Movie Title: The Covenant
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/10)
Year: 2006
The Covenant official site: http://www.jointhecovenant.com/
If Charmed was made to give the guys a whole lineup of beautiful witches to admire, then The Covenant is basically payback for the girls. Finally, we get four ridiculously good-looking guys throwing supernatural powers around while the guys take on the important supporting roles: holding the popcorn, passing the drinks, and pretending they are deeply interested in the mythology.
Cruel? Please lah. Put this many handsome faces in one movie and of course people are going to stare. The guys around me immediately started with, “Very handsome meh? Really that hot meh? Why do you all like them so much?” Aiyo, suddenly the guys feel personally challenged.
Okay, back to the actual movie before I get distracted. The title refers to five powerful families: the Putnams, Danvers, Parrys, Simms, and Garwins. Together, they form a covenant of silence to protect their secret powers. But of course, every secret society needs one greedy relative. One family wanted more, broke the rules, got banished, and then disappeared without a trace. Gone forever? Please. In movies like this, nobody stays missing without a dramatic comeback.
The Covenant opens with loud music and a super-fast montage. Blink too long and you may miss half the family history. Some people may find it confusing, but the images repeat enough for us to catch the main idea: witch hunts, the dark history of the Ipswich Colony, and creepy pages from the Book of Damnation. Fast, dark, dramatic.
Then comes their entrance, because apparently normal walking is for people without magic. The four Sons of Ipswich, Caleb Danvers (Steven Strait), Pogue Parry (Taylor Kitsch), Tyler Simms (Chace Crawford), and Reid Garwin (Toby Hemingway), jump, or rather float, off a cliff to join a party. Necessary? Absolutely not. Cool? Unfortunately, yes. If you have supernatural powers and cheekbones like that, I suppose you are legally required to arrive in style.
At the party, Caleb and Reid notice Sarah Wenham (Laura Ramsey), the new girl at Spencer Academy. Pogue’s girlfriend, Kate (Jessica Lucas), introduces her to the group. Then the police arrive to shut everything down, and the guys casually combine their powers to lift their car off the cliff and escape. Because why drive away normally when you can make the whole vehicle fly? I must admit, I loved how they casually said “Harry Potter can kiss my ass.” It is just too funny how they take a jab on Harry Potter.
Everything stays cool until a student is found dead near the party site. Caleb starts having disturbing nightmares and gathers the others because this is clearly no longer normal teenage drama. He suspects Reid has been overusing his powers, and the discussion quickly turns into fists first, explanations later. The problem is that their powers are addictive. The more they use them, the more they weaken and age their bodies. So yes, magic is fun, but apparently the bill arrives directly on your face.
Caleb is also about to turn eighteen, which means his powers will “ascend” and become much stronger. Most people get a cake and maybe a watch. Caleb gets upgraded supernatural powers and one very determined enemy. Unfortunately, all the strange events point back to the missing fifth family from the Ipswich Colony. Surprise, the lost bloodline is not lost at all. It was just waiting for the most dramatic possible moment to return.
And yes, he is back for revenge and, naturally, even more power. He is completely addicted to using his abilities, and Caleb becomes the main target because that eighteenth birthday is getting closer. The easiest way to control him? Threaten his friends and Sarah. Very classic villain behaviour. Why have one honest fight when emotional blackmail, creepy staring, and dramatic entrances are available?
What I really liked was how the movie quietly slips in a message about addiction and fighting your darker side. The powers work like drugs: they feel amazing, they are hard to resist, and the more you use them, the more they weaken and destroy you. Clever, right? I also loved the effect of the car breaking apart and snapping back together, and the Danvers house looked seriously impressive. The fights, though, sometimes became a little too Street Fighter. Glowing power balls flying everywhere. Guys, please save some electricity for the rest of Ipswich.
I know a lot of people had high expectations because the movie came from the producers of Underworld. But hey, this was a lower-budget production with a mostly new cast, so we cannot expect every wall to explode beautifully in slow motion. Considering what they had, I think the result was pretty decent.
Could it have been better? Obviously. The characters needed more depth, the mythology deserved more room, and the final battle needed something beyond magical dodgeball. Still, for a first round, it kept me entertained.
My verdict? The Covenant can be quite cheesy and underdeveloped, but I still had a fun time watching it. And yes, putting four handsome guys in one movie earns extra points from me. I am only human, okay? Just do not walk in expecting proper horror because this is really a supernatural action-thriller with a few dark moments.
Great movie? Not really. Guilty pleasure? Absolutely.
I would happily recommend it to anyone who enjoys supernatural drama and handsome troublemakers. If they come back with a sequel with a bigger budget, stronger characters, crazier magic, and the same four faces, and I will be there before the popcorn starts popping.
More powers, more drama, more Sons of Ipswich. Yes please.