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THE CRAFT
Gerald Tan
Directed by: Andrew Flewing
Cast: Robin Tunney (Sarah), Fairuza Balk (Nancy), Neve Campbell (Bonnie), Rachel True (Rochelle), Skeet Ulrich (Chris)
Produced by: Columbia Pictures
Co-Produced by: Lisa Tornell
Executive Producer: Ginny Nugent
Music: Graeme Revell
Rating: ** out *****
BEVERLY HILLS 90210 MEETS THE NECRONOMICON
The place is ivy-hung and haunted St. Benedict's High (well, I guess it looks like any other American high school, but then evil's always on the inside, isn't it?). It is where Nancy, Rochelle and Bonnie hold coven against a brutal society of whitebread prom queens and macho jerks. They're wannabe witches, with their candles, incense and incantations, all perky breasts and black eyeliner. They're also ostracized and made fun of by their snooty SoCal classmates... you know how cruel kids can be about your hairstyle/skin colour/family background. But all that changes when new girl on the block Sarah (Robin Tunney), a "natural witch", is drawn to them and they discover that together they can call upon a primeval, supernatural entity to fulfill their wishes. Uh oh... you know what's going to happen to those snooty classmates now, don't you? From scenes of the ensuing hairloss and humiliation of their clean-cut, pearly-toothed tormentors, cut to one of our hexy, sexy heroines strutting smugly through school, suitably hip rock music playing in the background.
Soon enough though, when Nancy (Fairuza Balk) decides that they should "invoke the spirit", all this happily dysfunctional adolescent bitchcraft gives way to maledictions of grimer, more potentially earth- threatening proportions... suffice it to say that whales get killed in the process. Not funny at all. From this point on, to the predictable show-down between good and evil (a contrite Sarah against an increasingly twisted Nancy), the only things to watch out for are Fairuza Balk and a few nifty special effects. Fairuza Balk (also in THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU) plays the proud but confused Nancy who needs to prove herself to the world by demanding all the power in it. She is by turns pathetically attention-seeking and cruelly malicious, and remains the only believable character even when she becomes irredeemably diabolical and psychotic. The penultimate scene where she stalks Sarah through her house is the only one that is truly eerie, and not because of the inclusion of buckets of snakes and bugs.
If THE CRAFT was meant to be a scary movie, then it's so only because it could have been a cross between THE LOST BOYS and HEATHERS but turns out not even close to either of them. It's informed by occult references (the movie has a Wiccan prietess as a consultant for crying out loud), yet fails to be subtle or original about them. It has the trappings of a stylish teen satire, yet ends on a humourlessly banal note. And it's altogether just too damn serious by half. What it does have is a first-rate performance by Fairuza Balk, a great soundtrack, and enough visually impressive scenes to make a cool music video. Good enough for you, I suppose, if you're a trendy, Magic-playing person who always wanted to be a witch. But me and the tea leaves are against this one.
The Flying Inkpot Rating System:
* Wait for the TV2 broadcast.
** A little creaky, but still better than staying at home with Gotcha!
*** Pretty good, bring a friend.
**** Amazing, potent stuff.
***** Perfection. See it twice.
Gerald Tan used to belong to the Magical Order of Dagon, but quit when they couldn't get him a car. He now belongs to the Cynical Order of Dependent Twentysomethings.
Other film reviews by this writer can be obtained from the InkVault by doing a key word search with this writer's name.Other film reviews by other writers can also be obtained from the InkVault through key word searches.
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