Coven (2000)

I love this movie so much

The Worst Film Ever

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I first saw "Coven", the actual short film that is the subject of the documentary "American Movie" years ago, probably in a different cut, when or just after the documentary premiered in Chicago in 1999; this review is from the DVD release along with the documentary. I'd almost completely forgotten it, not because it's terrible or anything, but because it's so mediocre. It's obviously heartfelt, and it's really not a horror film despite the marketing - or if it is, it's more of a psychological horror film, with only a little bit of real violence at the end. Mark plays...Mark, a drug addict and alcoholic who wants to turn his life around, and gets involved in a 12-step type group that is obviously Christian in some ways (crosses all over) but also seems to be a cult. Or is it? Is Mark hallucinating the strange things that happen to him at the group meetings, and the "coven" (rhymes with "woven" of course) that at one point drags him through the mud in the woods, at another surrounds his car and beats on it with pipes. There's some interesting material here about addiction and delusion, but it's generally poorly acted and the lighting in the indoor scenes is such that things are often very indistinct, dark and ugly. Some of the outdoor sequences, the landscapes in particular, are rather beautiful. Shot on pretty grainy black and white 16mm.

Coven is not a very good film. I Could give it the benefit of the doubt and say that it was shot on a budget of nothing, but I'm not that nice. Had I shot a movie this poor I would be able to realize it, and having a screening for friends and family as Mark did in American Movie would have been out of the question. I do however have to give the guy respect for completing his film which was 3 years in the making, but he made so many mistakes which I wish he could learn from, but sadly I believe he never will. His first mistake: Starring in his own film. Some directors can probably do it, but not even Quentin Tarrintino or Kevin Smith ever starred in their movies early on, they gave themselves smaller supporting roles. Had Mark decided to spend more time behind the camera and less time in front, maybe he would have been able to generate more from his actors. Instead he gets stiffly delivered lines and changing accents. Next mistake is the camera work. Again, more proof that starring in your own independent films means certain doom. Too many static shots and not enough cut aways. Do we really need to sit on a wide shot of two people having a conversation outside of a car for a solid minute? It gets really old fast and begins boring the audience, making them think about things like "I wonder where I put that twine ball" instead of focusing on the film. Cutaway to closeups of each character as they speak, then back to the wide shot, then cutaways. Mix it up a bit! Plus, had he not starred, the main character wouldn't have ended every sentence with the word "man," something that made me grow sick of American movie by the end. Mark- please stop saying man, it really shows a lack of intelligence and I know you are way smarter than that. Next comes the editing. Not tight enough. There is a lot of fat that needs to be trimmed from this film. It runs about 35 minutes, but could have easily been cut down to 27, and would have been far more effective.Alright, I'm through being negative, so here's some positive stuff: Some scenes are shot really good, like the opening establishing shots are beautiful, and the running down the road scene looks great. I especially love it when the truck pulls into view. Some of the scarier stuff in the film are shot quite well. Lots of fast zoom in and zoom outs, very Sam Raimi like.Basically all I'm saying is that Mark: quit starring in your films (I see you are starring in Scare Me, your latest effort... hmm... interesting...) and start directing your films. Being a director is more than just telling where the camera needs to be pointed. You need to give direction to your actors. Help them strive to get the performance you need to help achieve your vision. Stale delivery is unacceptable in my book. Also, stop saying man- I cannot stress that enough. See coven on the DVD of American Film. The End.

When I moved to Milwaukee's East Side (where UWM is located) in '91, I saw fliers all over the place advertising a feature film to be shot in Milwaukee and asked for people to fill openings for cast and crew.I'd already lost a chance to be a script messenger on what turned out to be FIELD OF DREAMS (my car was too undependable for me to take the job) so this looks intriguing. Unfortunately I was tied up with a helljob at Kelly Temp that prevented me from making the initial meeting. Sigh..... Oh well.....In the years that followed, I wondered what happned to that flick. Then I saw AMERICAN MOVIE and knew.Well, Mark, if you need me for some future flick, e-mail me!

This has got to be one of the worst films in the world. If you have ever seen "American Movie" you will know how big of losers these guys are. But non the less, my friend and I watched Coven, on the DVD from American Movie. And we agree the last shot in Coven, with the drug abuser beating that women and calling her "words that aren't in the guideline" is without a doubt the funniest thing ever in Cinema history. Buy or rent this movie just for the last minute or so, its great.