The Covenant just goes to show that every once in a while you should take a chance on a movie you know almost nothing about. While it's isn't Shakespeare, it is a fairly well-done horror movie that doesn't rely on gore or shlock to work its 'magic.' The story follows four boys who are descended from families from the colony of Ipswich, Mass; they are the eldest son of the eldest son blah blah blah and they have inherited dark magical powers from their ancestors (who apparently were the only survivors of the Salem witch trials). The movie comes right out at the start and pretty much tells you just to accept the powers, that they aren't going to be explained, but you know, I'd rather have that than finding out it's all just a bunch of benevolent bacteria or something equally inane. Anyway, the boys are: the serious, responsible one, Caleb (Steven Strait), his slightly edgy best friend Pogue (Taylor Kitsch, looking for all the world like 7th Heaven's Barry Watson, even down to the hair), the guy who shows off with his powers, Reid (Toby Hemmingway), and a fourth guy who is sketched so briefly and says so little he's barely there at all.
Most of the movie is split between the budding romance between Caleb and new girl Sarah (Laura Ramsey), and the more interesting plot line that someone is mucking with dark magic and playing with Caleb and company -- evil dreams, visions of dead people, the whole nine yards. But the movie exceeds expectations because none of these things are painfully overexplained. You see an apparition in a car and Caleb refers to it as a darkling, and you get it. No need to two minutes of explaining how a darkling is created or what it is (with no offense intended to Rupert Giles or Hermione Granger); you're given just enough information to keep the story moving, and surprisingly, it works very well.
Again, it's not great film-making, and while most of the unknowns are adequate, the acting rarely rises above most horror movies. But the intelligent way in which the world is revealed to us, along with a blessedly logical approach to the magical power and its use (not to mention, honestly, some cool graphics) make The Covenant more than just a bunch of pretty guys walking around with their shirts open (which they do a lot considering it's fall in Massachusetts). Building on this decent foundation is the movie's unwillingness to go too far or take it over the top; even one of the biggest fright moments in the film is portrayed effectively by an army of spiders. The movie never bows to excessive gore or grossness (given that it's PG-13, that's not a surprise), but maybe more horror films could take a cue from a movie that's more interested in a good story and some psychological horror rather than scene after scene or bloody dismemberment.
If you're not a horror fan, it's doubtful The Covenant would convert you. But I'm not, really, and I enjoyed this film. It's a well-done popcorn flick, maybe, but still worth your time to see if you have even the slightest interest in the occult genre.
Most of the movie is split between the budding romance between Caleb and new girl Sarah (Laura Ramsey), and the more interesting plot line that someone is mucking with dark magic and playing with Caleb and company -- evil dreams, visions of dead people, the whole nine yards. But the movie exceeds expectations because none of these things are painfully overexplained. You see an apparition in a car and Caleb refers to it as a darkling, and you get it. No need to two minutes of explaining how a darkling is created or what it is (with no offense intended to Rupert Giles or Hermione Granger); you're given just enough information to keep the story moving, and surprisingly, it works very well.
Again, it's not great film-making, and while most of the unknowns are adequate, the acting rarely rises above most horror movies. But the intelligent way in which the world is revealed to us, along with a blessedly logical approach to the magical power and its use (not to mention, honestly, some cool graphics) make The Covenant more than just a bunch of pretty guys walking around with their shirts open (which they do a lot considering it's fall in Massachusetts). Building on this decent foundation is the movie's unwillingness to go too far or take it over the top; even one of the biggest fright moments in the film is portrayed effectively by an army of spiders. The movie never bows to excessive gore or grossness (given that it's PG-13, that's not a surprise), but maybe more horror films could take a cue from a movie that's more interested in a good story and some psychological horror rather than scene after scene or bloody dismemberment.
If you're not a horror fan, it's doubtful The Covenant would convert you. But I'm not, really, and I enjoyed this film. It's a well-done popcorn flick, maybe, but still worth your time to see if you have even the slightest interest in the occult genre.