Covenant, The (2017)
Matt Boiselle
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Starring Monica Engesser, Clint James, Owen Conway
Directed by Robert Conway
The ever-continuing possession tale. It’s a tried and true formula that just seems to never truly run out of steam, and now with the addition of Robert Conway’s The Covenant, let’s just say that the vehicle keeps on truckin’.
The table is set with an especially unsettling backstory, as a grieving wife and mother named Sarah (Engesser) is attempting to rebuild her life after the tragic deaths of both her leukemia-afflicted daughter (Amelia Haberman) and husband (Chris Masciarelli). Now with the two largest staples of her existence gone for good, her only avenue is to start back where it all began: her childhood home, and with the assistance of her recovering-alcoholic brother (Conway), the two attempt to restart in the hopes that their past can heal some very old wounds – then again, that’s usually how some serious shit begins in these types of films – and that’s why we’re all here: to revel in the misfortune of others, entertainment-wise, speaking. After the move back into their new (old) digs, Sarah begins to experience some frightening visions of her deceased daughter, and it manifests itself into her using some very sharp implements to carve into herself, and her wounds start to heal themselves at a rate that can best be described as “superhuman” quickness, and you guessed it, the expected response to all of these actions is “somebody better call an exorcist!”
I’ll yield in full on the remainder of the details on this one, but I can honestly say that for the umpteenth time of me checking out a demonic-possession flick, I had my reservations (as to be expected), but there were some genuinely legit scares in this film, and both the performances of Engesser and Conway were more than middle-ground, with each delivering a wide range of emotive responses that make you feel as if ol’ Beelzebub is right around the corner. Also, the way that each actor faced their character’s respective demons – Sarah with the burden of two deaths on her back, and her brother’s destructive drinking – accompanied by some stellar camera work and eerie musical assistance, all added up to a legitimately fun watch. The tempo is a bit on the sluggish side, but in the end of it all, it was constructed that way for a purpose, and Conway’s directorial fashion allows the audience to hold their crucifixes tightly, hoping that the bad guy from the south of Heaven will stay at bay a while longer – give this one a look when it becomes available.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
