Coven of Evil

This is another amateur film that would never see the inside of a movie theater. It's very cheaply made and has no story to follow.

Alright, well I sat down to watch the 2018 movie "Coven of Evil" solely because it was listed as being a horror movie. Well, and also because the movie's cover was sort of alluring.

Granted, I hadn't even heard about this movie from writer and director Matthew J. Lawrence prior to getting to watch it in 2020. So I had no real expectations for the movie, for better or worse.

Well, it turns out that "Coven of Evil" was boring, so very, very boring. Yet, I managed to sit through the entire movie. Sure, I wasn't entertained, and I hardly cared about what happened on the screen, but I was hoping that the movie would pick up, change its pacing and direction and become better. That just never happened.

It should be said that the acting in the movie was actually adequate, taking into consideration the severe limitations imposed on the actors and actresses from a lack of proper script, plot and storyline.

Very precious little of any interest actually transpired on the screen from the moment the movie started to the end. It was off to an interesting start though, but then it just fell to pieces when the coven itself was brought into the picture.

I am rating "Coven of Evil" a mere two out of ten stars. This movie was hardly worth the time, money or effort. And it is definitely not a movie that I will be sitting down to watch for a second time.

Coven of Evil: Low budget English horror film, mostly filmed o the Yorkshire Moors. Opens in 1798 with a Occult sacrifice during a total eclipse of the Sun, a Gateway is opened. Flash forward to the present day and a young journalist who has written an article about a local (supposedly) Wiccan Coven is mocked by their High Priestess but is invited to observe an actual ritual. His journey to their house is itself a bit of a ritual as he has to seek directions from a Benny (Crossroads) type character. Things get complicated when he reaches the Coven's farmhouse as ends up participating in the Ritual and gets involved with Priestess's sister. An interesting story but the pace is a bit uneven and not all of the acting is great. The horror is there though with sacrifices, throats cut, cannibalism and the bleakness of the Moors. Especially the sacrifice site, a natural outcrop but it resembles Standing Stones. It could easily have lost 10 minutes from it's 100 minute running time. Written & Directed by Matthew Lawrence. On YouTube pay to view. 6/10.

Don't let the other negative comments fool you, this popped on my amazon and turned out to be decent flick. Yes, it is not a big budget high-fi Hollywood horror, however the movie has a decent story line, it does offer some creepy moments, in terms of editing, It could have been shorter at some places. The mystery element is presented well, it kinda reminded me of the wicker man. The acting and special effects are OK. Overall a decent mystery thriller that might be too much for some people.

Stumbled across this on the horror section and enjoyed it, not the best film I'll see this year, but not the worse. it's a low budget film, the story is a bit mashed up, and the effects are poor, would have been a stronger picture without them. The driving force of the film is the score and the locations add Mystry to the piece, the cast also seem above par for a low budget horror like this, considering the quality of the diologue they did a great job bringing it to life. I predict big thing for the ensemble and only a few poor performances, which is unusual for a low budget such as coven of evil

The film starts very strong as John Thacker who plays Joe is introduced, he plays Joe as the guy next door perfectly, naturalist lead that drives the story almost discovering things as the audience does, i enjoyed his sarcastic eye glances and charisma add to the piece, bringing to life a character that could have been over performed, it's like he felt as we felt watching this madness unfold, although questionably it's never mentioned again that he's a journalist. Laura Peterson as Alice is very strong and solid, steeling the scenes she is in, would have liked more of her, although the spanking scenes were a bit unnecessary. The entire picture has a strong ensemble that I predict some will go on to do things and leave this in the back catalogue of their filmography.

The main issue is the story, it takes a while to to get there and never really does, the strongest section of the film is within the first act, it opens strong and with such Potienal, but as much as the actors, the haunting score, and admittedly not-awful cinematography try, they can't give the picture the full Potienal with the uneven story.

Overall, yeah it's a c-grade back end of amazon prime horror film that was made on the cheap, but of you're into that kinda thing, it's a easy watch, fun in parts, respectfully well done in parts, and worth a watch... although I wouldn't be in a hurry for a second