Outer Limits: Man With the Power 1995 Horror Movie Review

For a child born in the 50’s, the 1960’s original “The Outer Limits” was a breath of fresh air in a television sea of westerns, variety shows, and cop dramas.  There was nothing else on the tube that offered wondering minds a place where sci-fi and social commentary blended so well.  Every week some of the best writers and established, as well as rising, stars would come together and offer audiences thought-provoking fare, mixed with great black and white cinematography and then state-of-the art special effects.


One of the best of the show in the superb first season was “The Man with the Power”.  Donald Pleasence is characteristically meek as the man that, through a scientific “chip,” of sorts, placed in his head, was able to consciously, as well as sub-conciously, summon a malevolent force that could, literally, eradicate anyone or anything on which he directed it.  Pleasence’s character is saddled with a shrew of a wife, an overbearing boss, and the demands of the scientific community; thus, setting the stage for his “alter ego” to come forth and wreck havoc.


Of course, the effects are crude when compared to today’s CGI but “The Outer Limits” was never about the effects.


It was a show that dared to challenge its viewers with glimpses of what could be and how we should react to it.


And “The Man with the Power” does exactly just that.