Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Search cinema listings

Browse cinemas A-Z

Search 20,000 reviews

 

The Covenant (2006)

Director: Renny Harlin

Average user rating
50 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Screen Gems supremo Clint Culpepper had clear aspirations for this teen horror movie: ‘I wanted to make a “Lost Boys” for this generation.’ As directed by Renny Harlin, from a lame script by repeat offender J S Cardone (‘The Forsaken’), this fulfils the brief perfectly. A tale of modern-day warlocks, it is every bit as dumb, flashy and loud as Joel Schumacher’s 1987 vampire movie.

Directly descended from the families who colonised New England in the late seventeenth century, the buff-bodied ‘Sons of Ipswich’ possess supernatural powers that will increase when they reach their eighteenth birthday. Caleb Danvers (Steven Strait) will be the first of the four to ‘ascend’. But first he must make out with poor scholarship girl Sarah Wenham (Laura Ramsey); avoid his decrepit father’s fate, by resisting the temptation to use his addictive but ageing powers; and confront his slightly fey nemesis, power-hungry ‘darkling’ Chase Collins (Sebastian Stan).

Flying scenes, frat-boy face-offs and pyrotechnic punch-ups are punctuated by excruciating expository dialogue, while a nasty whiff of homophobia sits uneasily with the many lingering shots of naked male torsos.

Author: Nigel Floyd 2006-12-05 11:24:30

Time Out London Issue 1894: December 6-13 2006

  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

User reviews of this film

50 comments: page 1 of 4
1 2 3 4

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields


The Covenant

Watch http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/thecovenant/

Get 2 for 1 pizza and cinema tickets with Orange Click Here

Cast & crew

Director: Renny Harlin

Producer: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi

Cast: Steven Strait, Sebstian Stan, Laura Ramsey, Taylor Kitsch, Toby Hemingway, Jessica Lucas, Chace Crawford, Wendy Crewson full cast

Genre(s): Action/Adventure, Horror, Thrillers

Rated: 12A

Duration: 97 mins

UK Release: Dec 8 2006

RENT THIS DVD and more on Lovefilm

Top Stories

Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'

Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'

Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?

How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains

Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'

Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'

We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon

A gateway to all things 'New Moon'

A gateway to all things 'New Moon'

In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.

London Children's Film Festival

London Children's Film Festival

Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival

The films that deserve a TV spin-off

The films that deserve a TV spin-off

With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations

The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'

The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'

Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’

Michael Haneke discusses 'The White Ribbon'

Michael Haneke discusses 'The White Ribbon'

Dave Calhoun met with Michael Haneke in Munich to mull over the details of his Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'

Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?

Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?

Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations