Coven of the Black Cube (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Brewce LongoRelease Date(s)
2024 (March 10, 2026)Studio(s)
Blood Sick Productions- Film/Program Grade: B+
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: B
Review
I feel like Coven of the Black Cube is of another time. The way it was made, the look of the film and clothing of the people who occupy a place that also seems like it was moved out of time and space and dropped into “the now”. Nothing about this film belongs to the mid-2020s—it all feels, I dunno, off? Not in a bad way—just in that way that makes me remember my own time running around in the 90s making short films on whatever recording device my friends and I could lay our hands on. All clothed in leather and concert tees with long hair and hot gothy ingénues as our female leads. It’s a movie that would live on a VHS tape that gets passed around by folks who originally watched it as a goof, but realized it’s actually not that bad and so it gets shown at parties, borrowed and returned and borrowed again because someone from out of town is visiting and needs to see it. Shit, am I becoming a fan of Brewce Longo?
It’s a somewhat simple tale centered on a coven of heart-stealing witches and how they affect the people they come into contact. The main focus of their attention is a local Philly business district and the members of a metal band and its hangers on. There’s Milo (drummer) who runs a pizzeria/head shop/video store combo, he’s a fuck-up and his wife (the band’s bassist, I think) kinda hates him. This fits into the opening of the film and its credit sequence, where we’re introduced to the coven’s modus operandi; they kill men, specifically bad boyfriends/husbands with a special elixir they brew at a conjure shop/record store combo (a lot of combos going on in this flick) and help clean up the murder scenes, stealing the hearts of the victims and dropping the bodies off at random locales. The keyboardist, Gumby, lives with her girlfriend Violet or Vi for short—although Vi keeps a side apartment for her me-time and art studio. Gumby seems to have had enough of Vi’s independence and has become indifferent to Vi but Vi is head over heels in love—that is, until one night at a gig, as they watch other bands play, Vi catches the eye of Clover, one of the witches in the coven. Clover is dark, mysterious and seems open to a relationship with Vi. A questioning and curious Vi is a little freaked out that Clover is a witch so instead of pursuing a relationship, she asks Clover for help to win Gumby back. Clover hesitantly gives her the elixir that kills men and tells the elixir’s secret—it only kills someone that doesn’t love you back. So, Vi gets a warning—don’t use it unless you’re sure. But come on, Vi is love-dumb and there wouldn’t be a movie without bad choices, so it’s bottoms up at a cheap hotel for a Valentines date. The bad choice is made and goes exactly as you think it should and Vi calls Clover for her help and one love affair ends as a new one begins. Then the screaming starts. Kinda.
Coven of the Black Cube is a fun throwback to made-on-VHS horror you’d find in a moldy mom and pop video store in the late 80s through the 90s. For what it is, it’s very well made and the acting fits the movie (so, some is good, some is terrible, some is so-so—but all seems intentional). Based on things I’ve seen online, looking into what I was about to watch and not wanting to go in blind—the style of this film is termed “mumblegore,” a I-see-what-you-did-there play on the mumblecore genre made famous by filmmakers like Andrew Bujalski, the Duplass Brothers, Adam Wingard and Joe Swanberg (who cameos in here) where walking and talking in a low-res world is the name of the game. I think it’s fair, especially when you consider the secondary influence of gore films made by the likes of Herschell Gordon Lewis, early Sam Raimi and more than any of the others, Jörg Buttgereit runs through everything and seals the genre up nicely. I like the combo (hey, rule of threes—another combo!) and if you’re a fan of DIY filmmaking, old VHS horror films or just can-do artistic spirit, Coven of the Black Cube is a good time. Can’t vouch for any of the other Blood Sick films, but maybe we’ll see down the line.
Because the Blu-ray is presented in low-res VHS tape quality (complete with VHS artifacts like tracking errors, white specks and chroma noise) I’m ranking the quality on the A side. Same for the sound—it’s mono 2.0 and serves the experience well—so I’m giving it an A as well. This is in no way a comparison of a 4K restored video with 5.1 Dolby presentation—this is just to say, what the filmmakers were trying to achieve—it completely works and so, golf clap from me. Extras feature an informative commentary track with all the pulling double-duty writers—director, writer, producer/EP Brewce Longo, Zoe Angeli (“Clover”), Josh Schafer (“Milo”), and editor, cinematographer and EP Michael DiFrancesco. They seem like great friends and good collaborators, and they give some good insight into making a movie outside of the system. There’s also behind-the-scenes footage which really feels more like a collection of b-roll and outtakes which is confusing because then there is a video outtakes feature that is basically more of the same. I think more effort could have been put into this material if you’re going to put it on the disc. This seems like a catch-all effort; they had the material so they threw it on the disc. Finally, there is a collection of Blood Sick trailers—some look interesting, some not so much—but it’s cool to see this stuff is out there and getting made. Longo and his fellow filmmakers do get togethers and big ticketed screenings in Philly of their own and influential films and if I were close to Philly I’d very much like to attend one of those happenings. Maybe we’ll see down the line.
- Todd Doogan