The Craft (1996)

The Craft (1996) (see below for preview images)

Directed by Andrew Fleming
Written by Andrew Fleming and Peter Filardi
 
Starring: Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, and Rachel True
 
Ahhh, a blast from the past. This film is always a hit with chicks. Especially teenagers.  Not that that is a bad thing.  Just kind of lets you know what you are getting into.
 
Sarah is a teenage girl that moves to a new town and starts a new school.  Being the new kid is always rough.  But she soon becomes friends with three other girls, all of whom are outcasts for various reasons, including the fact that it’s rumored they are witches.
 
Sarah and these three girls, Nancy, Bonnie and Rachelle, soon form a coven and start REALLY delving into the world of witchcraft.  They eventually cast spells on various people in their lives in order to make things the way they think they want them to be.  Sarah makes a guy named Chris fall in love with her but, he falls way too hard and is practically obsessed with her.  Rachelle gets revenge on a girl at school who is exceptionally cruel to her by making her hair fall out to the point where she has to wear a hat and wig every day.  Nancy makes it to where her stepfather has a heart attack and dies and she and her mom get his life insurance policy, finally allowing them the life they’ve always wanted.  And Bonnie…Bonnie gets rid of her burn scars that have plagued her for the majority of her life, making her feel like the beautiful swan instead of the ugly duckling, monster or freak.
 
As their new lives start to spiral out of control and Nancy starts to go overboard with her newfound power, Nancy and Sarah start to butt heads.  Eventually, the three girls turn against Sarah and begin to use magic on her. Although they’ve been warned by the woman who owns the store where they buy their magic supplies that whatever they send out, they get back three-fold, the girls are in too deep with their new world that they have manipulated.
 
Sarah tries to keep Chris at bay but, he is so head over heels in love with her that he just can’t leave her be.  He finally convinces her to go out on a dinner date.  When he picks her up he takes her to some cliff area and tries to make a few moves on her.  She rebuffs him and he gets a little insistent, so she gets out of the car. He gets out after her and it spooks her, so she starts to run.  Chris chases her and catches up to her as she stumbles trying to get up the rocky hill. He gets on top of her and pins her down as he tries to undo his pants to have sex with her.  She knees him and runs away, leaving him very distressed and seemingly upset and frustrated.
 
Sarah goes to her friends for help.  Nancy, who has already had bad experiences with Chris, gets very upset and leaves to seek revenge.  She finds Chris at a house party, tricks him with magic and ends up killing him.
 
Now Sarah really wants nothing to do with these girls.  And they are pissed.  Eventually, after some torment, they finally confront her.  It becomes a battle of wills, power and magic between Sarah and Nancy. Eventually, Sarah wins and Nancy ends up in a mental hospital.  And now that the four of them are no longer a group, Rachelle and Bonnie have lost their powers…but, Sarah hasn’t.  She’s stronger than ever and in complete control.  And she warns the girls about their behavior, telling them they don’t want to end up like Nancy.
 
THE END
 
I’ve always liked this movie.  I think it’s a good witchy movie without being cheesy.  The film has death, magic, humor and at one point, lots and lots of bugs. All kinds of bugs.  And they are everywhere.  Like in Creepshow’s “They’re Creeping Up On You”.  It’s disgusting.  
 
This was before Neve Campbell got her big role in Scream.  The movie isn’t bad and is one that can be watched over and over again. Fairuza Balk (Nancy) is pretty good in this film.  She has a creepy edge; she really always has.  Robin Tunney, who plays Sarah, isn’t bad but, she’s got a couple of moments where, if I were her, I wouldn’t be too proud.  She has a scene where the girls are after her and she’s running down a dark street trying to look all scared but, seriously people, nobody looks like that when they run…not naturally anyways.  It’s truly the epitome of the big-breasted airhead running around looking ridiculous.  Other than that, she’s alright.
 
This isn’t a movie that has a lot of blood and gore but it does have the definite horror aspect that we tend to look for.  All in all, a good film.
 
RATINGS
3.5/5 Stars