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The Craft (film)
Encyclopedia
The Craft is a 1996 American supernatural teen horror film
directed by Andrew Fleming
and starring Robin Tunney
, Rachel True
, Fairuza Balk
and Neve Campbell
. The film's plot centers on a group of four teenage girls who pursue witchcraft
and use it for their own gain. The film was released on May 3, 1996 by Columbia Pictures
.
), a troubled teenager, has just moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles
with her father and stepmother. At her new school, she forms a friendship with a group of girls rumored to be witches, Bonnie (Neve Campbell
), Nancy (Fairuza Balk
) and Rochelle (Rachel True
). At the same time, Sarah becomes attracted to the popular Chris (Skeet Ulrich
).
Sarah exhibits supernatural powers from the onset of the film, and her new friends believe that she will complete their coven
, making them all powerful. When Sarah is harassed by a vagrant, he is immediately hit by a car and the girls believe that together they willed it to happen.
After a date with Chris, Sarah is upset to find that he has spread the false rumor that they have had sex, and now treats her disrespectfully. In response, Sarah casts a love spell upon him, while Rochelle casts a revenge spell on a hateful racist bully Laura Lizzie (Christine Taylor
), Bonnie casts a spell for beauty, and Nancy for power. It very soon becomes clear that the spells have been successful: Chris becomes infatuated with Sarah, scars that Bonnie has on her back miraculously
heal, and Rochelle's bully Laura begins to lose her hair. Nancy goes further by causing her abusive step father to have a heart attack and die.
Nancy becomes greedy for power and encourages the others to join her in a rite called "invoking the spirit". On completion of the spell she is seen to be struck by lightning and afterwards lacks empathy and begins taking risks with her life and those of others.
The spells that the girls have cast begin to show negative outcomes; Bonnie becomes more conceited each day; Rochelle feels remorse as her bully Laura Lizzie is seen bald and hysterically sobbing; Sarah's love spell goes too far when Chris attempts to rape her. In retaliation Nancy uses her power to kill Chris.
Sarah performs a binding spell to prevent Nancy from doing harm, but this does not work and the coven turns on Sarah, invading her dreams, threatening her and finally using their powers of illusion to make Sarah believe that her parents have been killed in an accident. They taunt her with visions of swarms of insects and snakes and try to persuade her to commit suicide, before Nancy cuts Sarah's wrists herself. Sarah successfully "invokes the spirit" and is able to heal herself and fight back. Sarah scares off Bonnie and Rochelle and defeats Nancy, binding her power to prevent her from doing harm. As the film closes, we see Nancy in a psychiatric hospital.
The Film was recently aired in the UK on Channel 5 on the 4th September 2011. It is Only available on dvd in the UK as the Blu ray has been discontinued (for now) there is no word yet if it will be released on Blu-ray in the UK. The Film has also been released in Australia, USA, Canada and New Zealand.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Andrew Fleming
Andrew Fleming
Andrew Fleming is an American film and television director and screenwriter. He directed and wrote or co-wrote the films Bad Dreams, Threesome, The Craft, Dick, Nancy Drew and Hamlet 2. He also directed, without writing, the 2003 film The In-Laws...
and starring Robin Tunney
Robin Tunney
Robin Jessica Tunney is an American actress. She is best known for her lead roles in the movie The Craft and the television series Prison Break and The Mentalist.-Early life:...
, Rachel True
Rachel True
Rachel India True is an American film and television actress.-Career:In 1991, True had some appearances , beginning a string of TV jobs, including turns on Beverly Hills, 90210, The Drew Carey Show, Once and Again, and HBO's Dream On. By 1993, she had moved to Los Angeles and appeared opposite...
, Fairuza Balk
Fairuza Balk
Fairuza Alejandra Balk is an American film actress. She made her theatrical film debut as Dorothy Gale in Disney's Return to Oz...
and Neve Campbell
Neve Campbell
Neve Adrianne Campbell is a Canadian actress. After beginning her career on stage, and on numerous commercials, she starred on the Canadian television series Catwalk. She then rose to international fame on the Golden Globe-winning 1990s television series Party of Five, playing the role of teenager...
. The film's plot centers on a group of four teenage girls who pursue witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
and use it for their own gain. The film was released on May 3, 1996 by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
.
Plot
Sarah Bailey (Robin TunneyRobin Tunney
Robin Jessica Tunney is an American actress. She is best known for her lead roles in the movie The Craft and the television series Prison Break and The Mentalist.-Early life:...
), a troubled teenager, has just moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
with her father and stepmother. At her new school, she forms a friendship with a group of girls rumored to be witches, Bonnie (Neve Campbell
Neve Campbell
Neve Adrianne Campbell is a Canadian actress. After beginning her career on stage, and on numerous commercials, she starred on the Canadian television series Catwalk. She then rose to international fame on the Golden Globe-winning 1990s television series Party of Five, playing the role of teenager...
), Nancy (Fairuza Balk
Fairuza Balk
Fairuza Alejandra Balk is an American film actress. She made her theatrical film debut as Dorothy Gale in Disney's Return to Oz...
) and Rochelle (Rachel True
Rachel True
Rachel India True is an American film and television actress.-Career:In 1991, True had some appearances , beginning a string of TV jobs, including turns on Beverly Hills, 90210, The Drew Carey Show, Once and Again, and HBO's Dream On. By 1993, she had moved to Los Angeles and appeared opposite...
). At the same time, Sarah becomes attracted to the popular Chris (Skeet Ulrich
Skeet Ulrich
Bryan Ray Trout , best known as Skeet Ulrich, is an American actor best known for starring in the CBS drama Jericho as Jake Green and for portraying Billy Loomis in Scream...
).
Sarah exhibits supernatural powers from the onset of the film, and her new friends believe that she will complete their coven
Coven
A coven or covan is a name used to describe a gathering of witches or in some cases vampires. Due to the word's association with witches, a gathering of Wiccans, followers of the witchcraft-based neopagan religion of Wicca, is also described as a coven....
, making them all powerful. When Sarah is harassed by a vagrant, he is immediately hit by a car and the girls believe that together they willed it to happen.
After a date with Chris, Sarah is upset to find that he has spread the false rumor that they have had sex, and now treats her disrespectfully. In response, Sarah casts a love spell upon him, while Rochelle casts a revenge spell on a hateful racist bully Laura Lizzie (Christine Taylor
Christine Taylor
Christine Taylor-Stiller is an American actress.- Early life :Taylor was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joan, a homemaker, and Skip Taylor, an owner of a security company. She grew up in neighboring Wescosville, Pennsylvania...
), Bonnie casts a spell for beauty, and Nancy for power. It very soon becomes clear that the spells have been successful: Chris becomes infatuated with Sarah, scars that Bonnie has on her back miraculously
Miracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
heal, and Rochelle's bully Laura begins to lose her hair. Nancy goes further by causing her abusive step father to have a heart attack and die.
Nancy becomes greedy for power and encourages the others to join her in a rite called "invoking the spirit". On completion of the spell she is seen to be struck by lightning and afterwards lacks empathy and begins taking risks with her life and those of others.
The spells that the girls have cast begin to show negative outcomes; Bonnie becomes more conceited each day; Rochelle feels remorse as her bully Laura Lizzie is seen bald and hysterically sobbing; Sarah's love spell goes too far when Chris attempts to rape her. In retaliation Nancy uses her power to kill Chris.
Sarah performs a binding spell to prevent Nancy from doing harm, but this does not work and the coven turns on Sarah, invading her dreams, threatening her and finally using their powers of illusion to make Sarah believe that her parents have been killed in an accident. They taunt her with visions of swarms of insects and snakes and try to persuade her to commit suicide, before Nancy cuts Sarah's wrists herself. Sarah successfully "invokes the spirit" and is able to heal herself and fight back. Sarah scares off Bonnie and Rochelle and defeats Nancy, binding her power to prevent her from doing harm. As the film closes, we see Nancy in a psychiatric hospital.
Cast
- Robin TunneyRobin TunneyRobin Jessica Tunney is an American actress. She is best known for her lead roles in the movie The Craft and the television series Prison Break and The Mentalist.-Early life:...
as Sarah Bailey: She is a natural witch who commits to the Craft after being introduced to it by Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle. Her difficulty with her powers has led her to attempt suicide at least once. - Fairuza BalkFairuza BalkFairuza Alejandra Balk is an American film actress. She made her theatrical film debut as Dorothy Gale in Disney's Return to Oz...
as Nancy Downs: Nancy is a sexually agressive, ill-tempered girl who has a tumultuous personal life, including an abusive stepfather. - Neve CampbellNeve CampbellNeve Adrianne Campbell is a Canadian actress. After beginning her career on stage, and on numerous commercials, she starred on the Canadian television series Catwalk. She then rose to international fame on the Golden Globe-winning 1990s television series Party of Five, playing the role of teenager...
as Bonnie: Bonnie is a quiet, withdrawn girl due to fire burn scars she has sustained through an unspecified childhood injury. - Rachel TrueRachel TrueRachel India True is an American film and television actress.-Career:In 1991, True had some appearances , beginning a string of TV jobs, including turns on Beverly Hills, 90210, The Drew Carey Show, Once and Again, and HBO's Dream On. By 1993, she had moved to Los Angeles and appeared opposite...
as Rochelle: Rochelle is the token African-American girl and the target of racial slurs from Laura Lizzie. - Skeet UlrichSkeet UlrichBryan Ray Trout , best known as Skeet Ulrich, is an American actor best known for starring in the CBS drama Jericho as Jake Green and for portraying Billy Loomis in Scream...
as Chris Hooker: Sarah develops a crush on Chris her first day at the new school. - Christine TaylorChristine TaylorChristine Taylor-Stiller is an American actress.- Early life :Taylor was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joan, a homemaker, and Skip Taylor, an owner of a security company. She grew up in neighboring Wescosville, Pennsylvania...
as Laura Lizzie: A popular, racist girl who victimizes Rochelle and exhibits contempt for Sarah. - Helen ShaverHelen ShaverHelen Shaver is a Canadian actress and film and television director.-Early life:Shaver was born and raised in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, a small city located near London, Ontario, with five sisters...
as Grace Downs: Nancy's long-suffering, alcoholic, depressed mother who inherits a fortune when her partner dies after her daughter Nancy cast's a spell for her and her mother not to be white trashWhite trashWhite trash is an American English pejorative term referring to poor white people in the United States, suggesting lower social class and degraded living standards...
anymore. - Assumpta SernaAssumpta SernaAssumpta Serna is a Spanish actress. She is known for her roles in I, The Worst of All portraying famous Mexican religious scholar Sor Juana, Nostradamus, The Craft, and Wild Orchid, although she may be most remembered for her role as Peninsular War guerrilla commander Teresa Moreno in the first...
as Lirio: She is the owner of an occult shop and attempts to warn the girls about the consequences of misusing the Craft.
Box office
- According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, The Craft is the 8th highest grossing movie since 1980 dealing with the genre of witches.
- A straight-to-DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
sequelSequelA sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
was in the works, but was cancelled.
The Film was recently aired in the UK on Channel 5 on the 4th September 2011. It is Only available on dvd in the UK as the Blu ray has been discontinued (for now) there is no word yet if it will be released on Blu-ray in the UK. The Film has also been released in Australia, USA, Canada and New Zealand.