Such a frustrating disappointment

best movie i've ever seen.

A Masterpiece!

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

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."

Mark Borchardt is the wannabe director made hartless fun off in the documentary "American Movie". Coven is his supposedly worthless movie.I watched it a week ago and thought it wasn't that bad.But wait a minute. This last week I have watched "Paycheck" and "Kill Bill Volume 1". They were really crap. Compared to them "Coven" is a masterpiece.What Coven does not have is production value. The kind of dependable thing you find in your average TV-movie. What Coven does have is artistic vision. Borchard has a camera eye for sure. The story is different for sure, an existential and delirious take on drug addiction.

I watched Coven after the intrigue that manifests from watching American Movie, it is totally roughraw, this is a must-see for anyone interested in film making and film rhetoric, the inventiveness and creativity that is apparent here sticks out like a sore (bloody) thumb. The story is wierd yet strangely compelling (well it compelled me :) ) and some of the visual shots are ultimately memorable, there are some great bits of dialogue and the early signs of a great directing style waiting to be developed.Keep your eyes on this guy, if he ever gets lucky enough to get a decent budget he could make a real classic movie, hopefully starring Mike Schank as a gritty new york cop :)

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.