History Film / TheCraft

A 1996 teen UrbanFantasy film, directed by Andrew Fleming and starring Creator/FairuzaBalk, Creator/NeveCampbell, Creator/RachelTrue, and Creator/RobinTunney, about four high-school outcasts who practice witchcraft, and how the use of their powers affects their friendships and relationships.

A 1996 teen UrbanFantasy horror film, directed by Andrew Fleming and starring Creator/FairuzaBalk, Creator/NeveCampbell, Creator/RachelTrue, and Creator/RobinTunney, about four high-school outcasts who practice witchcraft, and how the use of their powers affects their friendships and relationships.

* ClassicalElementsEnsemble: The four girls all have an ElementalMotif associated with one of the classical elements that hold a prominent place in Wiccan tradition. Sarah represents Earth - as the most grounded and mature of the girls. Bonnie represents Fire – and she was once burned by one. Rochelle represents Water - she's an avid swimmer. Nancy represents Air – she is wild and unpredictable.

* BedTrick: [[spoiler: Nancy attempts to take advantage of Chris while he is drunk at a party by using magic to fool him into sleeping with her. It almost works. Him being freaked out ''also'' works in her book.]]

* LaserGuidedKarma: The film deconstructs the concept of PayEvilUntoEvil, making things go full circle. After being rejected, Chris [[SlutShaming starts spreading rumours]] about Sarah. She retaliates by casting a love spell on him, considering it a LaserGuidedKarma. It backfires horribly when Chris gets so obsessed with her that he starts staking her and eventually [[spoiler: tries to rape her]], making it a karmatic payback on ''her'' for casting the spell.

* BilingualBonus: The French class is a lot funnier when one has a better grasp of the language than Roger (which isn't hard). But what sells it is when the teacher starting to discuss, for whatever reason, [[LesCollaborateurs Vichy France's collaborative government]] when starting the class for real.

** Sarah starts to treat Lirio with undeserved contempt, aping the other three girls.

** Sometimes, having no friends is better than having the ''wrong'' friends (such as friends who treat you badly, try to pressure or force you into something you find morally wrong and so on).

* FaceYourFears: Sarah spends the third act on a run, not wanting or simply being too scared to face Nancy and her machinations. [[spoiler: The finae gives her no more choice - either she stands up to her former friend or she will be killed, framed as a suicide. In the process, she also has to face her [[PrimalFear fear of snakes]]]].

** The woman from the occult store also count, despite being (naturally) a generation older than the four girls - but that pays on her being OlderAndWiser, while wearing toned robes rather than an edgy assemble.

* GothGirlsKnowMagic: Teenage rebellion and Goth style leads to magical terrorism. Of course, Nancy is the only real Goth in the group. According to the filmmakers, this was a CulturalTranslation from medieval times - where magic would be the weapons of the underclass. So in a modern setting, the outcasts would be the ones resorting to witchcraft.

* {{Irony}}: It's an UrbanFantasy about four teen witches... that attend a Catholic high school, run by nuns and attending Holy Mass.

* KickTheDog: [[spoiler: While trying to get Sarah to kill herself, Nancy takes the time to taunt her for 'killing' her mother because she died in childbirth]].

* LivingProp: Sarah has a stepmother called Jenny who features in the opening, is referenced a couple of times and never factors into the story at all (aside from [[spoiler: Nancy making Sarah think she and her father died in a plane crash]]).

* NaiveNewcomer: Sarah, both to the school and to magic.

* NiceMeanAndInBetween: The three witches. Rochelle is easily the nicest, and most sympathetic as a bully victim. Nancy is mean, as she's the chief antagonist. Bonnie is in-between, as she starts out nice, but she becomes as bad as Nancy.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Nancy gave one in a deleted scene to each of the girls. It takes place before Sarah attempts the binding spell and explains [[spoiler: Rochelle and Bonnie's rather abrupt FaceHeelTurn]] - implying they were scared of Nancy.

* ShowerOfAngst: Laura begins to cry when she realizes her hair is falling out in the shower.

* TookALevelInJerkass: [[spoiler: Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle when their magic gets the better of them.]]

* CuteWitch: Sarah is a ShrinkingViolet and modest sort whose shyness and innocence make her attractive. She's also the only natural witch in the cast.
* DarkenedBuildingShootout: The showdown between Nancy and Sarah in the latter's house.

* DisproportionateRetribution: [[spoiler: Chris' death is caused by him rejecting Nancy and claiming she's jealous.]]

** Averted. Nancy uses a Glamour to make Chris think she is Sarah and prepares to fool around with him on the bed. When she is discovered, Chris is disgusted and it's presented as something very wrong.

* DrivenToMadness: [[spoiler: Nancy's fate is to be confined to a mental hospital, delusional that she still has powers]].

* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: All of the girls (except Rochelle obviously), but Nancy the most. Sarah downplays it (until the end).

* FlatCharacter: Bonnie and Rochelle have no characterization outside of their "freak" status. A deleted scene states that Rochelle is the only black girl in the neighborhood and was shunned for this reason. Bonnie likewise takes an entirely background role once her scars vanish.

* PrimalFear: The house full of snakes, spiders, rats and insects.

* AxCrazy: Nancy, after she gets her powers.

* BedTrick: [[spoiler: Nancy attempts to take advantage of Chris while he is drunk at a party by using magic to fool him into sleeping with her. It almost works.]]

* BrokenAesop: Much of the film is spent using the Threefold Rule to deconstruct the AssholeVictim trope and show the wrongness of "[[PayEvilUntoEvil an eye for an eye]]". Yet it ends with [[spoiler:Sarah using magic to nearly kill Bonnie and Rochelle with a falling tree branch as a "warning", and Nancy being institutionalized in a mental hospital for her wrongdoings.]]

%%* MindRape: [[spoiler: What Nancy tries to do to Sarah.]]

%%* {{Narcissist}}: Bonnie, after her scars vanish.

** Earlier, Nancy blames Sarah for [[spoiler: Chris' death]]. Granted, the whole chain of events wouldn't have taken place if [[spoiler: Sarah hadn't cast a spell on him]], but Nancy [[spoiler: pushed him out of a window!]]

%%* StalkerWithACrush: Chris when BrainwashedAndCrazy.

* ToxicFriendInfluence: It's said that Rochelle ditches swimming practice to hang out with Nancy and shoplift.

* ButNotTooBlack: Present in Rochelle's plot where AlphaBitch Laura compares her hair, which she doesn't straighten and wears curly, to pubic hair.

* TheNineties: The film was released in 1996 and boy howdy does it show...not that that's necessarily a bad thing. In his review WebVideo/ChrisStuckmann even describes it as being like opening a time capsule to the late 90's; the choice of music, the snarky humor, the witches' clothes and make-up, the grungy aethestic and even the way the opening sequence is filmed, are all highly reminiscent of the period.

* NinetiesHair: Sarah has feathered bangs, Chris's friend Mitt has the curtains, Laura Lizzie has ValleyGirl hair inspired by [[{{Film/Clueless}} Cher Horowitz]], Nancy's mother has a messier version of Princess Diana's famous do, and Nancy herself has short grunge hair. Elsewhere averted with Rochelle, who wears her hair naturally curly in a time when hair straightening was the mainstream thing to do.

* NinetiesHair: Sarah has feathered bangs, Chris's friend Mitt has the curtains, Laura Lizzie has ValleyGirl hair inspired by [[{{Film/Clueless}} Cher Horowitz]], Nancy's mother has a messier version of Princess Diana's famous do, and Nancy herself has short grunge hair. Elsewhere averted with Rochelle - who wears her hair naturally curly in a time when hair straightening was the mainstream thing to do.

* ClassicalElementsEnsemble: The four girls all have an ElementalMotif associated with one of the classical elements that hold a prominent place in Wiccan tradition. Sarah represents Earth - as the most grounded and mature of the girls. Bonnie represents Fire - and she was once burned by one. Rochelle represents Water - she's an avid swimmer. Nancy represents Air - she is wild and unpredictable.

[[NaiveNewcomer Sarah Bailey]] (Tunney), a [[TroubledButCute troubled teenager]] from UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco, moves to UsefulNotes/LosAngeles with her father and stepmother. Enrolling in a local Catholic high school, she inadvertently attracts the attention of three of the school's outcasts: Nancy (Balk), Bonnie (Campbell), and Rochelle (True), who also happen to be witches.

[[NaiveNewcomer Sarah Bailey]] (Tunney), a [[TroubledButCute troubled teenager]] from UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco, moves to UsefulNotes/LosAngeles with her father and stepmother. Enrolling in a local Catholic school, she inadvertently attracts the attention of three of the school's outcasts: Nancy (Balk), Bonnie (Campbell), and Rochelle (True), who also happen to be witches.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_craft_1996_movie_poster.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Oh, relax, it's only magic."'']]

* FourElementEnsemble: Sarah represents Earth - as the most grounded and mature of the girls. Bonnie represents Fire - and she was once burned by one. Rochelle represents Water - she's an avid swimmer. Nancy represents Air - she is wild and unpredictable.

* ArtisticLicense: Unlike most films of this ilk, they [[ShownTheirWork actually did the research]] on UsefulNotes/{{Wicca}} before making the film. Since an accurate portrayal of Wicca wouldn't make for a very good horror movie though, most of it (apart from some flavoring) got thrown out in favor of a ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' or ''Series/{{Buffy|TheVampireSlayer}}''-style approach[[note]]Though the film predates both by a couple of years[[/note]]. The filmmakers also made up the god the girls worship - specifically to avoid offending actual Wiccans [[note]] 'Manon' was actually named after the title character of the French movie ''Manon de Sources''[[/note]].

* SlutShaming: Chris does this to the girls he goes out with even if they don't sleep with him. Nancy's reaction to Sarah's starry-eyed gazing at him implies Chris did it to her. She warns Sarah that "he carries disease." Him loudly rejecting Sarah and claiming he dumped her for being a [[LousyLoversAreLosers lousy lay]] that gave him an STI to embarrass her is why she casts the love spell on him.

-->-- '''Nancy''', '''Bonnie''', and '''Rochelle'''

-->-- '''Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle'''