Little Witches.

A bit on the lazy side after revisiting the film, Little Witches (1996), inspired by the viewing of The Thirsting (2006) most recently. I even have a copy of The Craft handy as a possible trifecta. I just went back to the 2010 review I wrote for my imdb account, and I thought it was reasonably sufficient for how my feelings still regard it. This isn't a film with a staggering rep; in fact, it currently holds 3.0 on the imdb. Condemned (and rightfully so, I must admit) for just capitalizing on the success of The Craft (everyone does it now, so...), still if I'm an honest bloke, and I like to think people who come here just from time to time believe what I write is authentically from my own voice, mind, and soul (and, yes, libido, too...), Little Witches didn't bother me that much. It wasn't some bad acid trip that left me feeling at unease or queasy. Sheeri (now known as the nerdy chick in the CSI: Las Vegas lab) is the undeniable attraction (the choice of the word, attraction, I believe is totally apt here) for this little movie that finds its place in the medium of late night, on one of those cable premium channels with a third or fourth number, or on netflix streaming in a playlist you nearly pass by while looking for a waste of 90 minutes during a bout with insomnia (although, some might say Little Witches is a cure for insomnia, but I digress...). You recognize faces familiar to you that I mention in my imdb review, but Sheeri is the bonafide star of this bit of "Catholic school girls want to misbehave and fool with around with 'the craft'" hokum.

In this poor man's THE CRAFT, director Jane Simpson's LITTLE WITCHES has Catholic school girls(unfortunately having to spend their spring break at the convent)dabbling with black magic when a secret baptistery is discovered while construction is underway on the old church, and a book of spells written entirely in Latin gives instructions on how to bring forth "He who comes". Sheeri Rappaport is a naughty sex kitten whose life at home is of an abusive nature. The book of spells provides her with something interesting to do(her motivation is that this spell will give her power to no longer have others in authority telling her what to do)while stuck at the convent and her Jamie has a great influence on the other girls. Mimi Rose is the virginal Faith Ferguson, a giggly and sweet girl on the road to Stanford and a potential foil to Jamie's plans(after reciting a spell, the "horned demon" takes over control of her body and this, in turn, enslaves the other girls, besides Faith, who carry on with a ceremony which will allow Lucifer access from his dimension into ours if they are successful)if she can keep the book from their grasp. There's a spiritual guardian the Lord uses to keep Lucifer from entering our world and the identity of the person is later revealed. Jennifer Rubin(NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET III; BAD DREAMS)is Sister Sherilyn, the authoritative figure(and their teacher, also)in charge of the girls. David Lynch regular Jack Nance(ERASERHEAD)is the priest over the parish where these girls attend. Zelda Rubinstein(POLTERGEIST)pops up as another weirdo, this time an odd nun with a fixation for crucifixes(the girls avoid her like the plague)who could be the guardian who keeps the horned demon at bay(and was responsible for it's defeat at the beginning of the movie). Tommy Stork is Mimi's hunky love interest, construction worker/architect student, Daniel(also a virgin saving himself for the right girl). Early role for Clea DuVall as one of the girls who gets all caught up in the witchcraft which costs them far more than they could possibly imagine. Showcase for Rappaport who gets naked a lot and has one hell of a tantalizing striptease from her Catholic school uniform for the construction workers outside..she's really the whole show besides the interesting supporting cast of familiar faces. The ceremony at the end results in the revelation of the ugly demon trying to make it's way into our world as Faith attempts to stop it. The soundtrack consists of echoing chants from a church choir which I found more than a bit annoying after a while. There's really nothing that particularly memorable other than when the girls strip and chant while holding hands and walking in a circle around a well. Good beach front location near the church provides some much needed eye candy besides Rappaport.

Well, I say Sheeri is the bondafide star; she's the one willing to go the distance and capture attention through whatever's asked of her. Striptease for the construction workers, defy authority, talk about a false tryst on the beach to Nance's priest while in confession while touching herself, go after Mimi's beau while naked (he actually tries to stop her, with Mimi believing he was allowing her to bed him), fool around with the book that conjures the horned demon, and soon becomes lost to Satan's impulse, willing to kill "The Guardian" (turning out to be Ruben), dragging her gal pals along with her. The fun and games results in death to some of the girls when the demon rises from this well in the ancient baptistry, Sheeri condemning herself when insisting the horned demon give her special powers for calling it to the surface. Like Fairuza Balk in The Craft, Sheeri is the antagonist with a bad family life, lashing out, and desiring freedom through the use of a spell or power from the dark arts. Her friends become complicit, with innocent people killed in the process, and Mimi, the Robin Tunney of the film, having to use her own magic spell to thwart the efforts of the horn demon from emerging from hell.