'The Covenant', which opens Sept. 8, centers around five teenage boys from a New England community who have inherited a legacy of power from their ancestors. As they approach their 18th birthdays and face becoming full-fledged warlocks, jealousy, suspicion and a craving for power threaten to tear their friendship apart. SCI FI Weekly visited the set of the film in Montreal last fall and sat down for an interview with Harlin, as well as two of the film's stars, Steven Strait and Sebastian Stan.
You've been in the business a long time now. Has it changed since you first started?
Harlin: Absolutely, because we have a generation, a couple of generations of moviegoers now, who have grown up with MTV and commercials and music videos and video games. So they have visual sensibilities [that] are so much more sophisticated than previously. Previously, literally, if you look at, like, Hitchcock movies or westerns of the '40s or '50s, a movie would probably have, from the top of my head, I would say maybe 350 cuts in the whole movie. And now you have 3,000 cuts. So it's a totally different language. And to impress the audience now, whether it's just the normal visuals or the action or the stunts or the special effects, you have to do so much more, because they've seen everything. So you have to come up with ways like we are doing now, which is one continuous shot. You see the actors; there's no tricks. There you have it.
So it's that type of stuff instead of just throwing a lot of crap at them. So it's more challenging, but it's a fun challenge. It's not like I sit at night wondering, like, "Oh my God, how do I make this really hit so all the music-video fans like it?" But it's just like, all of our sensibilities have developed as this art form has developed, and you automatically go for something that is hopefully more satisfying or exciting or supports the story in a more fresh way.
What is the look you're going for in this film?
Harlin: [Cinematographer Pierre Gill] is creating this look for this movie, which is really unique, I must say. And I really, truly believe that it's by far the most beautiful movie I've ever made. And it's dark. It's very brooding and dark. There's no color in this movie. It's not blue. It's not 'The Matrix' or the 'Underworld' look. It's not that kind of a blue film. Besides the darkness and sort of the style of lighting, it's the framing that we are using deliberately. We wanted to direct the audience into our journey and our path, and how we are telling this story, instead of just recording the events. We are forcing the audience to take a sort of point of view. And so the shots are very deliberately designed. And I think the results are incredibly beautiful and stylized without being style for style's sake.
What was it about the story that appealed to you?
Harlin: It's kind of an ultimate wish-fulfillment situation, where we have these people on the verge of adulthood, but still having fun and being able to be silly and kind of getting ready for life. But they have these incredible powers. And whether they use them for good or bad, it's their choice. And we follow their choices, and it's kind of an interesting, different kind of a world. It's this New England private school, [a] wealthy world, but we've kind of taken it and made it our own. So it's dark and it's different. The classrooms don't look like the classrooms of any of the high schools normal people go to. And their homes don't look the same. It's a little bit that sort of [a] Harry Potter feeling that you're taken on a journey. You get to kind of look into this secret world. And I just felt that would be a really fun challenge, and for me it's much more fun to create reality than just sort of repeat reality.
Are there any other films that you looked to for inspiration?
Harlin: Of course, we looked at a lot of things. Not to copy things, but to sort of see what's been done. And we've looked at- it's maybe a weird reference- but we looked at Kubrick movies, just for sort of style of framing and composition. Because his movies have, each movie has such a refined and definite style instead of just kind of throwing everything into it. And, of course, we looked at some of the sort of teen movies to make sure that we stay away from anything that they do. I mean, all the respect to teen movies, but we don't want this to ever feel like a normal teen movie in terms of, like, the typical teen situations and typical dilemmas and typical somebody chasing you with a knife and all that. These guys are warlocks, and they don't deal with the normal teenage stuff like that.
What about 'The Lost Boys'?
Harlin: Yeah. That's a good reference. That was almost 20 years ago, and it was a very sort of hip, cool movie in those days. And, of course, we have hip, cool young guys and girls, and they live in a seaside town. And instead of vampires we have warlocks, and we're going to have a lot of cool music. It's definitely a good reference. Except our movie is, I would say, more serious and darker. It doesn't have that sort of comic side that 'The Lost Boys' did.
Can you talk about casting? What were you looking for?
Harlin: I was looking for five guys who would be believable as these kinds of grandchildren or grand-grand-grandchildren of these New England settlers. So from the son of a wealthy, blue-blood community. So they have a certain aura about themselves, yet they are different from each other. And one is the silent type, and one is the wild and crazy type, and one is something else, and one is funny and whatever. So we spend a lot of time and went to the East Coast and West Coast and looked at every actor. We didn't want to have somebody famous, because that'll ruin the surprise of who is what and how they are going to affect the story and its outcome. Yet I needed to get good actors, because no matter how good-looking your actors are, if they are unbelievable, then you're just left in huge trouble. So we had tons and tons of actors read for every part. And we found some of them in L.A., some of them in New York, some of them in Canada. The chemistry's important, and it's also important to have guys who look different to each other, because we're quickly introducing the audience to five new characters. There's no Tom Cruise, there's no Brad Pitt, so they have to sort of try to hang on to something. So it's very important that they are different types.
For the actors, what's it been like working with Renny Harlin?
Strait: Phenomenal.
Stan: It's been a really, really great experience so far. I think he's putting together a really fantastic film. I think this is very in right now and what's wanted, and I think it's also very different in a lot of ways than some of the other movies.
Tell us about your characters. What kind of powers do you have?
Stan: Well, I suppose for one thing, we create these energy balls that we can use force to pull and push and throw at each other and so on. But also this anti-gravitational sort of capabilities, just jumping and whatnot.
Strait: We're manipulating energy, which more or less can allow you to do pretty much anything.
Is there a backstory that explains where your powers came from?
Stan: It's pretty much just like five families. It dates back a few generations. That's when the whole history of the Salem witch trials and whatnot. And the whole thing about is, with anything that's powerful that's good you can use it [for evil]. You can get lost in it, essentially. It happens because it can happen. So I think this whole plot's about how we learn how to use it and grow with it and deal with it. I guess that can be applied to a lot of different things in real life.
Is there the temptation to use these gifts just to have fun?
Stan: Oh, yeah.
Strait: That's the best and the worst part, I guess.
How do your characters fit into the group dynamic?
Strait: Well, Caleb is, I wouldn't say he's the leader of the pack, but he certainly has a bit of influence over what other people's decisions are. And what we're all going to do. But I think the dynamic more or less is that this group of people that is so unique, they have each other with this secret that they have, and that no one else really relates to. And being able to get a handle or a grip on this power that they really have had no choice in having. The problem is with this huge responsibility and power, it actually, after a certain age, it starts to age you every time you use it. It's really a balance of what you can do with the responsibilities that you have. If you're going to use your power and suffer the consequences, or not use it.
What about Chase?
Stan: Well, I'm sort of, kind of like the new guy. And I'm fully aware of the school being prestigious, and this group is also I guess known or stands out at school. ... I think for me it's just about fitting in, without giving too much away.
Is there rivalry between your characters?
Stan: Yeah. I mean, there is rivalry. There is definitely rivalry going on. But I think we become friends also, and our friendship's sort of lost at the same time, along the way. It all revolves around what they know and what other people don't know.
Are there any other films you can point to that have an influence on this?
Strait: 'The Matrix'.
Stan: 'The Matrix' is one. I feel like there's a little bit of feeling of 'The Skulls'.
Strait: 'The Lost Boys', definitely.
>> BACK