Before I go into an explanation of this movie, I will discuss the belief system behind this movie. Basically it comes from the ancient Persian religion of Xorastrianism. Some people still follow this religion (such as the late Freddy Mercury) and it is focused around two gods, a good god and an evil god. These two gods are of equal power and are at constant war with each other. Some people believe that Christianity evolved out of this religion, but it did not. More likely this religion evolved out of Judaism. The reason I say this is because Satan is nowhere near as powerful as God, and even though he has a immense amount of influence in this world, he cannot do anything without God's say so. Job 1&2 show us how Satan has to get God's permission to inflict suffering onto Job, and even then God tells Satan how much he is allowed to do. Has God go the right to do that? Well if we read the book of Job through we learn that through his suffering, Job is strengthened in his faith, and the blessings he receives at the end far outweighs anything that could have happened to him. Some say God is not powerful and is not in control because of the suffering that occurs in this world, but the truth is that a lot (but not all) of the world's suffering is because of us, humanity.
Anyway, the theology behind the First Power is that God and Satan are of equal powers and give gifts to people to do their will. Satan's power in the world is growing but the church does not want to get involved. He has given a man, Channing, the power of possession. He is killing people in the city of Los Angeles in the form of a Pentegram, but a Psychic, Tess Seaton, can see it. A cop, Russell, is pursing Channing and captures him with the help of Tess, on the condition that he does not receive the death penalty. Russell ignores this and Channing is executed. Because of his power, Channing returns in spirit form and can possess people. If the body is killed then he can possess somebody else. He is practically immortal, and now he is after Russell and Tess.
This movie is good as an action movie, but there are a lot of flaws in its logic. It claims that Channing is seeking the power of resurrection to gain immortality, but because he can possess people he does not need to be resurrected. He can gain fleshly pleasures where ever he goes anyway. It claims that Jesus has all three powers, but Jesus may have been able to tell the future and he rose from the dead, but he never possessed anybody. 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. He is very powerful as is and gets into his victim's minds and twists what they see. He can alter what they see so even though he is possessing a body, he can alter what his victims see so they don't know who he is possessing at the time. What is really impressive about Channing is that way he constantly mocks and plays with his victims. He is not insane, he is just corrupt with power and he knows that he cannot be killed. And the people he possesses are practically dead anyway.
Even though there are some flaws in the movie, I do like it. The ending leaves you wondering whether he is dead or not, as we know that he was killed before and he came back. Russell and Tess are forced to the edge of sanity and begin to wonder what is happening. Russell begins to question his faith again, while Tess finds herself unnerved and thrust into Russell's arms. At first they fight, but when Channing's power is fully realised, they realise that they need each other. Especially when Tess fortels Russel's death. This is a decent movie, it is a shame that it only appears on at midnight.
Anyway, the theology behind the First Power is that God and Satan are of equal powers and give gifts to people to do their will. Satan's power in the world is growing but the church does not want to get involved. He has given a man, Channing, the power of possession. He is killing people in the city of Los Angeles in the form of a Pentegram, but a Psychic, Tess Seaton, can see it. A cop, Russell, is pursing Channing and captures him with the help of Tess, on the condition that he does not receive the death penalty. Russell ignores this and Channing is executed. Because of his power, Channing returns in spirit form and can possess people. If the body is killed then he can possess somebody else. He is practically immortal, and now he is after Russell and Tess.
This movie is good as an action movie, but there are a lot of flaws in its logic. It claims that Channing is seeking the power of resurrection to gain immortality, but because he can possess people he does not need to be resurrected. He can gain fleshly pleasures where ever he goes anyway. It claims that Jesus has all three powers, but Jesus may have been able to tell the future and he rose from the dead, but he never possessed anybody. 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. He is very powerful as is and gets into his victim's minds and twists what they see. He can alter what they see so even though he is possessing a body, he can alter what his victims see so they don't know who he is possessing at the time. What is really impressive about Channing is that way he constantly mocks and plays with his victims. He is not insane, he is just corrupt with power and he knows that he cannot be killed. And the people he possesses are practically dead anyway.
Even though there are some flaws in the movie, I do like it. The ending leaves you wondering whether he is dead or not, as we know that he was killed before and he came back. Russell and Tess are forced to the edge of sanity and begin to wonder what is happening. Russell begins to question his faith again, while Tess finds herself unnerved and thrust into Russell's arms. At first they fight, but when Channing's power is fully realised, they realise that they need each other. Especially when Tess fortels Russel's death. This is a decent movie, it is a shame that it only appears on at midnight.