On C List of Movie Reviews
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The Craft (1996)
Rate:
7
Viewed:
12/16
12/16:
For a chick flick, The Craft is enjoyable, works well on the fantasy level, and makes it easy to be
interested in Wicca.
Of course, it deals with witchcraft which is a bunch of made-up stuff, and there's no basis in truth. So, suspending
disbelief is the best course of action if you want to enjoy the movie. Good performances are rendered by the
ensemble cast. Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk (whose first name is a Farsi word for "turquoise" in reference to the color
of her eyes), Neve Campbell, and Rachel True have great chemistry together. The boys aren't bad, either.
Only Robin Tunney, who wore a wig because she shaved her head for
Empire Records, stands out because of solid acting,
but Fairuza Balk, an actual Wiccan, steals the show constantly. As for Skeet Ulrich, a Johnny Depp look-alike, it's his
first role in a feature length picture, and he'll re-team with Neve Campbell during the same year for Scream.
Many films will go overboard when special effects come into play. But in The Craft, it's appropriately used to
underscore the fantasy power of magic spells. That's why the movie is fun to watch, thanks to Tony Gardner and others.
According to IMDb, one scene contains "over 3,000 snakes including pythons, boas, water snakes, garter
snakes, rat snakes, and a 10-foot Amazon constrictor, even rare albino snakes." But the beached sharks are fake models.
The story works well and teaches an important lesson: power corrupts. When Nancy saw what she could do with the magic spells,
she went crazy with her two friends chiming in. But Sarah kept it in check by limiting them to keep the power away. Because magic
spells can't be undone, there are a couple of loose ends that aren't properly tied up at the end such as: what will
happen to the blond girl's hair, and what about Skeet's character who's lovey-dovey about Sarah which is dangerous due
to not being able to eat, drink, or sleep?
When Sarah chanted the words, "I bind you from doing harm, Nancy. Harm against other people and harm against yourself," why not
instead say the following: "I bind you from using spells, Nancy. Spells against other people and spells against yourself"?
What's lame is that the movie was rated 'R' due to teenagers dabbling in witchcraft. Come on, it's time to grow up, folks, and realize
that Salem ended over 300 years ago and that witchcraft is total bullshit. Interestingly,
The Crucible was released during the same year, so be sure to check it out.
All in all, The Craft is worth watching.