Coven (2000)

Thanks for the memories!

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The style, pace and mood of this short distills the ethic of 70s horror to it's purest form. While Borchardt could be criticised for his poor exposures and lazy overdubbing (only noticeable if you know in advance) he should be commended for stunning use of bleak Wisconsin landscapes and music in black and white to create a dark mood. The long shots of deserted winding roads, desolate snowy trees and the drive in theatre are exceptional cinematography without doubt. Elements of living dead, wicker man and evil dead. And the ending is impressively abrupt. Watched in conjunction with American movie gives fascinating insight, but i suggest seeing this before watching the documentary - I hope he makes more horror. And i would like to see his basic style used more often in today's age of cgi and special effects horror. If i was producing a Hollywood horror i would employ him as associate producer. Respect.

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!

For the first movie that this guy ever made, he deserves a little slack, the camera and lighting effects really arn't horrible for a black and white film. Also, there are some interesting scenes in the movie, it at least keeps your interest. overall i give it about a 4/10, which is not horrible.

Spoilers herein.In true reflection, the same DVD hosts a film and a `making of' film, but the A and B sides are reversed - the attention is all on `American Movie,' a vile, non-cinematic exercise in slumming.Watch instead this little film. It is horrible. Forget about deficiencies in production values because they aren't so bad you can't ignore them. The problem with the film is that thanks to the documentary, we know that the filmmaker really is a dope - that there can be no shred of intelligence or insight here.But if we came upon it without the derogatory wrapping, we might be able to make something of it, along the lines of `Begotten' and `Carnival of Souls.'That's because the story is about a delusional man, and what we witness could be `real' or delusions or both, or perhaps they are same, or (since the making of films is the creation of worlds) reality is a delusion. Usually, the device is more overt than just booze - the best examples employ absinthe (Dracula, Moulin Rouge, From Hell). Usually, there is an attractor for the delusion, as in `Pi' as opposed to random drifting. Usually, there is some introduction to an external menace (`In the Woods'). Usually, sex plays a big role, as in `Blair Witch' of the same era.If you can, watch this with your imagination on and without seeing the documentary. At least it is honest.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 4: Has some interesting elements.