The Craft

When I returned to The Craft (1996) after viewing the likes of The Thirsting (2006) & Little Witches (1996), it was obvious that imitators can throw up nude hotties and their delight in behaving badly when fooling around with ‘the craft’, but there’s just nothing quite as fun as seeing Fairuza Balk totally unstable, turning stop lights from red to green just for the hell of it and provoking hallucinations that cause Robin Tunney – looking mighty easy on the eyes—to see rats, snakes, maggots, roaches, and the like all over the place. Balk is a nasty piece of work, all goth, in leather, the lip ring, the out-of-sorts hair, the manic eyes, all that f-u attitude, and an unwavering need to use her newly acquired powers (from the spirit Manon) to cause harm to others. While seeing Balk’s hair and fingers turn into snakes was a rather surreal visual—Tunney has enough of her bullying shit and turns the tables on her ass—I think her scene turning herself into Tunney as she attempts to seduce Skeet Ulrich is even more awesome.

I could lay out a Wikipedia outline of the plot, but basically these outcasts (Balk, Tunney, Neve Campbell, and Rachel True) in a Catholic school, most a victim of bullying on some level--taunted by the beauty of the school (Christine Taylor, of the Brady Bunch Movie, calls her a “negroid”!), because True’s black, disregarded by the boys because Neve’s back is hideously scarred, Balk contending with a trailer trash existence involving a boozing mom and stepfather, a  louse in a wife-beater, and Tunney, reputed to of slept with Ulrich (and mistreated by him as if she pathetically gave it up and desperately wants more) by him in a spread rumor through school-- gain powers to cast spells after conjuring the spirit of Manon, forming a foursome, a coven. Then all of them use their powers to produce results to suit their avarices and revenge. Christine Taylor, nagging Rue when she attempted to land a nice pool dive, loses her hair. Campbell is totally free from the ugly back and shoulders but totally loses her humanity, lost in her narcissism and celebration of being recognized as hot instead of hideous. Balk becomes so abusive of her power and devoid of conscience that she is willing to kill and terrorize those who oppose her.

It is cool to watch The Craft again if just for the young cast. This was during the era of Clueless, Scream, and Empire Records, where a hotbed of talent would populate the theaters and television for the next decade. Besides Tunney, Balk, Campbell, True, Ulrich, and Taylor, the cast also has Breckin Meyer as one of Ulrich’s smart aleck pals. Unlike others after it, The Craft might have girls in skirts behaving badly but the nudity and gore is not here to speak of. You get plenty of creepy crawlers and special effects, though. You get the usual high school pressures facing girls, which is the whole point behind why they want to use their powers to advance themselves. I think the real drama that sets The Craft off is towards the end when Balk and her sisters set their sights on removing Tunney from the equation. Tunney resists using her power for dark purposes, not even striking back at her tormenters, once-friends. But Balk pushes her too far, in an attempt to kill her, using a fake suicide as a basis to get rid of her.

Then you get the face off at the end between Tunney and Balk in a fight to the finish. It satisfactorily puts a stop to Balk, Campbell, and True, with Tunney “invoking the spirit”, no longer tolerating (or having to, for that matter) their bad magic. All is right in the world, Balk is put in her place (a padded cell, that is), Campbell and True are removed of their magic (although they try to bury the hatchet with Tunney (which is proven to be a façade after commenting to each other that they believe her powers are gone, with Tunney using a bit of a storm to reflect that she is still equipped with ‘the craft’) by apologizing for their behavior (but I think when they mention they would like to become part of the “three” it is obvious they desire to get the powers they have lost thanks to Tunney’s “binding spell”)), and Tunney can finally move on while having grown more confident and strong through this difficult experience.

I admit that I like going back to The Craft, reflecting on this period in my life when I was 18 / 19, trying to get my shit together, attempting to juggle college and work, while staying in my very first apartment, away from home. I remember The Craft was on the telly, playing on HBO, I believe, and so that returns to my mind when I revisit this particular movie. I had previously mentioned Empire Records, in regards to Tunney, but The Craft also prominently features her (my favorite of hers is a little film called Cherish, where she doesn’t have to share the spotlight (or lose some of her mojo to the likes of Balk, or an ensemble cast like in E.R.), and it was a nice period to see young talent on their way up. I think television has become a phenomenal medium for talent, thanks to strong writing and storytelling on cable and premium cable nowadays. So Tunney hasn’t fallen out of the spotlight but has found a nice place opposite Simon Baker on The Mentalist, a series I wish I could see more of if time permitted. Seeing her ultimately defend herself against the forceful Balk was a treat. She weeps and is vulnerable, doesn’t wish to cause harm, but when enough’s enough, one must do what is necessary to rise to the advantage when life and mental strength are under assault / duress. I guess, though, if one looks at who thrived out of the cast specifically, Neve Campbell did, with her work on Party of Five and especially the Scream films. Campbell landed that great heroine part akin to Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween, Heather Langenkamp and Lisa Wilcox in the Elm Street films, and Ashley Lawrence in the Hellraiser films. While Campbell had pursued other efforts outside the genre of horror and teen/young adult television (such as the ballet drama from the late Robert Altman, The Company and the smoldering noirish thriller, Wild Things), it was cool seeing her early start here in The Craft. While I prefer her in parts where she's both vulnerable and strong, I have to say she can play the self-absorbed bitch exceptionally well. Part of how easy it is to sympathize with Tunney is thanks to the likes of Campbell, totally digging her magically gifted hotness, no longer having to hide under a lot of clothes due to her scarred flesh, and slowly becoming devoid of human feeling. A good antagonist was needed, and Balk fit that bit terrifically. She has that face that could show a volcanic rage and convey pure fury. I thought she was a lot of fun to watch. That uneasy dynamic between Tunney and Balk was to me the film's major asset. The fact that Taylor, who can play that blond insulting pariah with relative ease, is able to earn any sympathy at all when her hair continues to fall out is worth some credit I think. I have to say that, while I fucking hate bullies, I really felt for her after all was said and done. She deserved to suffer for what she put True through, but the way her suffering is long and humiliating, it did actually move me somewhat. I was surprised I had that reaction actually.