I’ve said it a few times, but I’ll say it again – we need more witch movies. Not the ones that conjure the magic-wielders into ghostly beasts, but stories where we get a good look at the cult-like conduct behind the scenes. Luckily, writer/director Matthew J. Lawrence has delivered just that with his new film, Coven of Evil. From Macabre Pictures, Coven of Evil finds a popular journalist being invited to witness a Wiccan cult after its High Priestess takes issue with inaccuracies in his previous article. Jumping at the chance to witness the event first hand, the young journalist soon finds himself in over his head as the deadly world of witchcraft comes with a price – including abduction and cannibalism. Now, it’s a race out of the compound if he hopes to publish an article ever again. Produced by Matthew J. Lawrence with executive producer Warren Croyle, this UK-shot horror-drama stars John Thacker, Laura Peterson, Samantha Moorhouse, Craig R. Mellor, Tracy Gabbitas, Micky Satiar and Jacob Kain Prescott. Find it on Amazon Prime, iTunes, Google Play and YouTube Movies courtesy of Sector 5 Films/Chemical Burn Entertainment.
Honestly, I browsed other people’s reviews of this flick… and I think all of the one star reviews are wildly unjustified. Coven of Evil is an independent feature, so you can’t expect big budget effects and top-quality equipment. It always baffles me when “real horror fans” pick up an indie title expecting to find Avatar. Coven of Evil features cinematography by Louie Lee Horton and editing by Matthew J. Lawrence. For its caliber, this flick is on point and exactly what I was expecting. A slow-burn story for easy viewing, geared especially at genre fans who enjoy movies about the occult, paganism and ritualistic mayhem. It’s grass-route and average, but far from “the worst movie ever.” This is one of those instances where you need to trust actual reviewers instead of user-based submissions. My only complaint with Coven of Evil is it lacks natural flow. Some scenes are too quiet (no scoring of foley) and other scenes come too hard (with rock music). It adds up to an uneven level of suspense building.
Blended against the beautiful UK country-side is a slightly erotic, harrowing and blood thirsty horror-drama. Maybe it dips too far into the dramatic and psychological side and loses some of its horror flair, but I don’t believe Coven of Evil ever was intended to be an “in your face” scary story. It has its key demographic in mind, and appeals to them, but will struggle to find a fan-base outside of that, though. It feels like a cop-drama at heart, without the cops, of course, and a progression into darkness instead of a fast-drop. It’s a little rough around the edges, but I enjoyed a lot of the visuals and the direction that Matthew J. Lawrence took with this title. Considering this is his first feature-length project since 2012’s Tied in Blood, I think he has a lot to be proud of here; and honestly, the cast and crew had to have had a wildly fun time shooting Coven of Evil. And considering it was picked up for distribution, all the goals were met when wanting to bring a movie from idea to hard copy.
Get spooky this Halloween season with traditional villains in Coven of Evil!
Final Score: 6.5 out of 10.
