Coven (pronounced respell) is a 1997 American short independent horror film written, directed by and starring Mark Borchardt. The making of the film was chronicled in the 1999 documentary film American Movie. Coven was shot in black-and-white with local talent around Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Plot

Mike is a writer struggling with a lack of artistic productivity. To deal with the pressures he feels from within and without, he escalates his abuse of alcohol. One day, when faced with overwhelming deadlines, he takes a large quantity of pills with alcohol, resulting in an overdose and hospitalization. When Steve takes notice of Mike's increasing volatility and isolation, he confronts the defensive writer, showing genuine concern for his friend's self-destructive behavior in the process. It is suggested, by the lack of others at the intervention, that Steve may be the only friend Mike has left. Steve asks Mike to join him at a support group with which he is affiliated and, after gaining some perspective, Mike agrees. Soon, however, Mike comes to realize that the group has a deeper occult agenda and uses extreme, sometimes supernatural, tactics to "help" new members remain clean and sober.