The Craft is a 1996 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, and how this changes their friendship. The film's original music score was composed by Graeme Revell, and the promotional tagline is: "Welcome to the witching hour." It was released on May 3, 1996 by Columbia Pictures.
Synopsis
Sarah Bailey (Robin Tunney), a troubled teenage girl who has previously attempted suicide, has just moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles with her father and stepmother. She enrolls in a local Catholic high school, but has trouble fitting in. During a class, her classmate Bonnie (Neve Campbell) witnesses Sarah, with her mind, causing a pencil to rotate while standing on its tip.
During lunch, Sarah is hit on by Chris (Skeet Ulrich), the school's football star. She asks about Bonnie and her two friends Nancy (Fairuza Balk) and Rochelle (Rachel True). Chris tells Sarah to stay away from the trio, because "they're witches". Bonnie tells Nancy and Rochelle that Sarah is the "fourth" who will complete their circle and make a full coven. The three girls each have issues: Nancy lives in a trailer with her mom and abusive stepfather, Bonnie has massive burn scars all over her back, and insecure athlete African American Rochelle is subjected to racist taunts by popular girl Laura Lizzie (Christine Taylor).
After school, the three girls befriend Sarah and take her to an occult shop. The owner, Lirio (Assumpta Serna), comments that Sarah is not like the other girls and says to her: "Maybe you are a natural witch; your power comes from within." While leaving the shop, Sarah is harassed by a bum, and all four girls simultaneously will for something to happen; the bum is hit by a car. The girls escape, and Nancy is thrilled at their "connection". Nancy tells Sarah about "invoking the Spirit" Manon, which is their ultimate goal as a coven.
Sarah leaves the girls to meet Chris, but refuses to have sex with him. However, at school the next day, Sarah discovers that Chris boasted to the whole school that they slept together. Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle comfort Sarah, and invite her on a field trip. They take the bus out to the country where they call the corners and cast some spells: Rochelle asks for the strength not to hate those who hate her, Sarah performs a love spell on Chris, Bonnie asks for beauty inside and out, and Nancy asks for "all the power of Manon."
Shortly after the spells are cast, they show signs of working: Chris becomes infatuated with Sarah, Bonnie's scars miraculously heal, and the next time Laura bullies Rochelle, Laura's hair begins falling out. At home, Nancy's abusive stepfather has a heart attack and dies, then Nancy and her mother find out that they have inherited $175,000 from an insurance policy.
The girls perform their spells.
The girls go to Lirio's shop again, where Nancy finds a book about "Invoking the Spirit". Later that night, the girls go to the beach and form a circle, calling on Manon. At the culmination of the spell Nancy is struck by lightning. The next day the girls witness Nancy walking on the water, and from this point on, Nancy's powers have increased.
Later on, Rochelle sees a balding Laura in the locker room hysterically sobbing after swim practice. Rochelle feels remorse for the spell she has cast and when she looks in the mirror at herself, her reflection looks away.
Sarah's love spell goes too far when Chris attempts to rape her. Nancy tries to seduce Chris by disguising herself as Sarah, but when the real Sarah arrives as they have sex, Nancy causes Chris to fall out a third-story window, killing him. Sarah tries to stop Nancy by binding her powers, but this does not work and the three girls abandon Sarah. Needing help, Sarah goes to Lirio, who tells her to invoke the spirit herself. Lirio also reveals that Sarah's mother was a powerful witch, and that talent has passed on to Sarah.
Sarah returns home, where she is tormented by Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle, who taunt her using magic and intimidate her with threats on her life. Nancy tells Sarah that in the old days, if a witch betrayed her coven they would kill her. Nancy later slashes Sarah's wrists. Sarah runs to her room, while Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle wait for her to die. Rochelle then tells Nancy that this has gone out of hand. Nancy tells her to go upstairs and threatens to slit her throat if she doesn't. Rochelle and Bonnie obediently run up the steps to Sarah's room. Sarah is almost too weak to invoke Manon, but then she hears her mother's voice whispering, "Don't be afraid. Reach inside yourself." Sarah successfully invokes Manon and is able to cast spells to fight back. Forced by a counterspell of Sarah's to see themselves and what they've become by catching their reflections in a mirror, Bonnie's face horrificly scarred and Rochelle's hair falling out, Bonnie and Rochelle flee, leaving only Nancy and Sarah. Nancy and Sarah have a showdown, in which Nancy is ultimately defeated by Sarah, who binds Nancy's power to prevent her from doing any more harm.
In the end, Nancy has been sent to a psychiatric hospital, and Bonnie and Rochelle lose any powers they had. They go to see Sarah asking if she still has any powers, and when she shows no interest in continuing a friendship with two girls who tried to kill her, they make fun of her as they leave. On hearing this Sarah makes a bolt of lightning strike causing a tree to fall, nearly crushing the two girls, revealing that she still has powers. She warns them to "Be careful, you don't wanna end up like Nancy."
The scene cuts to a birds eye view of Nancy's room in the psychiatric hospital. She is screaming like a maniac, telling the nurse "He gave me powers, I can fly, I'm flying, I'm flying, I'm flying". The credits roll.
Box office
- According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, The Craft is the 7th highest grossing movie since 1980 dealing with the genre of witches.[1]
- A straight-to-DVD sequel was in the works,[2] but was terminated.[3]
Main cast
| Actor |
Role |
Description |
| Robin Tunney |
Sarah Bailey |
Sarah is a natural witch who commits to the Craft after being introduced to it by her three friends. Sarah seems to be a very powerful natural witch. |
| Fairuza Balk |
Nancy Downs |
Nancy is a gothic witch who allowed Sarah to join the Circle and become her greatest friend. She is a powerful witch, but not as powerful as Sarah. She knows much about rituals and spells, and is very talented in using them. Nancy has a tumultuous personal life. Her stepfather is almost always drunk. Nancy hates him and she does not seem to be fond of her mother either. At school, Nancy has a reputation of being promiscuous. She dislikes Chris Hooker since he spread rumors about her and it's implied he gave her an STD. |
| Neve Campbell |
Bonnie |
Bonnie was a very quiet witch when the movie started, but as her past scars healed, she was outgoing and became a bit narcissistic.
She said to Sarah, "I spent a great chunk of my life being a monster."
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| Rachel True |
Rochelle |
Rochelle is a witch who suffered from racial slurs from Laura Lizze. She cast a spell on Laura, and as it started to take effect, Laura had more respect for everyone. Rochelle was on the school swim team and was a very good diver. Despite her talent and skills, Rochelle was still shunned by popular clique leader Laura Lizzie. Rochelle has a sarcastic sense of humor. |
| Skeet Ulrich |
Chris Hooker |
Chris Hooker is a Catholic boy whom Sarah and at one time, Nancy liked too. He doesn't have any other interest in girls except the pleasure that they can possibly grant him. By the end of the movie he ends up being killed by a power-frenzied Nancy. |
| Christine Taylor |
Laura Lizzie |
A Catholic girl who made racial slurs against Rochelle. She ends up losing her hair due to a spell cast by Rochelle. |
| Assumpta Serna |
Lirio |
Owner of a witch ritual-provisions-spells shop. She tells the girls her experience with the Craft, but only Sarah listens. Lirio is a witch who helped Sarah to invoke the Spirit. |
References
External links
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Witchcraft and sorcery |
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| Myths/Folk lore |
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| Major Historic Treatise |
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| Modern Fiction |
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