An entrant in the 2018 edition of the Brit List (much like the Black List, but for U.K.-based screenplays), the much-anticipated period thriller uses real history to unspool a supernatural thriller. Set in the early winter of 1974, the film picks up during the “Three-Day Week” period in the UK, during which a combination of power conservation and striking miners plunged the country into a planned, partial blackout for over two months. Against that already unnerving backdrop, Faith readies a story that would be scary, even with the lights on.
Per the film’s official synopsis, the film is set “as striking miners switch off the power across Britain, rolling electrical blackouts plunge the country into darkness. Val, a young nurse on her first day of duty, is forced to work the night shift in a crumbling hospital. When most of the patients and staff are evacuated to another hospital across town, Val finds herself in a near empty building, enveloped by a sinister darkness. Within these walls lies a deadly secret and a terrifying presence. Now Val must face her own traumatic past and deepest fears to confront the malevolent force intent on destroying them all.” Filmmaker Faith, who was a BAFTA nominee for her short “Care,” makes her feature debut with the film, and cites “Three Women,” “”The Innocents,” and “Let’s Scare Jessica to Death” as influences to some degree, but the film also shows hints of films like “The Others,” “The Woman in Black,” and even recent standout “Saint Maud.” The film stars “Sanditon” star Rose Williams as Val. “The Power” will debut on Shudder on April 8, but you can check out the film’s first trailer and poster, available exclusively on IndieWire, right now.
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