,you could easily pick this movie apart,and probably wouldn't enjoy.or possibly,you might find it so absurd,it's funny.i just accepted it for what it is,and enjoyed it.for me,"The First Power" is an 8/10.
I only hope that he can find Armani prison wear to go off in style with: One of the guilty pleasures of this movie is seeing his police detective clad in $4500 designer overcoats, a $7300 designer silk suit, and seeing his $3500/month Los Angeles bachelor pad loft with interior design by Mies Van Der Roeh.2) Leading lady Tracey Phillips has gorgeous porcelain skin, flowing red hair that always seems styled even when mussed, and amazing breasts that are hi-lighted in the 2nd half of the film by a designer silk pullover that sadly remains in place over her torso even when she was being prepared to be sacrificed to Satan.
As a matter of fact the condominium used in this film looks exactly like the same one seen in David Lynch's MULLHOLLAND DR., which at least had the good sense to make it's condo resident a successful movie director.
And since Zippo lighters need to be manually filled with lighter fluid that can often leak out and be absorbed by ones clothing, the idea of a carrying one in the pocket of your $7300 Gucci silk suit strikes me as being much more dangerous.6) The stunts in this movie are impressive to say the least, and one of the fun things about watching it is remaining yourself that you are not viewing computer aided special effects but actual stuntpeople risking life and limb to contribute to a movie that earned nearly universal BOMB ratings from critics when released.7) Movie satanists always amaze me: Here is a guy who has tapped into some Luciferian bid for power, and yet instead of using it to do something useful like making himself rich or causing fashion models to engage in free form sex with him, he instead possesses bag ladies and have them levitate outside of people's apartments.
Speaking of which here is a guy who is indestructible, can fly, and is able to put his being inside of other people's bodies -- and yet he obliges star Lou Diamond Phillips with an ordinary fistfight in the film's conclusion, yet does not have the good sense to inhabit Arnold Schwartzeneggar or Apollo Creed to ensure that he wins.And on and on ...
The movie was about a serial killer with powers that made him rather hard to kill and get rid of, some religious stuff and this and that and Lou Diamond Phillips looking rather bored in this one for the most part.
Police detective Lou Diamond Phillips and partner Mykelti Williamson (of "Forrest Gump" fame) are tracking a serial killer (Jeff Kober) with a strange occult background.
Fascinating thriller with a demonic villain chasing after Lou Diamond Phillips as Detective Russell Logan.
Logan thinks he has solved another serial killing spree when he watches the execution of Patrick Channing (Jeff Kober).
What he doesn't know is that Channing has the power of resurrection.Logan is assisted by a psychic Tess (Tracy Griffith) in his search for the resurrected killer, and eventually by a nun (Elizabeth Arlen), who provided some holy dagger to kill the demon.It was interesting as the demon can float from body to body, and when it occupied the nun, Logan has to fight her.You know who's going to win the final battle - or do you?Lots of chase scenes, both on foot and in vehicles added to the excitement..
And that nun is just a tad overzealous about using it.Anyway, what I like about the movie is how excellent Jeff Kober is as the killer, Patrick Channing.
This film is really good on effects even if it is predictable, it was entertaining and i thought it was quite original, the religious angle is played well, good vs evil, God vs Satan.
Lou Diamond Phillips is in way over his head with this role (he plays a hard-boiled cop) and Tracey Griffith (Melanie's more attractive sister) plays a psychic.
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).
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.
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.
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..
Now the cop that caught him before must find a way to do it ..This was more of Thriller then horror movie but saying there were some strange things that happened in this movie.I thought this movie was full of some really good actions scenes, some really strange fights scenes in this movie.Those back flips were good however after a bit a felt the story could have ended to sooner then it did, the last half of the movie felt like it lost something, I liked the start of the movie, it was like edge of the seat stuff, the movies loses that in second half.The ending was could have been much better then it was, I found it a bit of a cop out in the end.Not sure what to rate at the moment..
What this movie fails to explain more than anything else is why this killer, who is oh-so-powerful and immortal and has even Satan on his side would waste so much of his time taunting this relatively unimportant cop instead of quickly killing him off and moving on to more "productive" activities.
I've always been a fan of Lou Diamond Phillips (ever since La Bamba) and looked forward to seeing this film.
Although the story line starts out well enough - convicted killer is put to death and then returns from the grave to wreck havoc once more - the film tends to fade away into a stereo-typical chase movie.
Patrick Channing,born out of an incestuous relationship, and living through an emotionally scarring childhood, gives in to Satanic forces and becomes a murderer known as The Pentagram Killer.He becomes the main target of Detective Russell Logan, whom engages in a battle of wits with Channing in life and after death.It appears that Channing can't be stopped, because sentencing him to death gave him the titular power...If the summary sounds familiar, that's because it was remade in 1997 as the Denzel Washington film 'Fallen'.
And while that film is the better known and has the bonus of a more 'talented' cast, this one is by far the most fun.Finally after years of being sandwiched between Kiefer Sutherland, Diamond Phillips gets his own action vehicle, and he's loving every minute of it.His Logan is your atypical yuppie late eighties cop.
Kober must have known that this would have been a breakout performance for him, so he gives it his all, absolutely owning every scene that he's in.Phillips is good, but he's just playing the straight second fiddle cop to the maguffin of the film, namely the killer.
So whilst we are following the narrative from Logans point of view, what your really waiting for is what he will discover next, and whose body will be taken over next.It's a good looking film, especially when you consider the budget, and the fact that it could have easily have been stuck in a fashion/music time capsule (there is the trousers though).some of the stunt work is pretty jaw dropping, even today, particularly the car chase, the way once the killer is reborn he knows martial arts, and the films standout scene, the jump from the building, which is alone worth watching the film for.So all in all, it's a forgotten slice of early nineties cheese, but thanks to the recent release of the Blu Ray, it may finally get the recognition it deserves..
It also assumes that Jesus was a man blessed with powers by God, when Jesus was in fact God himself.The psychology of the film is interesting because Channing constantly plays with Russell and Tess.
Lou Diamond Phillips stars with Jeff Kober co-starring in this Robert Resnikoff horror.
"The First Power" is a certainly decent entry that really could've been much worse.**SPOILERS**Following a rash of supposedly Satanic slayings, police officer Russell Logan, (Lou Diamond Phillips) is given information about Patrick Channing, (Jeff Kober) a killer suspected of the crimes.
Shortly afterward, psychic Tess Seaton, (Tracy Griffith) comes forward that he wasn't supposed to be executed, but now that he has, they're all in great danger.
This also brings up the fact that it's never given how the killer is connected with any Satanic powers at all.
Anyway, I remembered a scary scene involving a homeless person and a cool villain played by Jeff Kober."The First Power" is not a very good movie, sad to say.
Lou Diamond Phillips is the over-confident bad ass cop who sends baddie serial killer Kober to the gas chamber only to find out he was a minion of Satan himself and now has the power of resurrection along with the power of possessing every weak minded person who he comes across.
And who on earth thought it was a good idea to cast Lou Diamond Phillips in the lead here?
But Kober is pretty good as the killer; always liked that actor."The First Power" may be just what the doctor ordered after a hard day's work and a "brain switch-off" is needed.
Detective Russell Logan(Lou Diamond Phillips)has a major problem on his hands.
The serial killer, Patrick Channing(Jeff Kober), for whom psychic extraordinaire Tess(Tracy Griffith)helped him capture, has been resurrected with The First Power(..given to him by Satan after his execution in the gas chamber)and can possess the bodies of the weak.
She'll take it anyway and lend a helping hand to Russell, who'll need all the help he can get when Channing kidnaps Tess preparing her for some sort of Satanic ritual/ceremony.In the film, Mykelti Williamson, always a reliable welcome supporting actor, gets the partner of Russell role..so you know what will happen to him.
Right off when you see the year of the film and Lou Diamond Phillips then you know this was his heyday of his starring in films.
There's a scene where the Devil/Killer does some martial arts super kick towards the end of the film.
Lou Diamond Phillips stars in this supernatural horror / action hybrid as Russell Logan, a young LAPD detective who's good at catching serial killers.
Thanks to a hot tip from psychic Tess Seaton (Tracy Griffith, the half-sister of Melanie G.), his latest arrest turns out to be Patrick Channing (Jeff Kober), the so-called "Pentagram Killer".