Touches You

good back-story, and good acting

As Good As It Gets

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.

"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+

I bought this at the store for a $1.50 expecting absolutely nothing, but actually this is not at all a bad film, and rather interesting. It is slow paced, which is a good thing, the tension builds up as the film moves along and it gets more and more interesting until the climax. This is a suspense film, and a well done one, many movies about witches fail but this is one that does it pretty well. The acting is pretty decent also, good acting from Tim Matheson and Woody Harrelson. Not much gore but it doesn't need it, it was made for TV so most profanity and gore and nudity is absent but it works with the film. This one is recommended to buy for a $1.50 if you want a pretty decent suspense film.

Normally I can overlook the fact that a movie I'm watching might not be the most original idea ever introduced, but BAY COVE is an unforgivable conglomeration of occult story ideas culled from much better movies, including (but hardly limited to) THE SENTINAL, DEVIL'S RAIN, RACE WITH THE DEVIL, THE OMEN, ROSEMARY'S BABY, etc. and so on. The entire plot is pushed in your face right from the start, and there are no surprises whatsoever. The viewer is literally led by the hand from one plot device to the next and they couldn't be more obvious if there were flashing neon signs attached to them all. Whatever you think might happen next...does.Movie fans looking for unintentional laughs might at least glean some enjoyment. I was amused by the graveyard situated on a beach (yes, a beach, and only yards from the water at that!).Unless you're new to the occult thriller genre, there's nothing here we haven't seen a million times before and a million times since. Avoid like the devil.