Le pacte

I just saw "Canes" on the pay-TV channel here in British Columbia, and since it was also filmed here I guess that is fitting, and I can also recommend the beautiful scenery! The movie itself, however, was shot on a nothing budget, and contains average performances by all the leads except Furlong, who has not reached any of the potential he showed in his earlier films from the 90's. The most surprising thing about the movie is that the special effects - especially on this budget - are better than the plot (which I'll only describe as "horror"). Somehow, this film was shown at Cannes last month (Canes, Cannes, Uma, Oprah...), but I cannot imagine sitting and watching this film anywhere but at home, as it is slow and not very horrific either. But if you have nothing better to do, and it is free, then...

The acting is bad. The main actor puts on a flat performance that entirely failed to convince me that it was anything more than an actor going through the motions. He did not show remorse when he spoke of it, though he played out the arrogant bits OK, as is he conveyed this puny little loser-man finding himself with more power than he knows what to do with. But he never explores the regret of the evil things he is made to do. Every scene seemed emotionally disconnected from the last. The supporting acting is not any better. the story is lame; Evil magic item possesses its owner to do bad things. It's been so overdone and there is no original new twist to redeem the worn out plot line. None of the characters have any traits to draw you in and make you care about them at all. The special effects were so-so. Don't waste your time on this one.

This is a truly sad display of movie-making from those behind it. Furlong is laughable as the lead, the supporting cast looks like they're choking back laughter half the time, and the slumming of Michael Madsen continues. There are so many plot holes in this 'horror' film, I found myself wondering what the heck the characters were thinking when they did certain things. The special effects are not horrible, but they're only propping up a really bad script. Whoever the wardrobe director on this thing was should be banned from filmmaking for a long time. Furlong's suits look like they were tailored for someone 4 or 5 sizes larger than he is. I watched this for free on late night TV when I couldn't sleep and I still regret losing those agonizing hours of my life. Avoid this garbage. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

The PR David Goodman (Edward Furlong) expects to be promoted in the agency where he works but he loses the opportunity to his colleague Tony (Tobias Mehler). While upset at home with his wife Lisa (Chandra West), David sees a man near his car; when he approaches, the stranger sprays some chemicals on his face and David becomes blind. Later David receives a message in his answering machine with the proposal of Dr. Guillermo List (Michael Madsen) for recovering his vision and he offers anything to regain his sight. Dr. List gives an ancient cane with a devil face to David that recovers his eyesight but is possessed by an evil demon, ascending in his career but with a high-price.

"Canes" is really a bad movie: first there are many stories of evil covenants or secret societies; therefore the plot is not even original. The flawed screenplay is terrible, with an imbecile development, characters that comes and dies without any consequence, unanswered situations, silly twists, a corny conclusion associated to very poor special effects. There is one specific scene that is absolutely ridiculous, when Lisa is stabbed with David's cane on her chest and then she runs like hell without any blood or consequences. But the worse is the acting, mainly of the lead and once promising actor Edward Furlong; he is awful, completely miscast for the role of David Goodman, shorter than Chandra West and wearing a suit that probably belongs to his father. The decadent Michael Madsen keeps the (low) level of his last performances and Chandra West is the best that this movie may offer to the viewers. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "O Escolhido" ("The Chosen")

"The Covenant: Brotherhood Of Evil" has basically the same title as the "gay" "The Covenant", but it's different.

The Plot: David Goodman (Furlong) is a young businessman on the rise. He's blinded by a random criminal and he wants revenge. He then meets Guillermo List (Madsen) who gives him an evil cane (yes, a walking cane...) to exact his vengeance. But it gets out of hand and now the powers of evil are after him!

As you can tell, the plot to this cinematic sludge is silly. If you want a good laugh, watch this. Furlong is miscast and he looks awful. He's packed on some weight and the suits he wears in the film are so tight on him, they're bursting at the seams. Madsen is okay, but once again he's there for a paycheck. He does have obviously fake facial hair. It looks glued on.

Overall, "The Covenant: Brotherhood Of Evil" is a very ridiculous film that's worth watching for the unintentional laughs.

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