[Film Review] The Craft (1996)

Directed by Andrew Fleming, The Craft follows Sarah Bailey (Robin Tunney) who after a suicide attempt, moves to a new city in hopes for a fresh start.

As Sarah is unpacking her things, a dishevelled man appears at her door holding a snake and says he knows something about her. This is the audience’s first hint that things aren’t all what they seem. Once she starts at her new catholic school, Sarah struggles to fit in but is ultimately welcomed by the “freaks” of the school also known as the “bitches of east wick”- Bonnie (Neve Campbell), Rochelle (Rachel True) and their ringleader Nancy (Fairuza Balk). They are excited by Sarah’s arrival, believing her to be a natural witch and the fourth and final person to invoke the 4 corners and bring forward Manon - the all great deity they worship. 

Right from the get-go we learn that the girls are the outsiders of the school, they’re dark and mysterious and not like the rest of their preppy classmates. Witchcraft is more than just a hobby or something to make them look cool or edgy but it helps them get through life and face the troubles of the world. It makes sense that they develop a thirst for power because it is the first time in their lives that they can control what happens to them. Rochelle is a victim of racism and wanted it to end, Bonnie was in a horrific fire and wanted to love herself again, Sarah feels as if death follows her and wants to be loved without pain and Nancy had to live through years of poverty and alcoholic abusive parents. Therefore, if they were able to tap into a power to make this all go away of course that’s what they’re going to do. In a way, the girls can’t be blamed for their actions, they wanted to give the world a taste of their own medicine, to treat them the way they have been treated their whole lives, but it begs the question- how far is too far? If all we care about is revenge, then soon enough we turn into something even worse than the original cause we were fighting for. 

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As the movie progresses and we see the shift of the girls becoming more powerful we also begin to see their true intentions. As Bonnie’s wish of beauty on the outside comes true, her inner beauty of kindness fades when she turns into a narcissist, Rochelle who’s only aim is to make her racist bully feel as low as she made her feel follows in a similar path as Bonnie, although she didn’t do anything inherently wrong, her silence and willingness to ignore the signs that things are getting out of hand contribute to the craziness that soon ensues. Nancy, who once just wished to no longer be “white trash” has now fully lost all control and the more powerful she gets, the more dangerous she becomes and it’s up to natural witch Sarah who ultimately only has light in her heart to try and stop the girls before anyone else gets hurt. 

 For many of us, witchcraft is an expression of feminism. To be so powerful where we can achieve what we want, no restraints, no fear. We can give in to those hidden desires and not be as scared to live our lives because we have the power and the strength to change it. 

 Personally, I believe that The Craft tells a tale as old as time. It portrays the message that powerful women are something to be feared. It’s been something that we have seen all throughout the history of media, when a woman is seen as powerful, she is also seen as “unhinged”. Just look at Carrie White, Willow Rosenberg, Jean Grey and Wanda Maximoff - to name a few. All powerful women who somehow let their emotions get the better of them and “lose control” and become evil. Why is this never the same when it comes to powerful men? 

It’s like the story of Medusa, who was a victim of sexual abuse at the hand of Poseidon and yet she’s the one who’s turned into a monster to be feared. Nancy mirrors the story of Medusa. She was a product of her environment and although she is portrayed as dark and brutal, that is just to cover up the fact that she feels alone and scared. She is always longing to feel safe. Sarah is naturally warm and powerful; she feels threatened that her safe haven she’s made with her friendship group is going to be stolen from her. If she doesn’t have all the power, then she has no power. 

 Although the film ends with Nancy being the villain, restrained in a mental asylum she can no longer cause harm to others. However, the real villain is how society sees and treats women who are cut from a different cloth. Nancy is mocked, taken advantage of and beaten down by life, time and time again so is it any wonder she gives into the darkness of Manon who lets her unleash all her pent-up anger. If Nancy would have had a proper support system like the other girls, then maybe things could have ended differently. She’d have found the inner strength to find a balance of dark and light.

The Craft’s combination of horror and teen angst is what has made it such a cult classic. At its core it tells a story that every young girl can relate to. We are told from a young age how we should look, how we should act and what we should accept from the world, but the movie gives us a form of escapism, to imagine what would we do if we were given the opportunity to make up our own rules and ultimately to look inside ourselves like Sarah did, to realise our true strength and that power comes from within. 

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