The Covenant (2006 film)

The Covenant
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Renny Harlin
Written by	J. S. Cardone
Produced by	Gary Lucchesi Tom Rosenberg
Starring	Steven Strait Sebastian Stan Laura Ramsey Taylor Kitsch Toby Hemingway Jessica Lucas Chace Crawford Wendy Crewson
Cinematography	Pierre Gill
Edited by	Nicolas de Toth
Music by	Tomandandy
Production companies	Screen Gems Lakeshore Entertainment Sandstorm Films
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing & Axe Media LTD
Release date	September 8, 2006 (2006-09-08)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$20 million
Box office	$37.6 million

The Covenant is a 2006 American dark fantasy horror film directed by Renny Harlin and written by J. S. Cardone. The film stars Steven Strait, Sebastian Stan, Laura Ramsey, Taylor Kitsch, Jessica Lucas, Toby Hemingway, and Chace Crawford.

The Covenant was released in the United States by Sony Pictures Releasing on September 8, 2006. Despite receiving negative reviews from critics, it was a moderate box office success.

Plot

In the town of Ipswich, four high school boys – Caleb Danvers, Pogue Parry, Reid Garwin, and Tyler Simms, together known as the Sons of Ipswich – are the descendants of colonial witch families and thus wield magical abilities. Their powers manifest on their 13th birthday and grow stronger until they Ascend at 18. Ascending increases their powers significantly but also ties their powers to their life force. The more an Ascended individual uses their magic, the more addicted to it they become, which can lead to premature aging and death.

While attending a bonfire, Caleb meets Sarah Wenham, a transfer student from a public high school in Boston. The Sons also meet Chase Collins, a new student at Spenser Academy. Their meeting is cut short when cops appear to break up the party. The boys escape by using their powers. After a student is found dead near their campus, various paranormal occurrences take place, with Sarah and her roommate Kate Tunney being the focus of it. Upset, Caleb suspects Reid – the most reckless of the warlocks – but he angrily denies the accusation.

Caleb and later Pogue see a "darkling", a dead spirit and a malicious omen. Meanwhile, Caleb and Sarah become romantically involved. During a swim race, Caleb notices Chase displaying magic usage. After researching, Caleb concludes that Chase descends from a fifth family, one believed long extinct. As the Sons discuss this revelation, Pogue learns that his girlfriend Kate was rendered comatose by a spell. Enraged, he hastily confronts Chase, but this ultimately lands him in the hospital as well.

Caleb visits Sarah, only to fall into Chase's trap. Chase reveals that he was unaware of his magic's origin, having been adopted. After locating his biological father, he learned of the price for Ascension; but it was too late, and he has become addicted to using magic. His biological father then transferred his power to him. Chase wants to force other Ascended witches to transfer their power to him, starting with Caleb. Despite Caleb's warning that having more power does not save him from aging to death, Chase ignores him. Before leaving, Chase threatens Caleb's family and friends if he does not get what he wants. Caleb reveals the truth to Sarah and takes her to his father William, a 44-year-old man with a decrepit old body from magic abuse. When Sarah suggests that one of the other three transfer their power to Caleb so he could fight Chase, he refuses as it would cost the person offering their life.

On the night of Caleb's 18th birthday, he leaves to face Chase and has Reid and Tyler safeguard Sarah. However, Chase easily kidnaps her. At an old barn, the two confront each other. Chase reveals a spellbound Sarah and gives Caleb an ultimatum of his life for hers. Caleb ascends but refuses to give up his power. The two duel, but Caleb is outmatched. Back at home, Evelyn, Caleb's mother, begs her husband to save Caleb. Upon learning that his son is fighting for his life, William sacrifices his life by willing his powers to his son. Once his father's power is infused within him, Caleb hits Chase with a final blow that engulfs him. Sarah, Kate, and Pogue are freed from their curses.

Firefighters arrive on the scene and inform them that a third person was not found, suggesting that Chase somehow survived and escaped. The pair get into Caleb's car, and he casually uses magic to fix the busted windshield. Sarah grabs his hand in reassurance and they drive off together to rejoin the rest.

Cast

• Steven Strait as Caleb Danvers, one of the four Sons of Ipswich. He attends Spenser Academy with the other Sons and is the oldest and most responsible and protective among the four. He is very cautious about using the Power due to its effect on his father and is the first to ascend.
• Sebastian Stan as Chase Collins, a new student at Spenser who befriends the Sons of Ipswich
• Laura Ramsey as Sarah Wenham, a new student at Spenser who transfers from a Boston public school, Caleb's love interest and Kate's friend
• Taylor Kitsch as Pogue Parry, one of the four Sons of Ipswich; the oldest after Caleb and his best friend. He is also Kate's boyfriend.
• Jessica Lucas as Kate Tunney, Sarah's roommate and Pogue's girlfriend
• Toby Hemingway as Reid Garwin, one of the four Sons of Ipswich and the most reckless and sassiest of the four, who often butts heads with Caleb
• Chace Crawford as Tyler Simms, one of the four Sons of Ipswich; the youngest of the four, who is the closest to Reid and usually takes his side
• Kyle Schmid as Aaron Abbot, a pompous student and jock
• Sarah Smyth as Kira Snider, a snobby student and Aaron's girlfriend
• Wendy Crewson as Evelyn Danvers, Caleb's alcoholic mother, who worries about her son Ascending and becoming like his father
• Stephen McHattie as William Danvers III, Caleb's father
• Kenneth Welsh as Provost Higgins, head of Spenser Academy
• Jon McLaren as Bordy Becklin
• Steven Crowder as a party kid

Graphic novel

A comic book prequel to the movie was released by Top Cow Comics. Top Cow Comics founder Marc Silvestri also served as associate producer for the film.

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 4% of 75 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 2.90/10. The website's consensus reads: "The Covenant plays out like a teen soap opera, full of pretty faces, wooden acting, laughable dialogue, and little suspense." It is ranked 89th on the website's list of the 100 Worst Movies of All Time. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 19 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

Box office

Upon its release in the United States, the film managed to top the box office charts with a $8.9 million opening on what was called a "weak" weekend. By the end of its theatrical run, The Covenant earned $23.3 million in the U.S. and $13.9 million in other territories for a total of $37.3 million worldwide). The film cost roughly $20 million to produce, not including marketing.

Home media

The Covenant was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 2, 2007. It went on to sell 1,618,891 units, which translated to revenue of $26,578,576.

External links

• The Covenant at IMDb
• The Covenant at AllMovie
• The Covenant at Metacritic
• The Covenant at Box Office Mojo
• The Covenant at Rotten Tomatoes