THE CRAFT (1996) Blu-ray review

The Craft (1996) d. Andrew Fleming (USA) (101 min)

When new student Sarah (Robin Tunney) falls in with a trio of “bad girls” (Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, Rachel True), they are soon dabbling in the dark arts with squealing abandon. Courtesy of a relatively chintzy ritual, the feminine foursome conjure “Manon, the Spirit of All Things” to allay their personal hardships (poverty, racism, romance, physical scars). At first, everything seems rosy as the supernatural forces work in their favor. However, the desires to sample blacker magic create a rift with Sarah’s “natural witch” and the breezy movie turns marginally malevolent as the conflict escalates.

“Now is the time, now is the hour. Ours is the magic, ours is the power.” The shallow spell spoken by the comely quartet of teen witches matches its cinematic impact perfectly – not terribly inspired, but it does the job. Director Fleming (Bad Dreams), who shares screenplay credit with Peter Filardi (Flatliners), attempts to create dizzying atmosphere with circle-happy camerawork, the results ranging from effective to intrusive. With well-done special effects (for the time) and capable performances from its attractive cast (the dynamic Balk fares best, with Campbell and True bland by comparison), this is a pleasant enough time-waster even if the film’s emotional depth never extends beyond that of its not-quite-adult characters.

BONUS FEATURES

NEW “Directing The Craft” with co-writer and director Andrew Fleming (Hamlet 2, Nancy Drew) (15 min)

NEW “Producing The Craft” with producer Douglas Wick (Wolf, Hollow Man, Gladiator) (14 min)

NEW “Writing The Craft” with co-writer Peter Filardi (11 min)

NEW “Effecting The Craft” (?!) with makeup effects supervisor Tony Gardner (The Blob, Seed of Chucky) (11 min)

Audio Commentary with director Andrew Fleming

Vintage Featurette “Conjuring The Craft” (25 min)

Vintage Featurette “The Making of The Craft” (6 min)

Deleted Scenes with optional audio commentary (7 min)

Theatrical Trailer

The Craft is available now on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory and can be ordered HERE:

https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-craft-collector-s-edition?product_id=7004


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