After a one-night affair, George (Lincoln Bevers) finds himself with, well, forbidden power and a cryptic message.

He should be so lucky.

George used to be a pilot, but now he’s stuck in a corporate drone job and forced to work with a jerk named Miles (Eric Stayberg). As they head to another soulless convention, he meets Veronica (Nasanin Nuri), who goes back to his room faster than he could expect. She refuses his offer to wear a condom, and they have the kind of sex that you only used to read about in Penthouse Forum. He wakes up; she’s gone, and a strange note is left behind. 

He feels a strange energy now. When he sails the sea of mayonnaise with his girlfriend Cathy (Hannah Janssen), he lasts longer, has more passion and finally, perhaps for the first time, gets her off. He’s also able to become a martial arts master in a matter of days, thanks to that power and the teachings of Chang (Harry Mok). 

He wonders, “How could this happen to me?”

That leads him to try to find Veronica, which brings him into her backstory: as a child, she met something inside a crater. But it’s not all kung fu and carnal knowledge. There’s also a cabal of dudes who have buttered Veronica’s crumpet, led by Michaelson (Charles Leggett), who have formed a secret society of rich elites. George is on his way, as the power teaches him how to play the market. He has no interest whatsoever in joining this Bilderberg bangers. But ah, Veronica is part of them and is consolidating her power.

You will believe in a vast conspiracy obsessed with destroying the Status of Liberty. The one in Vegas. Of all the landmarks to target, choosing the New York-New York Hotel & Casino version is high stakes, but on a budget.

If there were an award for “Movies That Feel Like They Were Written by a Sentient 1980s Men’s Magazine,” this would be the undisputed champion. Yet director Paul Kyriazi isn’t a newcomer. He also made Death Machines, Omega Cop and Ninja Busters. And he’s obsessed with personal development and success, having written books on the subject like How to Live the James Bond Lifestyle and Clearing the Subconscious for 00 Agents. In his world, sex isn’t just sex. It’s Energy Transfer, which turns a standard erotic thriller setup into a superhero origin story.

It’s rare to find a modern film that captures the earnest, slightly off-kilter energy of a 1980s straight-to-video action flick. It doesn’t feel like it’s winking at the camera or trying to be a parody. Forbidden Power genuinely believes in George’s journey from a bored drone to a stock-market-crushing, kung-fu-fighting alpha.

Kyriazi also wrote Burt Reynolds, Miko, Dinah and The Slasher: The True Story of a Serial Killer Waiting in Burt’s Closet and man, I have to just share the Amazon sales copy: “February 1975. Burt Reynolds was awakened by a bloody man crawling on his bedroom floor. About to call an ambulance, Burt came face to face with the infamous Skid Row Slasher, bloody machete in hand. What saved Burt from disaster? What woman did he break up with that ultimately saved him, and probably her?”