gainax98

Although the story and the majority of the acting leave much to be desired, I was impressed by how nice the shot selection was. The opening scene was stark, and nicely set the tone. The outdoor scenes were also interesting, and showed Mark Borchardt's eye for scenery. I was thoroughly underwhelmed by the story -- at 40 minutes, it still meandered -- and, save for Borchardt himself, the actors should be barred from ever approaching another set, but the film had an artistic sensibility that transcended its weak material. Not "Citizen Kane" by any stretch, but "Coven" shows promise, and if Mark Borchardt ever gets a budget and real actors I think he could do good work.

The film is based on newspaper articles and photos, which is surely why it is so emotionally detached from its subjects, but it is simply not possible to have absolutely no emotional connection to any of the characters and remain interested in hearing about their deaths for two hours. It becomes tedious after the first 20 minutes and almost unbearable after 45. The main reoccuring characters -- a whispering mental hospital clerk and a woman who compulsively breaks windows -- are given no personality at all, only roles to perform, and only add to the problem. While well-shot, this movie is dull, plodding, and the worst kind of bad movie: it doesn't even attempt to entertain you, it just drags you along, waiting for the end.

Every once in a while, a movie comes along that gives you renewed faith in the medium, and makes you wish every movie were that good. And, every once in a while, along comes a film that makes you want to track down every print and destroy it, to save future viewers from the misery that you suffered.The Astronaut's Wife fits neatly into category 2.

Rather than try to describe the wretched pain that is this movie, I'll ask you to picture a movie where the female lead has no range, the male lead is slumming, and the director seems to have watched Taxi Driver 15 times and only learned that there is a film device called "slow-motion".This movie is so bad, it makes Batman and Robin look like The Godfather.