Bay Coven (1987)

How sad is this?

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

This movie starts very slowly. Its characters are very slow to catch on, even when they're told exactly what's going on. Lots of recognizable actors if you were born in the 80s or before. I never realized Tim Matheson used duck face so much. His acting was way over the top, in my opinion. Woody Harrelson unintentionally (or intentionally?) played a mouth-breathing creeper. Typical TV movie pacing with a story that keeps getting side tracked and a script that keeps the audience way ahead of the characters. I was surprised at all the high reviews. While not completely original, I found it to be an intriguing story that just took way too long to tell. It felt plodding and clumsy to me. A few things that kept me watching were: Pamela Sue Martin and some of the rest of the cast, including Barbara Billingsley, who did decent jobs despite the script; scattered interesting scenes and moments of ambience that were more plentiful as things went on; and waiting for the payoff, which, to me, was surprisingly enjoyable, albeit abrupt. Was it worth sitting through? Not in my opinion. You could do worse, but you could do so much better, too.

Successful businesswoman Linda (a winningly spunky performance by the highly fetching and appealing Pamela Sue Martin) and her unhappy husband Jerry (a solid performance by Tim Matheson) are new arrivals in the sleepy small coastal community of Bay Cove. However, Linda suspects that something is amiss with the townspeople in the area. Director Carl Schenkel, working from a compact script by Tim King, relates the absorbing story at a steady pace, does a fine job of creating and sustaining an appropriately spooky and mysterious atmosphere, grounds the fantastic premise in a credible everyday reality, makes good use of the picturesque bucolic setting, and pulls out all the exciting stops for one doozy of an eerie climax. The ace acting by the excellent cast of familiar television show faces keeps the film on track: Martin and Matheson make for charming leads, with sound support from Woody Harrelson as affable skeptic Slater, Jeff Conaway as the laid-back Josh McGwim, Barbara Billingsley as sweet little old lady Beatrice Gower, James Sikking as the friendly Nicholas Kline, Susan Ruttan as Linda's loyal gal pal Debbi, and Inga Swenson as the cheery Matty Kline. Shuki Levy's shivery score hits the spine-tingling spot. Jacques Steyn's slick cinematography provides a pleasingly polished and stylish look. Worth a watch.

"Bay Coven" is a 1987 TV film also known as "Bay Cove" and (God knows why) "Eye of the Demon." It stars Pamela Sue Martin and Tim Matheson as a couple that move to an island off the coast of Massachusetts where they run afoul of a coven of witches. Woody Harrelson of "Cheers" is also on hand as a friend of the couple.The story is engrossing, mysterious & creepy and the cast is fabulous. The witches all attempt to present themselves as normal neighbors but fail completely -- there's just something NOT RIGHT about them. The island locations are also a highlight.Pamela Sue Martin is very alluring as the one who slowly unravels the mystery, which is fitting since she used to play mystery-sleuth Nancy Drew."Bay Coven" has been called the TV version of "Rosemary's Baby" and, to some degree, "The Amityville Horror", but -- believe it or not -- although "Bay Coven" is not as good on a technical level due to it's TV budget, it's actually better as far as plot, story and locations go. It's just more engrossing. It also has been compared to "The Devil's Rain," but let's just say it wouldn't take much to be better than that piece of crap.On the downside, the final act is cartoony with its overt depiction of the coven, but that's almost always the case when films attempt to show witches or satanists and their diabolical doings. Look no further than the final scenes of "Rosemary's Baby." Still, most everyone who signs on for a film like this do so with the understanding that they'll see a group of weirdo occultists and the film provides this, cartoony or not. GRADE: B+

Not meant to be taken too seriously. The plot moves quickly and there is never a scene that is an obligatory "gross out." After a slow start body the story it picks up quickly and it really keeps you on your toes with the psychological teasing.The acting is not bad and is about as convincing it needs to be for a TV movie (1950's TV mom Barbara Billingsly is in it). The plot does drag on when the main character suspects the secret of the island town. It doesn't take long for your, "rationality senses" to kick on and you start to think the Pamela Sue Martin character is just plain crazy for not leaving when she has a chance instead of trying to find allies where she suspects none exist.As a cheap buy its not a bad movie, but its quality goes down as the price goes up.