‘Practicing their craft. Killing their prey’
Coven is a 2020 supernatural horror film directed by Margaret Malandruccolo, making her feature debut, from a screenplay written by Lizze Gordon. The Thriller Films-Ignite Pictures production stars the latter alongside Terri Ivens, Sofya Skya and Jocelyn Saenz.
Plot:
Five undergrad witches come together in order to perform a ritual to invoke the ancient powers of the witch Ashura. The leader of the coven gets carried away and accidentally kills one of the witches during the ritual. She needs the strength of a complete coven to invoke Ashura’s powers and sends them out to find a final witch. As she absorbs power the surviving girls’ plot to take her down but the possessed witch unleashes hell on campus with only one young witch left to stop her…
Reviews:
“I was struck by just how good the effects are in this. They really go next level from the majority of on-demand movies, with the witches’ powers treated with real care. It really gives this movie way more of a blockbuster look than you’d expect.” B&S About Movies
“Cited as ‘The Craft meets Suspiria’, Coven certainly shows its influences throughout the movie. However, whilst there are a number of similarities, Malandruccolo adds her own unique take on the genre with spellbinding results.” Erebus Horror
“Coven feels like it came out a few decades too late. Still, even if it had been released in the prime of alternative gothic culture, I don’t think we would have seen this film hit cult status. There are just too many fundamental flaws with its storytelling and in a genre picture like this, you need a strong, likeable lead.” Killer Horror Critic
“Now Coven is by no means a reinvention of anything, and with its rather light-footed approach to hex-horror and focus on young and sexy witches, it’s actually more than a little reminiscent of TV’s Charmed – and I don’t mean that at all in a bad way. And basically, what this movie might lack in originality, it makes up for in stringent storytelling with an emphasis on keeping things moving and entertaining the audience.” Search My Trash
“Anyone expecting real horror or scares will be disappointed. But there is plenty of mindless fun with pretty good CGI and a fairly exciting final showdown. It’s an enjoyable B movie that doesn’t try to do more than keep your attention. And it does a good job of that.” Voices from the Balcony
“Yes, you can spot the influences, but Coven is none the less entertaining for that. There’s some amusing dialogue, some exploratory shooting styles, and some diverting OTT occult pay-offs which are never dull. Better still, there’s no proselytising here: Coven has no qualms about throwing a few trashy elements into the mix.” Warped Perspective
“Coven is not a rip-off of The Craft, but more like a college-set homage to the film, with some nice twists and turns mixed in that makes good use of its cast and running time. Horror film fans may want to give this a look.” World Film Geek
Trailer:
Release:
Coven was released on DVD and on Digital on July 14th 2020 by Uncork’d Entertainment. The movie is available free to watch online on Tubi.
Choice dialogue:
Doctor Lynn: “We’re history people, ok, we don’t do math!”
Cast and characters:
Lizze Gordon … Sophie
Margot Major … Beth
Adam Horner … James – Kill Cam; #Captured; Ravenswood
Sofya Skya … Emily – The Tomb
Jocelyn Saenz … Robin – The Staying Night; The Amityville Terror; Slumber Party Slaughter
Miranda O’Hare … Jax
Jessica Louise Long … Taylor
Sara Stretton … Christy
Aaron James … Zak
Terri Ivens … Doctor Lynn – Piranhaconda; Trancers 5; Trancers 4; The Munsters Today TV series
Tessa Espinola … Helen Calvert
Jennifer Cipolla … Ronnie (as Jenny Cipolla)
Jarod Martin … Street Extra
Filming locations:
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Los Angeles, California
