Talking to younger folks should make me feel old, but it just makes me feel wiser and more experienced. By default, older people have more life experience than younger folks and therefore makes us lightyears better.
When I was talking to a certain a younger film critic, I mentioned the 1996 classic The Craft. They had no idea what I was talking about. Directed by Andrew Fleming (he also directed Threesome starring the MAGA Baldwin brother and Nancy Drew starring Emma Roberts!), the occult pic starred a fantastic cast that included Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, and Rachel True. I felt the need to educate this poor unfortunate soul.
The Craft, released by Columbia Pictures on May 3, 1996, follows a group of four teenage outcasts (the actors were not teenagers when they filmed it btw) that form a coven of witches and cause good – and bad trouble. The four actresses were seen in various films that spoke to the era. Tunney was seen in Empire Records and Encino Man and was later seen in the 2025 Sundance pic By Design. Balk can be remembered in the nightmare fuel that was Return to Oz and would later star in high-profile pics like American History X and Almost Famous. She would also show us her comedy chops in The Waterboy before returning to reprise her role in the 2020 revival of The Craft (more on that later). Party of Five was making Campbell a household name at the time and her future would be filled with Scream movies galore (her Craft co-star Skeet Ulrich would also be in the legendary Wes Craven pics). True landed a role in the iconic How High as Mary Jane and recently appeared in episodes of Harlem. Also, True used to do real-life tarot readings! She once read my tarot! (She was practicing tarot long before she starred The Craft).
The movie will forever be a staple amongst Millennials and Gen X’ers – specifically outcasts and the queer community. Fun facts about the pic:
- Pat Devin was the film’s Wiccan consultant. There were plenty of strange occurrences during production that were unsettling even for Devin.
- While prepping for her role as Nancy Downs, the almighty leader of the coven, Balk became associated with Panpipes Magickal Marketplace in Hollywood. She bought the store in 1995, and ran it until she sold it in 2001.
- Angelina Jolie was reportedly in consideration for one of the lead roles. Don’t know if that’s true or not, but can you imagine?
Siskel and Ebert gave the movie two thumbs down while other critics like New York Daily News‘s Dave Kehr rather enjoyed its B-movie horror vibes. Rita Kempley of The Washington Post referred to it as an “old-fashioned morality tale hiding under a witch’s hat”, Variety‘s Emanuel Levy compared it to Heathers, and Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle said it was a darker, more dangerous version of the cheesefest known as Teen Witch.
In 2020, the incredible director Zoe Lister-Jones directed the “soft reboot” titled The Craft: Legacy. It didn’t do that well, but it doesn’t mean that Lister-Jones or that actors Cailee Spaeny, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone, and Zoey Luna didn’t do a good job. They did the thing. It’s just unfortunate the movie was bad. I once met Lister-Jones at an event when she was promoting her Peacock series Spill (please watch this series — it’s do dope.) and I mentioned The Craft in jest and we both had a good laugh. Might I suggest that you also watch Lister-Jones’s Sundance flick Band Aid.
