The Puritans in Salem, Massachusetts 1692, those self-righteous persecutors of women falsely accused of being witches, have more than the savage goings on in their day to answer for.

They have ‘inspired’ quite a lot of lesser horror stories (although Arthur Miller immortalised them effectively in The Crucible) – The Covenant is the latest.

What if several families formed a covenant to protect their supranatural powers, keep them secret and hand them on for generations? “Until now!”, as the opening of this film reveals.

Four seventeen year old high school students at a private institution all have the powers.  One of them, the very earnest Caleb (Steven Strait) knows from sad family experience that the more one uses the powers, the more life and energy they use up.  And the trouble is that it is addictive.  He is about to turn eighteen and ‘ascend’, inheriting greater powers.  So far, so good.  However, a couple of his friends waste their powers.  And, more however, somebody mysterious is exercising even greater powers.  Could it be the handsome new student?  Of course.

Caleb is destined to confront the usurper.  Meanwhile, he has fallen for the attractive Sarah (Laura Ramsay) who has transferred from a public school.  His mother is an alcoholic because Caleb’s father became addicted to power and grew prematurely old.  The father holds the solution to the final battle.

As with so many American soap operas, most of the young cast all look the same, so that one has to check on the different coats Caleb and his foe wear to tell who is who.  It doesn’t matter all that much because one is looking at the very flashy action and you know who is going to win.  A male alternative to Charmed?

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