In an attempt to drum up the attention and financial resources needed to film "Northwestern," Mark decides to finally complete "Coven" (which Borchardt mispronounces with a long 'o'), a horror short that he began shooting on 16mm film in 1994 but ultimately abandoned. Mark receives financing from his uncle Bill, a wise but increasingly senile eighty-two-year-old retiree who lives in a dilapidated trailer despite having nearly $300,000 in his bank account. Bill hesitantly agrees to invest in "Coven" with the goal of selling three thousand VHS tapes, which he hopes will raise enough capital to finance "Northwestern."