Susan Granger’s review of “The Covenant” (Screen Gems/Sony)
When “The Covenant” was not screened for critics prior to its release, it was an immediate indication that Screen Gems had a dud on their hands – and they do.
The supernatural set-up is this: back in 1672, in the Ipswich Colony of Massachusetts, five powerful families descended from the Salem witches formed a covenant of silence. But one family, lusting for more, was banished – their bloodline disappearing without a trace. Until now.
Skip to the present, as four blandly hunky male model-types (Stephen Strait, Taylor Kitsch, Jesse McCartney, Toby Hemingway) are students at the elite Spencer Academy. As descendants of those original families, these boys have been born with dark powers that could consume them if they tap into them too often, and they honor their genetic ancestry. Then there’s this other fellow (Chace Crawford), a transfer student. Guess where he came from?
When the body of a dead student is discovered after a prep school party, catastrophic secrets begin to unravel which threaten to break the covenant of silence that has protected their families for hundreds of years.
So much for the 97 minutes of plot. What really consumes these indistinguishable, testosterone-driven guys, self-consciously striking poses in their Speedos, are the nubile girls (Jessica Lucas, Laura Ramsey) who cavort around the dorms in their underwear – and there’s one memorable scene in which a car explodes and is put back together by magic.
Screenwriter J.S. Cardone (“Alien Hunter,” “The Forsaken”) and director Renny Harlin (“The Long Kiss Goodnight,” “Cutthroat Island”) don’t muster much horror, much less tap into the thriller aspect – and the budget must have been miniscule. So on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Covenant” is a 2. Wait for the DVD.
