Coven (film)
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| Directed by | Mark Borchardt |
| Produced by | Bill Borchardt Mark Borchardt |
| Written by | Mark Borchardt |
| Starring | Mark Borchardt Tom Schimmels Miriam Frost Robert Richard Jorge Mike Schank |
| Music by | Patrick Nettesheim |
| Edited by | Mark Borchardt |
| Distributed by | Northwest Productions |
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Release date
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Running time
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36 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Coven is a 1997 direct-to-video short horror film directed by Mark Borchardt. The making of the film was documented in the 1999 award-winning independent film American Movie. It was shot in black-and-white with local talent around Milwaukee.
The film introduces Mike (Borchardt) as a writer struggling with a lack of artistic productivity. To deal with the pressures he feels from within and without, he escalates his abuse of alcohol. One day when faced with overwhelming deadlines, he takes a large quantity of pills with alcohol resulting in an overdose and hospitalization. When Steve (Tom Schimmels) takes notice of Mike's increasing volatility and isolation, he confronts the defensive writer. Steve shows genuine concern for his friend's self-destructive behavior and intervenes. The film suggests by lack of others at the intervention that Steve may be the only friend Mike has left. Steve suggests a support group with which he has been affiliated and after gaining some perspective, Mike joins them. After becoming a part of the group, he comes to realize that it has a deeper occult agenda and uses extreme, sometimes supernatural, tactics to "help" new members remain clean and sober.
Coven was largely funded by Mark's uncle Bill Borchardt's savings with the understanding that Mark must sell 3,000 copies in order for Bill to make his money back. However, Bill died shortly after the release of Coven. Bill, along with Mark and an assortment of friends and neighbors, star in the film. The movie was sold through his website www.northwestproductions.com (now defunct). By 2004, Borchardt sold 5,100 copies of "Coven" at $14.95.
Critical reception for Coven has been negative and the film holds a rating of 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 8 reviews.
Coven established Borchardt as an amateur filmmaker. American Movie helped Mark get noticed to a broader audience, which led to appearances (along with co-producer Mike Schank) in television programs like Family Guy, and Greg the Bunny, in which they parody scenes from the movie.
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