Review by Andrew L. Urban: A promising opening sequence sets up Renny Harlin's turbo-charged sorcery story with its gothic links to 17th century witch hunts, but the story is firmly in the present, complete with college campus settings to attract its target market of young males, who would like to take a date to the scary movies so they can hug them for safety. Well, if that's all you're looking for, this is your movie.
Harlin lays on the atmospherics at full throttle, from the moonlit mist and rain drenched nights, the gothic buildings, autumn leaves blowing supernaturally in the wind, dizzy violin cues, and a little FX for the eyes of our superpowered heroes, who can will objects to move, create forcefields, fly gracefully down several stories and withstand extraordinary amounts of bodily impact.
The powers they have inherited and must use carefully, can be transferred by simply saying a few words (like "I will my power to [fill in blank]), but they are also addictive. The struggle in the plot comes down to the bad guy, Chase (Sebastian Stan), wanting Caleb's (Steven Strait) power. Chase is a maniacal baddie, helping to sell the film's message that power corrupts, and the more you have the more of a shit you become.
It's not a work of originality and the handheld camerawork gets tedious, but let's hope the message gets through.
Review by Andrew L. Urban: