Le mystère de la baie

"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'm getting tired of reviews that say things like "this was good for a TV movie" or "this was good because it only cost me a quarter in a junk box."

A movie is either worth your time or it isn't. Here's my take: If you are a HUGE fan of Tim Matheson or Pamela Sue Martin, and are entertained by formula TV movies, sure, watch it.

For everyone else. You can do a LOT better.

If you are a fan of Woody Harrelson, nah (he's barely in it). If you are a fan of Barbara Billingsley but only as Beaver's mom, skip it, because she shows more range than that in this. (I liked her performance a lot but she's not in it enough to save the movie.)

This movie started kind of promising with a nice, atmospheric, dark spooky night with thunder in a church graveyard following a priest into a church.

Then a cheap jump scare sets you up for what to expect from the rest of the movie. From there, it goes very slowly.

Characters are very slow to catch on, even when they're told exactly what's going on, in order to pad out the movie, I suspect.

There are 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 when he's supposed to be a trusted friend.

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 very surprised at the generous number of high reviews. This is a 5/10 at best. For me it's a 2, but a couple of things make me bump it to a generous 3. Still, I do NOT want to watch this again.

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 both 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, sure, but you could do so much better, too.

A married couple named "Jerry Lebon" (Tim Matheson) and "Linda Lebon" (Pamela Sue Martin) are living in Boston and decide to move off the coast to a place called Devlin Island. On the island is a small community which goes by the name of Bay Cove and is populated by people who have lived there a very long time. However, things are not as they seem. Not only do the neighbors act a little weird but there are a number of strange occurrences which being happening shortly after Jerry and Linda arrive. Anyway, rather than spoil the film for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this wasn't a bad movie, all things considered. Even so, because this was a made-for-television movie there were some parts which I thought were rather tame. Especially in the horror department. I liked the performance of Pamela Sue Martin and the fact that the director (Carl Schenkel) managed to keep the suspense going for the most part and that proved enough to justify the time spent watching it. I give it an average rating.

A couple move to a small community and island to get away from the lights and sirens of Boston. Once in Bay Cove, they wish they had never left the big city.

We meet Linda who has just been promoted to junior partner at the big city law firm she works for. She's married to a man named Jerry who seems to despise his big city life and career and wants to move back to the country doing "hard labour" jobs. After speaking to a couple who live on Devlin Island, and a small secluded community called Bay Cove, Linda and Jerry decide to move there and buy a house. They meet the neighbours who are very strange and then their dog starts reacting around them as well. Pretty soon Linda's dog is killed, her best friend dies in a mysterious accident while visiting on the island, and Jerry becomes extremely distant. Are these all coincidences, or is there a supernatural force at work?

I enjoyed Bay Cove for what it was - a late 80's made for TV chiller about a community of witches trying to secure their sacrifice in order to have immortality. I think that because it was made for TV it's potential wasn't used to the full extent, due to budgetary reasons and other restrictions that comes with being made solely for late night television. The story itself was told very well and it was easy to follow. There was enough mystery and suspense surrounding Bay Cove and it's residents that it made me as a viewer stick around and be invested the whole way through.

Acting was pretty good from all involved, especially Pamela Sue Martin who played the lead role of Linda. You feel for the character as you see all of these strange things happening around her and she can't do a thing about it. Tim Matheson was his usual fine self in the lead male role. Woody Harrelson makes an appearance in a very minor part as well and you can see the star quality even this early on in his career.

Overall I liked Bay Cove. It fell apart in the second half for sure which is why I rated it so average. The first 45 minutes to an hour were really good and the director did a great job creating the story and characters and atmosphere. The ending was a bit dull and ho hum and very made for TV.

5/10

Not meant to be taken too seriously. The plot moves quickly and there is never a scene that is an obligatory "gross out." After a slow start body the story it picks up quickly and it really keeps you on your toes with the psychological teasing.

The acting is not bad and is about as convincing it needs to be for a TV movie (1950's TV mom Barbara Billingsly is in it). The plot does drag on when the main character suspects the secret of the island town. It doesn't take long for your, "rationality senses" to kick on and you start to think the Pamela Sue Martin character is just plain crazy for not leaving when she has a chance instead of trying to find allies where she suspects none exist.

As a cheap buy its not a bad movie, but its quality goes down as the price goes up.