The Craft
“There is no good or bad magic; it is both. That is because nature is both.”
(No, they aren't going to break into It's Raining Men....)
There was a trend throughout pre-teen and teenage girls in the late 90’s; a trend that scared every parent to their wits! Where every sleep over was shrouded in mysterious chanting and candlelight. Spells, witches and more were whispered in hushed tones and everyone had come down with something serious…..the craft.
No?
Just me?
No phone else tried pin-prick their friends then drink blood laced milk?
*cough*
Back in 1996, The Craft came into our lives and for that, we are better for it. Set in Los Angeles, Sarah (Robin Tunney) has been moved from San Francisco. At her Catholic School (irony,) Sarah befriends a group of outcast girls; Nancy (Fairuza Balk,) Bonnie (Neve Campbell) and Rochelle (Rachel True.) However, these girls are known for dabbling in witchcraft and realising Sarah’s potential, invite her into their coven. Soon, Sarah and Co are dabbling up spells and invoking spirits to solve their problems. But even the most earnest of spells have consquencces as our ladies are sure to find out.
(They are just hanging around, catching up on old noose...)
Just like Drop Dead Gorgeous beforehand, I downright refuse to put this as Guilty Pleasure just because Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic say its rubbish. Why? Because The Craft is actually really good. It’s a pretty (I said pretty not completely) accurate portrayal of some elements of Wicca (Baulk is actually a Wiccan and helped producers make the film more realistic.) It also shows a much darker side to all this magic malarkey. For example, the “power of three” consequence is strife within this movie and simple shows that no matter how much you want something it will also bite you in the arse. What’s more, when it comes to those magical moments then the special effects aren’t really that bad for a 90’s movie (seeing as over 3000 snakes and bugs were used, it’s hard to make them look fake.) In fact, if you watch it now, sure you may snicker at parts but it is more convincing then films such as Sharktopus. They really do stand the test of time and believe me, there are a lot of effects that could have gone wrong.
But not only is the CGI convincing enough to make young girls believe that you could lift your fat friend into the air using words and two fingers; the Craft has something more. The characters and acting within this are just brilliant. Fairuza Balk, since growing into her crazy looks, plays completely terrifyingly insane extremely well. Her Nancy, who takes one sip of power and goes loco, is sublimely frightening and sadistic within the film. She is held up well by the painfully shy Bonnie and the bullied Rachel. The outcast element here is down to a tee. Each character has their own struggles and battles, looking at the rest of the world from the space they have been shoved in. Each is portrayed subtely and beautiful by our lead cast. They invoke all different kinds of emotions from sadness to anger, each suited for their role.
(Less naked pillow fights at sleepovers and more trying to do this.....
I just ruined a lot of men's dreams)
Which brings me on to Robin Tumney who I believe is a seriously underrated actress (you can find her on The Mentalist….since I last watched it.) She is wonderful to watch as the broken heroine who is good with a wicked side as well. You root for her but you know that she is dangerous as well. She’s the kind of hero you relate to, even if she is wiggling her magic fingers in a love spell.
The Craft is chilling, terrifying and gets under your skin. There is also an incredible soundtrack despite the usual “How Soon Is Now” that seems to be the staple for Witches everywhere. But I heard someone say this about The Craft, and I believe it so; The Craft is a good movie sandwiched in a bad genre. No one sees movies aimed at teens because in general, they are the same and once you grow old, they don’t appeal to you. The Craft is an exception that’s breaks the rule and sadly, with the release of a film that shan’t be named (Twilight) It’s going to be lumped in with the teen supernatural genre before it’s given a chance.
And that’s a curse that needs breaking.
TTFN.
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