The Craft (1996) Movie Review

Director: Andrew Fleming

Writer: Peter Filardi, Andrew Fleming (Screenplay)

Starring: Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, Rachel True, Skeey Ulrich, Christine Taylor, Breckin Meyer

Plot: A newcomer to a Catholic prep high school falls in with a trio of outcast teenage girls who practice witchcraft, and they all soon conjure up various spells and curses against those who anger them.

Tagline – Welcome to the Witching Hour

Runtime: 1 Hour 41 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Halloween Treat

Story: The Craft starts when Sarah (Tunney) moves to a new school, she must go through the usual troubles a new student goes through, getting the attention of the high school jock Chris (Ulrich) as well as the three outsiders Nancy (Balk), Bonnie (Campbell) and Rochelle (True) who the school believe are witches.

Sarah does become friends with the group, with them using their witchcraft to cure the problems they are facing in life, be it guys, bullies or personal injuries, turning their lives around.

Thoughts on The Craft

Characters – Sarah is the new girl in the school, she tries her best to fit in, which sees her getting caught in the middle of people trying to impress her, with the high school jock wanting to make her his latest victim, while the three outsiders want to welcome her into the group, she does have a power which the others want, which helps her fit in with the other three. Nancy is the true outside, the rebel of the group, she does look like the typical goth you would expect to be involved in witchcraft. Bonnie does have her own problem with her life, an accident which left her burned, she is closed off to the world, until the spell lets her become free. Rochelle is a diver that suffers her own bullying, because of her look, there is racial motivation behind her bullying and just like the rest, they get to learn more about her life, once things change.

Performances – Robin Tunney is great to see in the new girl in class, she shows how difficult it will be to fit in, while Fairuza Balk shows us just how on edge her outsider character is. Neve Campbell is great in the hiding from the world role, showing how people hiding have secrets people don’t ask about, with Rachel True completely the group with ease, to show the four have chemistry that adds to the friends.

Story – The story here follows four high school students that start to dive into witchcraft with consequences that they enjoy to start with, but soon things become more deadly then they expect, tearing them apart until the power in them has gone. This is a story that does throw us into the ideas of needing to fit into school to start with, how the outsiders will have their own interests, where they shouldn’t be judged to start with, only it does show how outsiders will go to extreme lengths to try and make themselves feel better about their lives.

Fantasy/Horror – The fantasy in this film focuses on the reality of witchcraft, showing how the powers can get out of control, with horrific consequences between the four friends.

Settings – The film shows us the high school settings, which shows people trying to get their own identity, with the homes proving to have different secrets about their lives.

Special Effects – The film does use the effects when it comes to seeing how the spells are cast, we have plenty of floating and smoke machines to show this happening through the film.

Scene of the Movie – Things just went up a level after the beach night.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The bullying is what we have seen before and doesn’t seem to happen anymore.

Final Thoughts – This is a fun witch filled movie, it could well be the very best witch movie of the 90’s, as a genre that needed something fresh bought to it.

Overall: Best Witch Movie