COVEN (1997)

Director: Mark Borchardt

Writer: Mark Borchardt

Producer: Mark Borchardt

Cast: Mark Borchardt, Tom Schimmels, Robert Richard Jorge, Miriam Frost, Sherrie Beaupre, Mike Schank, Damien McLaughlin, Mark Nadolski, Tommy Dallace, Jack Bennett, Scott Berendt, Barbara Zanger, Donna McMaster, Cindy Snyder, Nancy Williams, Kurt Poth, Wayne Buboise, Robert Smith, Kelley Cork, Betsy Schaefer, Brian Smith, Ray Kilzer, Mike Badem, Geoff Fieldbinder, John Wilhelm, Brian Stodola, Jeremy Stevermer, Bill Borchardt (uncredited) 

Mike (Mark Borchardt) is an alcoholic, pill-popping writer stressed by his life and deadlines. After an overdose lands Mike in the hospital, his friend Steve (Tom Schimmels) convinces Mike to join his therapy group. As the group meetings become more ritualistic and he starts hallucinating, Mike starts having suspicions about the group’s motives. 

The Flashback Fanatic movie review 

The subject of Chris Smith’s award-winning documentary American Movie (1999) was Milwaukee, Wisconsin-area filmmaker Mark Borchardt. The through line of that documentary’s narrative was the struggle Borchardt had to finish Coven. After watching the behind-the-scenes effort that went into Borchardt’s film, it is fun to see the final product and appreciate its unique vibe. 

Coven is a short horror film that demonstrates the old adage “misery loves company.” In fact, that is the very thing that brings troubled people together in a self-help group. The suspicion that one may have about any group is: Does a group serve its members or just perpetuate their dependence on the group so that the group will flourish? Everything from clubs to churches to political parties may exploit the needs and ignorance of its members to become cults that only serve their leaders. 

If ever a film captures the perspective of one man’s dysfunction and paranoia, it is Coven. As bleak as the short and simple story is, it is still infused with a cynical wit that makes it quite engaging. Writer-director Mark Borchardt’s own character is very close to that of Mike, the starring role that he plays. As a result, his performance is very real and unaffected while still delivering touches of humor. 

The humor in Coven is never at the expense of the atmosphere. It rises naturally from the characters’ interactions and is appropriate to their circumstances. One such scene I find to be very satisfying is when Mike is scoring some speed from his pusher (Damien McLaughlin). They are both seated comfortably in the pusher’s home and making friendly small talk. It is rather perverse that this pusher is probably the most comforting presence in the film. 

Another aspect of the film that stresses the bleak isolation of its hero’s world is that all of the other main characters never seem compatible with each other. The group members sit around and rant about their issues while no solutions are offered. In fact, to celebrate his return to the group, Willa (Miriam Frost) offers alcoholic Mike a cup of booze that can only exacerbate the problems that brought him to the group in the first place. Goodman (Robert Richard Jorge), the apparent leader of the group, affects a certain grandiose refinement, yet younger group members Daesa (Sherrie Beauprie) and Willa disrespect his authority. Even Steve, the good friend that urged Mike to join the group, only seems to be another source of pressure in Mike’s life. 

The choice of shooting Coven in black-and-white suits the mood and subject matter. Scenes in a bar and its parking lot have a gritty intimacy. A church steeple silhouetted against the gray sky offers no sense of sanctuary. The therapy group meetings are suffused with a stark gloom making all involved seem hopeless or malevolent. As his booze-buzz kicks in, Mike’s walk into the woods for some solitude has an eerie and surreal bleached-out tone. That environment soon becomes dark and dirty once he is accosted by the black-robed figures that haunt him. 

My favorite images in the film are the barren, autumn landscapes and abandoned country roads. There is a mystic beauty about these shots that sets the tone for the loneliness and threat that the protagonist will be coping with. Patrick Nettesheim’s doom-laden music score compliments these scenes perfectly. Coven proves that atmosphere can be the best special effect of all.

AMERICAN MOVIE (1999)

Director: Chris Smith

Producers: Sarah Price, Chris Smith

Cast: (as themselves) Mark Borchardt, Mike Schank, Ken Keen, Bill Borchardt, Monica Borchardt, Cliff Borchardt, Tom Schimmels, Joan Petrie, Alex Borchardt, Chris Borchardt, Dean Allen, Matt Weisman, Robert Richard Jorge, Sherrie Beaupre, Miriam Frost, Mark Nadolski, Dara Borchardt, Dawn Borchardt, Steve Borchardt 

In the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area, aspiring filmmaker Mark Borchardt struggles to finish his short horror film Coven. When completed, Mark intends to sell videotapes of Coven to raise the money for financing another longer film project called Northwestern. Despite a lack of funds, mishaps, and personal hardship, Mark carries on gathering family and friends to pitch in, on and off camera, to try finishing his multi-year production. 

The Flashback Fanatic movie review 

Many non-filmmakers probably think that filmmaking is fun and that doing something fun is a cinch. They figure that if someone has talent, that person’s entire creative process is as simple as breathing is to other people, right? They also probably think that no matter how much effort is involved, filmmakers are doing what they love to do and just can’t help themselves. Therefore, the filmmakers can just keep plugging away at it till their film gets done. 

Anyone watching the documentary American Movie will realize that there is a lot of hard work and preparation involved in making any film. They will also realize that there are great challenges for the low-budget, do-it-yourselfer trying to make a film that has to tell a story when the money, facilities, and talent pool of Hollywood are not available. 

Director Chris Smith documents fellow filmmaker Mark Borchardt and those associated with him to not only chronicle the production of Coven (1997), but to acquaint us with an unconventional and interesting person. Borchardt is passionate about films and driven to make his own, yet he can also be distracted by self-doubt and life’s setbacks. American Movie is about Borchardt’s life and his hope to grab some of his own American dream through his filmmaking. 

This film is full of genuinely hilarious moments and some melancholy introspection. Initially, the viewer gets the impression that Borchardt is a sad sack trying to achieve something he just does not have the ability and resources to accomplish. Before long, however, Borchardt wins us over and has us rooting for him. It is only Borchardt’s enthusiasm and diligence that will ever get his movie made. He proves to all of us that Hollywood is not the only place to make movies happen. Stories worth telling can be made anywhere and in many ways. 

What I came to appreciate the most about Borchardt is that he has a unique filmic voice that is a reflection of his own unique personality. He is not an amateur hopelessly trying to copy a generic Hollywood product. He is using the horror genre to vent down-to-earth doubts and anxieties. What appears to be an often tedious and chaotic filming and post-production grind eventually realizes a singular atmosphere and attitude that we see in the clips of his Coven film. 

 

American Movie director Chris Smith should also be applauded for having the inspiration to realize that a documentary about fellow filmmaker Mark Borchardt would make for such an absolutely moving, entertaining, and inspiring film. Not only is Borchardt funny and creative, he is also thoughtful. At times he may seem unrefined, yet Borchardt is actually quite philosophical and always genuine.

What further enriches this documentary’s narrative are Mark Borchardt’s friends and family. We see how they have shaped Mark’s life and contribute to his filmmaking endeavors. Mark’s childhood pals Mike Schank and Ken Keen are important allies in his moviemaking and are interesting characters, as well. Mark’s mother Monica is also there to help him film an insert shot or to suddenly be recruited as an extra. Mark’s elderly Uncle Bill helps to finance Coven and has a bit part early in that film. One of the funniest trials of production on Coven is Mark trying to do ADR of his Uncle Bill’s brief lines of dialogue. 

The 1990s was a great decade for indie films and American Movie was one of the best. American Movie was an award winner at the Sundance Film Festival and became a big critical hit. Such buzz about the documentary made its hero a sought after guest in other productions. Mark Borchardt appeared five times on CBS-TV’s Late Show with David Letterman, he cameoed as himself on the Family Guy Fox network cartoon show, and has made many appearances as an actor in other people’s films. 

In April of 2003, I was one of the extras in another Mark Borchardt movie called Scare Me. Most of us were volunteers answering an ad placed in a local weekly alternative paper. I assume that everyone there had learned about Mark through the acclaimed American Movie documentary, which made us eager to participate in his latest production. We were there that particular day to be part of a party scene, hence the need for plenty of extras. Apparently, this scene had been shot earlier and Mark found it unsatisfactory. I believe that earlier attempt is featured in the documentary Horror Business (2007). 

It was a long day. Most of us were simply standing around for hours on end before certain groups of us would be needed for certain shots. Like they say, making movies involves a lot of waiting around. However, very few of us wandered off during that sixteen-hour day. I think we were glad to be there and believed in what Mark was trying to do. 

Scare Me has still not been completed, yet when one looks it up on the internet, it is listed as still in production. I certainly hope so. This jaded world needs more Mark Borchardt films. 

Even people like myself that do not tend to watch documentaries will be moved and entertained by American Movie. It is loaded with humor, pathos, and hope. Best of all, its depiction of the humble circumstances and struggles of its frustrated protagonist resonates with anyone that has sought to overcome their own doubts and shortcomings to accomplish a goal and find fulfillment in their life.