Title: The Craft Director: Andrew Fleming
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: May 3, 1996
Run Time: 101 minutes
Genres: Horror Thriller, Supernatural
Starring: Fairuza Balk, Robin Tunney, Neve Campbell, Rachel True
Where to Find It: Website
Where to Buy: Amazon
Rating:
Sarah has always been different. So as the new girl at St. Benedict's Academy, she immediately falls in with the high school outsiders. But these girls won't settle for being powerless misfits; they have discovered the Craft, and they are going to use it. Join a coven of teen witches with bad attitudes and the power to back them up.
Review
The Craft is a 1996 teen horror thriller film about a coven of witches coming into their power, and facing unexpected consequences. The film was a sleeper hit and went on to achieve cult classic status, and for good reason. The film pushed boundaries and was not afraid to explore darker themes in a film targeted toward a teenaged audience. The film is also notable for portraying witchcraft with respect for real Wiccan practices and is not as campy as other depictions of witches throughout film history.
The casting for this film was fantastic. Fairuza Balk is forever memorable for her intense portrayal of Nancy Downs, she steals every scene that she’s a part of. The film was a breakout success for relative newcomers Robin Tunney, Rachel True, Neve Campbell, and Skeet Ulrich, who all played their characters well, the latter two went on to star in Scream in the same year. It’s also worth highlighting the fashion in this film. When I watched this as a teen, I wanted to BE those girls, the film heavily influenced how I dressed.
As for the story, it’s fairly good and has aged pretty well. Sarah, a natural witch, has always had trouble fitting in. She moves to L.A. with her family and falls in line with the outcasts. Despite an icy introduction, the friendship formed between the girls feels empowering. Each of the girls has a difficult circumstance that they deal with, be it depression and mental health struggles, racism and bullying, physical disfigurement, or domestic abuse. Each girl has a wish to improve their lives, besides Sarah, whose motivation for the asshole jock to “like” her is less clear and not very fitting.
As the movie unfolds the relationship dynamic between the girls shifts and turns toxic. The film suffers from a contrived second half and a disappointing ending. I get the fallout between the the main protagonist and the eventual main antagonist, but the other two characters were less convincing. To be clear, I do like that there is conflict in this film and was just fine with the “be careful what you wish for” narrative. It’s not uncommon to see commentary about this film stating that viewers wished that it could’ve stayed all rainbows and sunshine with no group conflict, which is just silly.
The Craft is still a movie that I have a lot of affection for, despite my dislike of the ending. It’s a quintessential 90s film with a great soundtrack and an interesting story, it’s one of the better witchy films out there and worth the watch.
Quote
“You know, if I was pathetic as you are, I would have killed myself ages ago. You should get on with it.”
Content Warnings
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