User Reviews

I don't get those who trash "Coven". It is a legit attempt at movie making, and while I can't rate very high due the fact there are many technical issues with this film and some issues with the script, it still is better than most low budget thrillers I have seen. I've seen worse acting in other low budget movies, and while not Oscar material, the acting for the most part doesn't hinder the movie in any way. No I can't do better, but rated against Orson Wells or Woody Allen this is okay at best. Rated against all the stuff he had go through to get this made and his lack of a budget it is a quite amazing piece of work. I'd like to see Mark with a real budget and real actors - the results can't be any worse those some stuff coming out of Hollywood already - and if he delivers on the promise he shows in this movie it would be at least entertaining.

As many others have commented after seeing American Movie, this movie was not HALF as bad as you would have expected. Mark comes off as a dufus for most of the documentary (I suppose a lot of us would), but Coven showed me why this guy was so driven. I'm sure when Mark saw some of the shots from this movie, he felt that he was in the zone, that it had all come together. That is probably why it took so long to come out with the rest of the movie, because it would have been difficult artistically to accept a lot of the more mediocre scenes.

I think that Mark should pursue a career in Hollywood or indie film as a journeyman cameraman / cinematographer, and hopefully somebody will help shape his raw talent. Then he can move on to bigger and better productions of his own, as I thought some of the story in Coven was excellent, although it was VERY uneven.

What you don't understand is that Mike and Mark have both been to numerous Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. That is the background and inspiration for "Coven." From what you have seen in "American Movie," you may have realized that Mike Shank is a recovering drug abuser. Borschardt has had his share of spins with the bottle.

The "Coven" meetings are far-fetched, but they are not entirely baseless. AA meetings are one-sided, and AA members have a monopoly on the TRUTH. If an outsider goes to one, then it is taken as a given that he has erred and ruined his life. It is a very grueling process to become involved in AA, and the results are mixed at best. Many people recover better with no attendance at all.

"Coven" is Borschardt's spin on AA.

After watching American Movie, you have the option on the DVD to view the short film Coven. After watching this, most will come to the conclusion that Mark Borchardt is not an amazing independent film maker. He is in fact just one of many "movie makers" that want to be the next big thing. Mark's 3 year struggle to make this film was a problem of Mark's own doing. Many of the mistakes and unprofessional storytelling made Mark spend months and months correcting his vision. A victim of circumstances and his own Ego, Mark should have waited and saved thousands of dollars by shooting the entire movie on digital. He could have shot the same movie in 1 week and saved 90% of the money he spent. Shooting on 8mm or 16mm doesn't make you a film maker. Coven was Mark's calling card to prove to the world of his talent. Conclusion: Mark is a dime a dozen. Then again, it shows you how much heart one movie maker has to make his / her movie.

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.

I actually really enjoyed this. After seeing American Movie, which I loved, I was ready to laugh my way through this, but I was surprised. The writing is good, and it has a surprise ending. I was surprised, anyway. Yes, it's a local film, it's short, it's a B movie featuring a bunch of amateur actors, but if people are going to give summer blockbusters a pass just because they feature big names and have lots of action and whizbang special effects, yet their writing sucks and they use pre-existing franchises as a crutch, then I'm going to give independent movies a pass on the low budget and lesser experience of the actors. I enjoyed it. If Borchardt's next film is as good, I'll be very pleased.

Honestly, if you haven't seen the brilliant documentary "American Movie," don't bother with this film. While there are a few neat shots, far more are marred by poor lighting. The story not only doesn't make sense, but isn't very involving either. The acting is atrocious (with a possible exception to Mark himself, who is quite believable as an angry drunk who has difficulty finishing a project...but I digress). It was great that they included the film on the American Movie DVD but "Coven" itself isn't worth watching otherwise. On a positive note, there have been much worse films and at least this one didn't use millions of dollars.

Although the story and the majority of the acting leave much to be desired, I was impressed by how nice the shot selection was. The opening scene was stark, and nicely set the tone. The outdoor scenes were also interesting, and showed Mark Borchardt's eye for scenery. I was thoroughly underwhelmed by the story -- at 40 minutes, it still meandered -- and, save for Borchardt himself, the actors should be barred from ever approaching another set, but the film had an artistic sensibility that transcended its weak material. Not "Citizen Kane" by any stretch, but "Coven" shows promise, and if Mark Borchardt ever gets a budget and real actors I think he could do good work.

This movie sucks.

I know how much work goes into a production like this and I feel for Mike and everything he did with this movie, but it's quality is shoddy as hell. And I don't mean the camera and stuff like that. I LOVED clerks and that was shot with the same thing.

First of all, you can't tell when the protagonist is hallucinating and when he's not. The Cinematography doesn't carry those scenes. Now, this could be interesting if the plot was cohesive, but that doesn't happen either. A combination of poor dialogue, awkward transitions, and poor pacing stop that.

Honestly, this movie is just one giant manifestation of how Mark is in denial about his alcoholism.

But god bless him for making it.

I'm not sure if I still would've loved Coven if I had not seen American Movie, which tracked how director Mark Borchardt spent more than three years and hundreds of man hours to make a film. What was this movie is revealed, sort of, during the course of American Movie, but only in snippets. By the end, when Chris Smith shows a quasi-trailer for Coven, one gets really hyped to watch the whole thing. Thankfully we all can thanks to it being featured on the DVD, and it's really quite impressive. It's shot with an eye for creativity and an odd sense of horror by Borchardt and he gets some crazy and intense performances from his actors, especially one (I forget his name) who looks like an Orson Welles love-child.

And yet, as enjoyable and intense as the movie becomes- about a writer who becomes involved in a rehab group that is really a coven of witches (some women some male)- I wonder now if I would've connected to it more if I had not seen Smith's film. One saw in that, for example, how Borchardt and his friends abused alcohol over the years, and especially how his friend Mike took far too many acid trips and became the slow-talking (though amiable) guy he is today. So, seeing those rehab scenes one gets a more personal sense from Borchardt after seeing the documentary (not to mention his love of Night of the Living Dead projected through in Coven via harrowing hand-held black and white cinematography on a cheap-ass camera, and funky music, and some nasty gore).

But if you do watch it first on the DVD, or find it online, it's still by itself a successful work of primitive art: an independent film that is crude and uncouth, and with some really bizarre, effective scenes like the one in the hospital elevator, or when Mark is in the woods and is surrounded by the men in black cloaks.

I saw "Coven" last night after watching American Movie. I've got to say that aside from a slightly underdeveloped story, it shows promise. The group meeting scenes especially are a sign of good things to come. I am excited to find out what happens with "Northwestern."

Luckily, this was one of the special features on the "American Movie" DVD, and I didn't have to rent this movie separately, because to spend one cent on it would be a waste. It's funny, because in "AM," Mark talks about how he was planning to sell the video of "Coven" for $14.99 and expect to receive profits from the buyers of the video. Haha, fat chance. If the movie made any profits, it's because Mark himself bought copies of it. The lighting is horrible. At points, the characters are practically shadows. It's just an incoherent mess of a movie that must've been a labor of love for Mark, but for us it's simply a labor. I like watching low-budget student and independent films, because even if they're just halfway decent, I feel inspired by them. But "Coven" doesn't inspire me one bit. I have classmates in one of my media classes, who did a much better job making and editing a movie in a couple weeks than he did in a series of years.

My score: 1 (out of 10)

This short film is a really good representation of AA and other 12 step groups. While AA is not actually a satanic cult; it is a pseudo-religious organization. I was glad to see it shown for what it is. Do not get me wrong. AA serves many people. I just like to see it satirized.

Most people seeing this film will be distracted by the poor production values. That is what happens when you have no budget. The story is great and would have been a great film if better financed.

My sole opportunity to see this film was on the DVD with "American Movie." I was disappointed to see that the scene in which the head smashed into the cabinet never made it into the final cut of "Coven."

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.

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.

If you've seen American Movie, which details the making of this short, you'd expect it to be awful. But it's really not that bad. Considering all the problems he had, it's pretty good. I noticed very few technical problems or continuity problems. The grainy high contrast reversal film works to the film's advantage. The acting has a few problems either, but there is no big emotional scene where it stands out as particularly bad. This movie is entertaining, and worth buying (you can get it on the American Movie site). It's not exactly the drama he intended it to be, but it's not campy either. It's a good first project.

Its one of those movies that is just a film to some, but a powerful social commentary for others. Mark Boschardt proves himself as a capable film maker, not the man so obviously mocked in American Movie (though when asked about his portrayal in American Movie, Mark Boschardt said "They were making their own movie, I'm not going to judge it so harshly").

The story is simple; a drug addict/alcoholic writer almost dies from an overdose. Hoping to stay sober, he tries out a support group which doesn't quite work for him. So he tries to stay sober on his own. This, of course, becomes impossible as we see the true nature of the support group, which drives him to further drug use in the movie (they do not take kindly to his not returning). The motivations of the group are unknown throughout the movie, and are still unclear at the end.

But the moral and message of the film are clear enough. Those who are in Alcoholics Anonymous will tell you to steer clear of this film, and to quote Boschardt once more "AA feels that if you don't get help from them, or God, then you haven't gotten help at all." This movie struck close to home with me, and I was really glad to be able to meet Mr. Boschardt himself. After all, it is quite obviously a very personal film for him. 4 stars.

I can say this was a great film. I enjoyed every minute of this film. I wish I could have seen it in the theater. I would like to see more films by Mark Borchardt. I did see the documentary film on the making of Coven and it made it that much better. I recommend this movie highly to all people that come into contact with it. Especially to those who are film makers. I also highly reccomend the documentary about the making of the film entitled "American Movie".

In a world of crap, this movie has a certain beauty that is undeniable. This movie is a nice piece in the Mark Borchardt jigsaw. It may be low budget but let me tell you something: every penny, every nickel of the budget was so wisely spent I feel like I could croak. Carry on Mark, carry on!

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.

OK, Mark? First off, you're a little weird. "I Blow Up"... but anyway, given what you had to work with, this movie didn't really suck that much, which actually is probably the only thing you really need to know.

For the rest of you... "Coven" (that's "KO-ven", not "KUH-ven", if you please) is a _long_ way from Hollywood, so just relax and enjoy(?) it for what it is: a finally-realized personal project of a fascinatingly driven -- and, yes, weird -- man which 99.9% of us would never have known existed (that goes for both the man and the film) if not for "American Movie".

"Northwestern" due in 2004? Hey, let 'er rip... I'm curious to see how it turns out.

This short film shows real talent. Very artistic looking and reminiscent of horror films of the 70's. The acting left allot to be desired, but it actually looks really good. I like the black and white. I hope to see more movies from Mark, he's classic. The documentary about the making of this film is called American Movie and it's a fascinating look into how this film got made and all the characters that were involved in doing it. Mark and his cronies are super interesting portraits of middle America and the depiction of what a long process it is to make even a short film, is extremely inspirational.