Article contributed by Daniel A
With the upcoming release of The Craft: Legacy, the standalone sequel to The Craft (1996), we take a look at what we want to see from the film.
Play On The Coven/Clique Metaphor
At the beginning of The Craft, Sarah (Robin Tunney) tries to befriend three social outcasts in Bonnie (Neve Campbell), Rochelle (Rachel True), and Nancy (Fairuza Balk). Bonnie sees Sarah using telekinesis to dig her pencil into her desk and exclaims to her friends, who are witches, that she could be their ‘fourth’ to complete their coven. Despite this, Sarah tries to sit with them in science as she needs a lab group, and she is snubbed by Nancy. It’s only after Nancy and the others see Sarah talking to Nancy’s ex-boyfriend, Chris (Skeet Ulrich), that they decide to befriend her.
After this, the quartet become inseparable as they learn and grow their powers, but there’s a constant uneasiness present in relation to Sarah. Nancy is clearly jealous of not only Sarah’s power, but also of Chris’ infatuation with her, even though his obsession has been caused by a spell. This hostility remains subtle for the entirety of the film until Sarah questions the coven’s recklessness with their use of magic. At this point, Nancy, whose invocation of the spirit has sent her mad, and the others decide that Nancy must be dealt with after she tries to bind Nancy’s powers. They’re cruel to her in ways only supposed friends can be; their intimate knowledge of her life allowing them to torment her and try and make her commit suicide.
At the end of the film, Bonnie and Rochelle try to reconcile with Sarah, and ask her if she still has her powers as they have lost theirs. She gives them the cold shoulder, and Rochelle sneers that Sarah probably doesn’t have her powers either, only for Sarah to summon a storm that makes a tree branch fall near them, knocking them over. Here it becomes apparent that they only ever befriended Sarah for her power, and only kept her around because it suited them. This notion becomes even more disturbing with a rewatch of the film, knowing that the blossoming friendship the quartet share is built on a lie and very nearly ends with Sarah’s death.
The Craft: Legacy would benefit from continuing to use this metaphor of magic juxtaposed with the struggles of being a teenager. Going through puberty, discovering who you are, and trying to figure out where you fit in are universal concepts that are always relevant. By swapping out the ‘high school clique’ cliche with the ‘bitchy witches’ coven concept the The Craft introduced, The Craft: Legacy could continue to do this in a fun and exciting way.
Have Consequences For The Characters’ Actions
When Nancy tries to purchase an occult book to help her invoke the spirit in The Craft, the shop owner Lirio (Assumpta Serna), who is also a witch, warns her and the others that their actions as witches will have consequences, ‘whatever you send out, you get back times three.’ It’s uncertain whether this is an actual trait of magic in the mythology of The Craft, or whether this is just Lirio’s attempt to scare the young witches into abiding by a moral code of the golden rule: ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ Regardless, the witches allow their powers to corrupt them and ultimately there is little to no repercussions for their actions.
Ironically, it is only Sarah who really suffers and learns some harsh lessons, despite trying to dissuade the rest of her coven from their growing obsession with magic. The spell to make Chris like her backfires and he attempts to rape her, ultimately resulting in his death, and as mentioned in the previous point, she loses a close group of people she thought were her friends.
Nancy does end up in a mental institution, rambling about how Manon the deity is in her, but that seems a rather unjust ending for her considering her actions. She’s responsible for the deaths of a homeless man, her step-father, Chris, and her betrayal and attempted murder of Sarah, after all. A stint in a medical facility does not seem an appropriate punishment. Bonnie and Rochelle receive no punishment for the parts they played in these incidents, either.
Films don’t need to have lessons, and it’s often difficult for teen-dramas to feature them without coming across too preachy. Audiences can get behind antagonists getting their comeuppance though, and if the witches in The Craft: Legacy are anything like their predecessors, audiences will find it rewarding if they get what they deserve.
Keep The Killer 90’s Soundtrack
Sorry Charmed fans, but it turns out Love Spit Love’s cover of The Smiths’ ‘How Soon Is Now?’ did not originate as the theme song for 90’s supernatural drama. The music supervisor of The Craft approached the band to record the cover for the film, two years before it was used as the theme song for Charmed.
The Craft utilises several covers by rock bands of the time, including Our Lady Peaces’ rendition of The Beatles’ ‘Tomorrow Never End’ and Heather Nova’s version of Peter Gabriels’ ‘I Have The Touch.’ The soundtrack works remarkably well throughout the film, amplifying the anger and confusion of the young coven of outcasts.
It would be cool if The Craft: Legacy could continue to use music in the same vein in any number of ways, such as using rock and indie artists of today like Florence + The Machine and Lana Del Rey. Still using covers, of either modern songs, or 90’s songs would be a nice throwback. Or better yet, still use music from the 90’s that fit the themes of the film like The Craft did initially. Bands like Pearl Jam, Hole, Stone Temple Pilots and Jack Off Jill – the list is endless – would have fit perfectly in The Craft, and Legacy could honour its predecessor by using such artists.
Get Political
Rewatch The Craft today and it’s surprising how current the 1996 film feels. The way in which characters and themes are so openly discussed and explored is an example of what every film should currently be trying to do.
Rochelle, an African American, is incessantly bullied by her classmate Laura (Christine Taylor). When Rochelle confronts Laura about why she picks on her it’s revealed she’s racist.
Everyone ignores Chris’ misogynistic behaviour, he can sleep around and is celebrated by his friends while the girls he has slept with become social outcasts and are labeled as whores. He starts rumours about how bad a lay Sarah is when she refuses to go home with him, and in a very problematic response, Sarah does a spell to make him fall in love with her. The effect it has on Chris is a big laugh for his friends as well as Sarah and the coven, until his obsession exemplifies his underlying behaviour and he tries to rape Sarah.
Nancy has an abusive step-father who implies her mother is a hooker and only good for sex, and also beats her. It is never explicitly stated that he sexually abuses Nancy, but he comments on Nancy’s bathrobe and pulls at it. Much like Chris, the underlying behaviour is there.
Sarah has previously struggled with depression and openly talks about her suicide attempt.
These topics are not easy material to deal with for audiences, and while we watch films to be entertained, it’s important to argue that we should also, especially in the current climate of the world, be watching them to be challenged. The reason The Craft has become such a cult classic is that it presented four young women finding themselves, and each other, and realising how powerful they are. The Craft used a supernatural allegory to talk about the struggles young women face, and Legacy needs to build on that to make it worthy of its predecessor.
