Metascore

Overwhelming dislike - based on 16 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 128 Ratings

  • Starring: Sebastian Stan, Steven Strait, Taylor Kitsch, Toby Hemingway
  • Summary: Privilege and beauty abound at Spenser Academy, a New England boarding school for the region's reigning elite. Directed by Renny Harlin, The Covenant tells the story of the Sons of Ipswich, four young students bound by their sacred ancestry. As descendants of the original families who settled in Ipswich Colony in the 1600's, the boys have all been born with special powers. When a fifth descendant suddenly moves to town, secrets begin to unravel which threaten to break the covenant of silence that has protected their families for hundreds of years. (Sony) Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 16
  2. Negative: 14 out of 16
  1. Harlin, with his customary visual brio, has created a film that is deliriously watchable. It's just not all that interesting. In the end, The Covenant is simply a glossier version of TV's "Charmed."
  2. Reviewed by: Helen O'Hara
    40
    Utterly stupid and full of lazy plotting and lazier dialogue, this is just idiotic enough to entertain on nights when you want to give your brain a rest.
  3. Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    38
    When the villain is revealed, you are neither surprised nor scared. You just think, "That guy?"
  4. Profoundly mediocre supernatural thriller.

See all 16 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 41
  2. Negative: 18 out of 41
  1. wolffang
    10
    it was AWSOME!!!! i luved it the special effects where just WICKED!!!!! an the guys were so HOT!!! please make a seconed one
  2. ValerieP
    8
    I thought it was okay but what helped me get through it was the cute guys and the locker room scene. :)
  3. PaulK
    7
    If you like this genre(which i do), this won't be groundbreaking, but definitely worth a look on video. The premise is intriguing and if a sequel does get made, there's definitely a lot of room for improvement with the storyline. The creepy spider type stuff should get canned in favor of more inventive spells or the exploration of more interesting aspects of their powers. Expand
  4. Epitomizing magic with drug use has never been more superficial than in The Covenant. The cheap exploitations of the young male and female bodies prove how shallow the film really is. The moral of the story is clouded by callow acting and the thrill is drowned out by flat lines. Expand

See all 41 User Reviews

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