The Craft: A Salmagundi of Sorcery, Sisterhood, and So-So
The Craft is a 1996 American supernatural teen horror flick directed by Andrew Fleming and starring Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, and Rachel True.
It follows the story of a troubled teenage girl (Sarah) who has just moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles with her father and stepmother. She enrols in a local Catholic high school but has trouble fitting in, but eventually befriends three other girls… who practice witchcraft. The four girls soon begin to experiment with their powers, but as they become more powerful, they also become more dangerous. It is a tale about growing up that is spiced with dark humour and over-the-top horror.
The film was a product of its time. It is a bubbling cauldron of an alt-rock soundtrack, themes of female empowerment and neo-paganism. In all, it is an interesting and entertaining brew, but this concoction however, is overridden with the bitter taste of overdone clichés, and an overpowering reliance on special effects – leading to a bad taste left at the end of the film.
The strength of the film comes more from the cast as opposed to the plot itself. The characters are fleshed out and believable. The script, however, has more style than substance, and the special effects are bewitching.
The coven’s early spell-casting attempts are amusing to watch – levitation, alopecia imposed on the school’s queen bitch. Things take a sinister turn when “head witch” Nancy uses her powers to murderous effect, and Sarah wants out! There’s also enough dark humour to enjoy, though the purposeful efforts to appeal to an adolescent audience mean The Craft is never quite as twisted as it could be.
In the last third of The Craft, it feels that the message of female empowerment is lost. The coven turns psycho on the protagonist Sarah, giving us the message that power corrupts all. Female empowerment may be characterised as everyone recognising women’s points of view, allowing women to make life-changing decisions through many societal difficulties, and giving women the option to redefine gender roles, giving them greater flexibility to achieve desired goals. So not only does power corrupt its owner, but it does so in such a way that you will use it to make others conform – which is exactly what female empowerment is against.
Bearing in mind its flaws, do not be put off from watching this film. It is very entertaining, and not short of a good scare or two.
