Finely Crafted
 Jun 27th, 2004
Advantages:
It has teenage witches and stuff so it must be cool
Disadvantages:
It isn't bad, but could've done better with the material
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
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Story
Characters / Performances
Special Effects
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  a-true-ben
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Where did January go?
Member since:30.06.2001
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Review rated by 75 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
Andrew Fleming (director)’s 1996 teen-witch film ‘The Craft’ was one I’d been looking forward to seeing for some time and I finally caught it on TV recently. It’s a difficult one to categorise though – it doesn’t quite fit in with teen-horrors like Scream, but nor is it the more straightforward teen flick about dating (e.g. American Pie). In fact, in a fairly loose sense, it’s like a cross between the two! In case you aren’t familiar with the film at all, the ‘craft’ referred to in the title is witchcraft. The film centres around four schoolgirls practising magic, in a somewhat Willow-from-Buffy (or, dare I say it) Sabrina fashion.
(Watch out for plot elements in the next four paragraphs) Sarah (Robin Tunney) is a new girl in LA, her family having moved from San Francisco. At first, she doesn’t fit in at her new school, until she runs into the ‘Bitches of Eastwick’ – three girls (Nancy (Fairuza Balk), Bonnie (Neve Campbell) and Rochelle (Rachel True)). The group have already been practising magic (I think, although it’s not clear they were really doing much more than dabbling in the occult and wearing black make up!), but are looking for a fourth witch to complete their coven. They discover in Sarah latent magical abilities (inherited from her dead mother) and she joins their circle.
The group are all in some way ‘outcasts’ from the mainstream and shunned by the ‘cool’ majority at school. Sarah
refused to go ‘all the way’ on a first ‘date’ with jock Chris Hooker (Street Ulrich – are these names for real?) so he told everyone she was a ‘lousy shag’. Nancy, seemingly the gang’s de facto leader, comes from a poor, white trash family with a violent father. Rochelle is bullied by other girls because she is black and Bonnie’s back is covered in burn scars, which seem to deeply upset her and affect her confidence. After visiting a strange occult shop, and buying (and stealing) books, candles and other witchcraft paraphernalia, the gang realise the potential of their magic after levitating Rochelle and casting spells in a field – hoping to solve the aforementioned teenage ‘life issues’.
At first their magic is used for the fairly trivial things you might expect from teenagers, their own amusement, boy trouble and the like. Soon, however, it begins to get more serious. Nancy in particular is seduced by the power of witchcraft, and begins over-using her magic. Sarah learns that ‘what goes around, comes around’ and urges temperance, but the others laugh at her even when the effects of their spells begin to spiral out of control. This ultimately leads to a split in the coven, and a final showdown between Sarah and Nancy (I’ll try not to spoil the ending, but you can probably guess who emerges victorious). (Should be safe to read from now on, although I’ll still be mentioning various events)
Generally I thought the acting was pretty good from a young cast, and I’m surprised some (especially Tunney) haven’t gone on to bigger things (I believe Tunney’s recent appearances have been in ‘End of Days’ and ‘Vertical Limit’). Balk seemed awkward, but I think this was as much her portraying Nancy herself as a misfit, rather than a flaw in her performance. Overall, I found it easy to accept these were girls dabbling in the occult; and the whole film was made just that little bit better by the supporting cast, who played stereotypical teenagers obsessed with parties, dating, etc and oblivious to what was going on around them. There are moments of humour, such as students ‘goofing around’ in the French lesson and Sarah totally humiliating Chris after casting a spell on him. It’s not a comedy film though. Far darker themes are explored – the whole idea of witchcraft, for example, might not be suitable for young children. There are moderate sexual references and practically no swearing, but the occasional violence and witchcraft theme make it unsuitable for young children. It’s a 15: nothing that will upset anyone who has an understanding that it’s not real (unless they’re religiously offended) and it was only shown at 9pm, so it can’t have been deemed that upsetting by the TV programmers.
While usual teenage preoccupations, such as boyfriends, experimenting with friends and general girls bitching do feature prominently, the film is deeper than this. Character development is most notable in Sarah, although Nancy offers the other side of the story, descending into madness, while Bonnie and Rochelle reform by the end. It preaches sensible ideas, such as respect for others, through the idea of ‘magical karma’, and we clearly see that the girls get back the consequences of their actions. The snakes and bugs also represent Sarah dealing with, and overcoming, her inner demons, but this metaphor isn’t as deeply explored as it could be, and comes over more as a means to build atmosphere and use up the effects budget! Unfortunately some effects leave more to be desired. The snakes are realistic enough; even when they sprout from people’s hands/hair it’s probably as good as possible. Nancy walking on the water at one point is also quite good. The problem is that there are several scenes involving flying or levitation, and I found them generally unconvincing.
The climax to the film could be accused of going somewhat over the top, playing everything up too much to create tension, but arguably overdoing everything. It may not have been the most believable conclusion ever, but, then again, it’s a film about witchcraft. Personally, I was torn between being gripped by the action and going ‘oh no, this is rubbish’! The soundtrack didn’t impress me much either. I regularly noticed the songs, but they seemed forgettable and there for the sake of it, rather than adding anything to the scenes involved. Songs are written by the likes of Lennon and McCartney, Marianne Faithful and Peter Gabriel; but unfortunately most are performed by unknowns! The more notable bands to actually play include Portishead, Our Lady Peace, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Elastica, but they don’t seem to add much.
Overall, it was certainly an enjoyable film, and one I wouldn’t mind watching again. I have to admit that I personally like the occult-type stuff depicted, so the film was automatically one that interested me. Had this not been the case, I might have been harsher and awarded three stars. For the most part though I thought this was a good film, and I was impressed by the acting in particular, I just feel an interesting (if not especially original) concept could have been taken further. 7/10 really
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115963/
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The Craft [DVD] [1996]
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by (4%):
10.09.2004 00:48
I found it quite interesting. Not great but something to watch if it's on TV.
04.09.2004 22:39
I loved this film when i was younger, but after seeing it recently it didn't seem as good as it was back then . Your review sums it up nicely Thanks Amy x
03.09.2004 12:13
The girl who played Nancy was also one of the Band Aids in Almost Famous, and she does quite well. I think she gets cast in "out there" roles because she can pull it off. Enjoyed the review. The movie was decent. Not great, not bad. --T99