Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘The Covenant’?

The Covenant (2006)

tomatometer

3

Average Rating: 2.7/10
Reviews Counted: 71
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 69

The Covenant plays out like a teen soap opera, full of pretty faces, wooden acting, laughable dialogue, and little suspense.

0

Average Rating: 2.8/10
Critic Reviews: 18
Fresh: 0 | Rotten: 18

The Covenant plays out like a teen soap opera, full of pretty faces, wooden acting, laughable dialogue, and little suspense.

audience

68

liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 379,998

My Rating

Movie Info

An ancient secret threatens to unleash the powers of darkness on a group of modern prep school students when the sole survivor of a cursed bloodline returns to lay claim to the powers denied to him centuries ago in a supernatural teen thriller from director Renny Harlin and screenwriter J.S. Cardone. The story begins in 1692, when five families from the Ipswich Colony of Massachusetts formed a covenant of silence that would forever protect their remarkable powers. One family went too far,

PG-13, 1 hr. 37 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Horror

J.S. Cardone

Jan 2, 2007

$23.3M

Screen Gems

Cast

All Critics (71) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (2) | Rotten (74) | DVD (14)

[A] muddled and most unmagical offering.

September 30, 2006 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

There is not a scary scene in the whole movie.

September 15, 2006 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | Comment
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This is cobbled-together teenybopper tripe about feuding male witches with nothing to offer but classic bad dialogue.

September 13, 2006 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | Comment
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The Covenant is just a copycat.

September 13, 2006 Full Review Source: Newsday | Comment (1)
Newsday
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Movies like this are why we have eyelids.

September 13, 2006 Comments (2)
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic IconTop Critic

No one has bothered to develop a coherent story or remotely likable characters to sustain the CGI effects, ear-splitting music, and hyperactive editing.

September 13, 2006 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

[An] unbewitching brew of clichés.

April 23, 2009 Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | Comment
Boston Phoenix

Director Renny Harlin ("The Long Kiss Goodnight") phones in this thoughtless teen horror flick from screenwriter J.S. Cardone ("The Forsaken").

April 20, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | Comment
ColeSmithey.com

This forgettable supernatural-teen thriller is the kind of WB-style soap opera where the characters have names like Chase Collins and Reid Garwin.

August 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | Comment
Sacramento News & Review

After a promising start, this film someone managed to become dull.

July 25, 2007 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

It's a horror film for the MTV generation, a horror film for the audience of "Laguna Beach"...

July 10, 2007 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | Comment
Cinema Crazed

... this falls well short of the Buffy-level resonances at which [Harlin] was presumably aiming.

January 27, 2007 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | Comment
Guardian [UK]

...yet another brainless, utterly disposable thriller geared exclusively towards teenagers...

January 9, 2007 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | Comment
Reel Film Reviews

I really can't say I didn't like The Covenant; I just didn't care about it one way or another. If you go in knowing you're getting a sort of 'The Craft, for dudes' PG-13 flick, you might be reasonably entertained.

January 3, 2007 Full Review Source: Horror.com | Comment

The Covenant looks less like a movie and more like an extended boy band video -- and with about the same amount of depth.

January 2, 2007 Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | Comment
Daily Mirror [UK]

A patently silly supernatural teen drama, in which a bunch of Young Hollywood types flex their abs and aim their perfectly-calibrated glances at each other.

December 30, 2006 Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | Comment
Observer [UK]

Flying scenes, frat-boy face-offs and pyrotechnic punch-ups are punctuated by excruciating expository dialogue.

December 30, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

Daft but nonetheless enjoyable supernatural thriller, featuring some hilariously bad dialogue, impressive special effects and some genuinely creepy scenes.

December 30, 2006 Full Review Source: ViewLondon | Comment (1)
ViewLondon

Director Renny Harlin helms like a bat out of hell, and obviously doesn't know a pentagram from a mammogram.

December 30, 2006 Full Review Source: BBC | Comment

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.

December 30, 2006 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | Comments (2)
Empire Magazine

The Covenant is like the great imitator. It wants to have King's New England atmosphere but over does it with constantly moody shots and strangely empty hallways of a dormitory.

December 28, 2006 Full Review Source: Dread Central | Comment

O máximo que este O Pacto consegue é transformar-se, em seus instantes finais, em uma espécie de Mortal Kombat para imbecis. E, ainda assim, com dificuldade.

November 23, 2006 Comment
Cinema em Cena
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Covenant

All of these stars are purely because of the attractive men and the actually alright story with some great thrills and action scenes.

June 23, 2011
murphmann93
Bethany Murphy

Super Reviewer

There was nothing special about it. Can be boring (most of the time) but got some cool action flicks. The ending was way too corny. Such a lame fight I tell you. Watch this if you're Steven's fan . But I'm not his fan so it was kinda waste of time for me.

January 7, 2011
3niR
Dead Angel

Super Reviewer

    1. Reid Garwin: Harry Potter can kiss my ass!
    – Submitted by Terri M (17 days ago)
    1. Caleb Danvers: [talking to Reid about using his powers] What will it take for you to get it? It's addictive you moron!
    – Submitted by Lea L (8 months ago)
    1. Chase Collins: Did you see my problem here? I like to use... a lot. Only... no one ever told me about the... effects, the damage, the addiction.
    – Submitted by Lea L (8 months ago)
    1. Chase Collins: Come to save little Ms. Muffet, have we? Well, you're too late. A spider came and sat down beside her and frightened Ms. Muffet away!
    – Submitted by Lea L (8 months ago)

Latest News for The Covenant

September 13, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: Jodie's Got A Gun!
Two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster returns to the big screen this weekend in the vigilante thriller...

September 11, 2007:
Nelson McCormick Signs on to Direct Stepfather Remake
Apparently, Screen Gems was serious about doing that remake of The Stepfather.

What's Hot On RT

RT on DVD & Blu-Ray
RT on DVD & Blu-Ray

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1

Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus

Woman in Black is Solid

The Avengers!
The Avengers!

Five new Marvelous pictures

Total Recall
Total Recall

Unconventional Superheroes

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 18,470 taken
created 12 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 44,194 taken
created 15 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 27,022 taken
created 15 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 27,527 taken
created 15 months ago
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Blog | Developers | Mobile