The Craft (1996)

One of the '90s fads no one talks about much anymore is Wicca.  Despite being based on ancient traditions the religion itself has only been around since the late 1800s and began being popularized as an alternative to organized religion in the 1960s, despite many covens and divisions of Wicca being quite organized themselves.  Anton La Vey swiped a good deal of Gardnerian Wiccanism wholesale for The Satanic Bible, just omitting the parts about doing no harm, and I'm sure the idea of a bunch of young women leaping around a fire naked appealed to many young men at the time.

Truth is, when one gets into it, it is like any other religion.  It has its rules and, if one practices with others, even more rules and schisms and such.  Humans just can't help fighting over whose interpretation of a religion is right and, for those on a spiritual search, it is one more lesson learned.  Still, for a while, it appealed to both women looking for a belief system that empowered them and men looking for something other than a Sunday sermon.  The promise of being able to do magic - really more of a way of manifesting personal goals but couched in rhymes and spells - didn't hurt.  It also didn't hurt that it could be done on a budget. 

Like any trend there is going to be someone that comes along to either exploit it or bring it more into the mainstream.  Andrew Fleming, director and co-writer with Peter Filardi, did just that with The Craft.  While new age beliefs were already prevalent The Craft presented both a fantasy outlet for outcast teens as well as a decent horror film.  Although quite a bit of the Wicca presented, including the fictional god Manon, has nothing to do with actual practice, it was still rather entertaining and had a tinge of authenticity that drew more people to at least see what the religion was about, with hopes that the whole lesson about consequences of selfish behavior in the last third of the movie would strike home.

Sarah Bailey (Robin Tunney) has moved with her father (Cliff De Young) from San Francisco to a large, rundown home in Los Angeles.  She finds fitting into her new school, a Catholic institution called St. Benedict's, a bit difficult, particularly when she rejects the sexual advances of a football player named Chris (Skeet Ulrich) who ends up spreading rumors about her.  She does find acceptance in a group of outcasts after Bonnie (Neve Campbell), one of a circle of witches, notices her absent-mindedly using her powers.

The group is led by Nancy (Fairuza Balk) and also includes Rochelle (Rachel True), the only black girl at the school.  Bonnie suffers disdain because of burn scars on her body, while Nancy has a dysfunctional home life and Rochelle faces racial discrimination.  With Sarah as their fourth member they begin to explore their powers, overcome their obstacles and, in the case of Rochelle, take revenge.  Sarah isn't innocent, creating her own stalker in Chris after casting a love spell.  As for Nancy, she has no problem causing harm to get what she needs, and after Sarah decides to leave the group after a tragedy she finds herself the target of her former friends. 

The Craft was rather popular at the time it came out, not just as a chick flick but also with horror fans as well.  For Neve Campbell and Skeet Ulrich this movie went hand-in-hand with Scream to identify them both with the horror genre, while this was a breakout role for Fairuza Balk, who was mistakenly reported at the time to be a practicing witch.  It is certainly a unique role and her performance often teeters into the ridiculous as Nancy becomes the true antagonist in the film.  Rachel True, unfortunately, was treated by the studio much the same way Rochelle was treated by her fellow students, often being left out press interviews despite the fact that she has equal time on screen rest of the cast.  

While Balk's role as Nancy is unforgettable Robin Tunney does a decent job of carrying the film.  She has a bit of a late '80s Jodie Foster vibe, much different than the role she played in Empire Records.  She also gets points for being brave enough to walk through a house full of bugs and snakes, although she opted for a double when it came to having rats dropped on her.  She is also low key through most of the movie, not flying into hysterics but rather being strong when she has to.  

The Craft is strongest in the beginning when the characters are introduced and when their powers manifest, with some interesting twists once they begin to abuse what has been given them.  The third act is a bit predictable and occasionally suffers from either poor editing or a lack of solid ideas of how to get to the end.  There are some promising threads, including the woman who owns an occult bookstore (Assumpta Lerna) and Sarah's mother, neither of which are explored as they should be despite the fact that they may have reached some of the usual conclusions of most young adult films.  Also, though rated R, it was only because of the puritanical nature of the MPAA that did not want Wicca to be promoted to teens.  Otherwise, despite having more blood than a modern PG-13 film, it falls completely within that realm, as it was Fleming's goal.  There is no nudity and only one f-bomb, fulfilling the requirements perfectly.

There was supposed to be a direct-to-video sequel to this but that was abandoned.  Instead, Fox had at one point approached Fleming to make The Craft into a series.  They passed, but the WB ended up making Charmed, which was pretty much taking the premise of The Craft and turning into a hit series without crediting, or paying, Fleming.  Still, his movie is fondly remembered as a key '90s horror film despite some flaws in pacing and its superficial approach to Wicca.  

The Craft (1996)

Time: 101 minutes

Starring: Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, Rachel True, Skeet Ulrich

Director: Andrew Fleming