The Craft (B or 3/4 stars)
4 girls at an L.A. Catholic prep school form a coven of witches that cast spells on their classmates in 'The Craft', directed by Andrew Fleming. Sarah (Robin Tunney), a 16 yr. old with a troubled past & a history of suicidal tendencies/hallucination, moves to California with her dad & stepmom to start life anew. It is at Catholic school that she meets with the 3 unlikeliest friends of all; Nancy, Bonnie, & Rochelle (Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, Rachel True). Not only are they social outcasts with their own personal issues, but they are witches; practicing the occult with various spells & curses. This includes chants about earth, wind, air & fire, levitation spells & manifestations. Even some loathsome students refer to them as The Bitches of Eastwick.
Before long, they notice that Sarah has some telekinetic powers herself, & convince her to join their coven. Once she's joined, the original threesome realizes that with a 4th witch, they can cast spells of more potency. i.e., Nancy, the strongest of the foursome, and a product of a white-trash background (with a drunk mom & abusive stepdad) can start to turn things around for herself & her mom. Sarah can now trick a boy into liking her. Bonnie has body scars that she can now erase. Rochelle is the only black girl in the school and is taunted by a nasty blonde girl. Rochelle can now make the blonde beauty lose all her hair, etc. With that kind of limitless power, they can all start to amend all the wrong things in their lives. But the spells they unleash have consequences. Each one gets grander & grander in scope. A love spell leads to assault. Their newfound powers overwhelm them. And a power struggle btwn. the foursome leads to disaster.
'The Craft' is supernatural hokum, but it's fairly fun, sometimes creepy, & decently acted. The script is probably the worst aspect of the movie; never a good sign. But overall, I think this could be a minor cult hit. I like the idea that 4 smart, but highly troubled high school girls 'could' develop witch skills, conjure spells, & wreak havoc. That's just a fun notion for a film. But don't be mistaken. For as fun as portions of the film is, it does have that horror/thriller component. Crazy stuff happens both to and from these characters. Not everything ends all peachy keen for these people.
The 4 main actresses are solid. Robin Tunney is convincing as Sarah. Neve Campbell really impressed me as a highly sensitive girl who also has a caustic nature about her. I never knew whether to pull for her or rail against her. Rachel True's smile is deceiving (in a good way). And Fairuza Balk (once Dorothy Gale in 1985's Return to Oz) is psychotic as Nancy. I was literally scared to look at her on the screen, at times. Her character arc is very dark. Now, the special effects are a bit hokey. The black comedy works only intermittently. And the whole witchcraft concept is not given a proper, intelligent screenplay to work from. I'll enjoy putting this in from time to time years from now. But I totally see how this grim, almost mean-spirited film won't fly for everyone.
Before long, they notice that Sarah has some telekinetic powers herself, & convince her to join their coven. Once she's joined, the original threesome realizes that with a 4th witch, they can cast spells of more potency. i.e., Nancy, the strongest of the foursome, and a product of a white-trash background (with a drunk mom & abusive stepdad) can start to turn things around for herself & her mom. Sarah can now trick a boy into liking her. Bonnie has body scars that she can now erase. Rochelle is the only black girl in the school and is taunted by a nasty blonde girl. Rochelle can now make the blonde beauty lose all her hair, etc. With that kind of limitless power, they can all start to amend all the wrong things in their lives. But the spells they unleash have consequences. Each one gets grander & grander in scope. A love spell leads to assault. Their newfound powers overwhelm them. And a power struggle btwn. the foursome leads to disaster.
'The Craft' is supernatural hokum, but it's fairly fun, sometimes creepy, & decently acted. The script is probably the worst aspect of the movie; never a good sign. But overall, I think this could be a minor cult hit. I like the idea that 4 smart, but highly troubled high school girls 'could' develop witch skills, conjure spells, & wreak havoc. That's just a fun notion for a film. But don't be mistaken. For as fun as portions of the film is, it does have that horror/thriller component. Crazy stuff happens both to and from these characters. Not everything ends all peachy keen for these people.
The 4 main actresses are solid. Robin Tunney is convincing as Sarah. Neve Campbell really impressed me as a highly sensitive girl who also has a caustic nature about her. I never knew whether to pull for her or rail against her. Rachel True's smile is deceiving (in a good way). And Fairuza Balk (once Dorothy Gale in 1985's Return to Oz) is psychotic as Nancy. I was literally scared to look at her on the screen, at times. Her character arc is very dark. Now, the special effects are a bit hokey. The black comedy works only intermittently. And the whole witchcraft concept is not given a proper, intelligent screenplay to work from. I'll enjoy putting this in from time to time years from now. But I totally see how this grim, almost mean-spirited film won't fly for everyone.