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Coven (1997) Written and Directed by Mark Borchardt. Starring Mark Borchardt, Mike Schank, Tom Schimmels. Not rated by the MPAA. 40 minutes.
NOTE: Coven is the film within the film in the critically acclaimed documentary, American Movie. It can be purchased through Mark's website at http://www.northwestproductions.com/. Well, surprise, surprise. Guess what movie I found in our friendly neighborhood snob store? None other than Mark Borshardt's Coven. If this title rings a bell, it's the film within the film in that documentary, American Movie, about the perils and madness of amateur no-budget independent filmmaking. Wisconsin resident Mark Borchardt came off as a nerdy, ruthless, offbeat child in a thirty year old's body desperate to make the great American horror movie. He wasn't well spoken, or smart, or particularly friendly, but he was certainly persuasive and motivated. Now, American Movie makes Mark look slightly ridiculous, as though he doesn't know what he's doing (even when he's sober). He shoots the entire movie a*s backwards, inattentive to continuity, lighting, or even sound (everything is dubbed afterwards while he cuts the movie on the old fashioned Steenbeck.) In a climactic scene when he shoves some poor b*stard's head through a cabinet, they keep smashing the poor actor's head into the wood and it just won't break. * * * One thing you can say for Coven: it's not as bad as American Movie might lead you to believe. The story is painfully slight and repetitive, but every now and then Mark comes up with a good image of hooded druid types surrounding our hero and dragging him through a river, or smashing up his car with hammers. Mark not only wrote and directed this movie - he gave himself the lead role as alcoholic writer who joins a self-help group after a near fatal encounter with pills which bear an uncanny resemblance to prescription drugs. This is no ordinary ten step program, though, since Mark can't go out for a walk in the woods without strange hooded figures who chase after him. The forty minutes of screen time follow Mark's "fantasies" and the group pouring out their hearts and souls about their nasty habits. The leader of the coven confesses that he once committed a murder (insert diabolical laughter here) and Mike begins to wonder if his own life might be on the line. It's doubtful the casual movie goer will want to go out of their way to rent Coven, but if you enjoyed American Movie it might be fun for a lark. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Mark Borchardt's Coven in American Indie Cinema is owned by Jeremiah Kipp. Permission to republish Mark Borchardt's Coven in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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