Oct 051996
 
three reels

Melancholy teen, Sarah (Robin Tunney) moves to L.A. and becomes the latest outsider at a Catholic school.  Nancy (Fairuza Balk), Bonnie (Neve Campbell), and Rochelle (Rachel True), three outcast and psychologically damaged teens, recognize her as the needed fourth for their “coven.”  With Sarah participating in rituals, their spells work, too well.  Worse, the normal failings of the girls are amplified by their newfound power.

A combo teen-girl-empowerment and revenge flick, The Craft puts the final stake into the old, ugly, Satanic witch and replaces her with the young, hot, Wiccan.  No more pointed hats; it’s goth dance tunes, black eyeliner, and long, long legs.

The four over-aged teen stars are attractive, sexy, and stylish, particularly when fulfilling fantasies in re-cut catholic school girl uniforms.  They are also right on the money in their portrayal of self-involved, high school girls.  Tunney mixes “nice” and lost, creating a believable character that I could care about.  Balk takes over every scene with her troubled and troubling goth, and she is likely to be the one you remember after the credits roll.

How much you like The Craft will largely be determined on how much you believe its portrayal of high school, or perhaps I should say, how much its portrayal matches your experience.  If you were (are) the popular football hero or homecoming queen, you won’t see much familiar, but for a majority of viewers, these are the people you remember.  None of them are pure and good, and a majority are atrocious, though generally for a reason.

The Craft has taken a lot of criticism for not teaching morals or answering all the questions of high school.  I would have been disappointed if it gave simple answers. There aren’t any.  Sarah doesn’t become a kindly soul and Nancy, Bonnie, and Rochelle are not sorry for their misdeeds, which is fine by me as I didn’t need a fable.  While the overly informative occult-bookseller does state a golden-rule for magic (you get paid back three times for what you do), that ends up irrelevant.  Sarah’s success comes from learning to be comfortable with herself and realizing she isn’t responsible for her mother’s death.  I suppose that’s a moral.

With all the buildup, the climatic magic duel is a disappointment.  It is far too surrealistic and lacks drama.  Since the outcome is predictable, it needs to have excitement and action in the execution.  Instead, it is mainly Sarah walking around and looking over her shoulder.

The Craft suffers from being too true to teen life and too slight on magic and fantasy.  I remember being a teen; I don’t need to watch it.

 Reviews, Witches Tagged with: