Debuting in the spring of 1996 as a sleeper hit, The Craft stands as a pretty solid entry into the golden age of teen films circa the the 1980s through the 1990s. Although men were at the helm of the writing and the directing of the story, the heart is – and always has been – that of teen girl rage.
The young women whose stories circle and surround the film all have aggressions and vendettas bubbling under the surface just waiting to come out and be expressed. The way in which that happens is different per girl, but when you get down to the raw underbelly each one in a way is justified. Justified in the sense that they have the best intentions, but executing the right way to solve their problems is the tricky part, resulting in a domino effect of outcomes.
We have four teen girls heading the film, including Nancy Downs (Fairuza Balk), Bonnie Harper (Neve Campbell) and Rochelle Zimmerman (Rachel True). But the film paints Sarah Bailey (Robin Tunney) as our otherwise main protagonist, as the story sets of and revolves around her arrival to San Francisco and start at a new school.
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Sarah is a girl of few words, with an air about her that hints at secrets and pain hidden away just under the surface. She is just shy of being a socially outcasted weirdo, because even though she is slow to make friends, attraction from the opposite sex is something that comes faster. Big jock football player Chris Hooker (Skeet Ulrich) locks his sights on Sarah and hones in on her like a radar signal.
While Chris has his eyes on Sarah, she has her eyes on the sullen group of girls all dressed in black found on the outer rim of the bustling high school social circles… The feeling is mutual as Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle are curious about her as well. Why? Because they are young, aspiring witches, and she may be the fourth member they need.
The movie sets it up early that Sarah and Nancy will arguably be friends, with a competitive streak buzzing behind each of their social interactions. They each have pain and anger they are keeping in; Sarah’s being a past of self harm and the death of her mother, and Nancy with a bad home life and poor authority figures.
Each of them has a cross to bear, but they go about it in polar opposite ways. Sarah is more rational and quiet, arguably letting people walk over her a bit too much. Nancy is bombastic and the smallest slight is met with a desire for retribution. On one end, Nancy desperately craves a tighter grip with ultimate grasp of the magical powers, and resents how easy it seems to come to Sarah who doesn’t crave that same control.
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One big sticking point between these friends/enemies, is none other than Chris Hooker himself. When Sarah shows interest in him Nancy warns that at one point in time he got with her and he wasn’t a good guy. This warning doesn’t stick and soon Sarah has casted a love spell on Chris, even though he tried spreading a rumor that she went further on their first date than she actually did.
Fissures began to show between Nancy and Sarah, as the love-sick Chris continues chasing after the object of his perceived affections. Cementing this further is the morning after the four girls participate in a late night “Invocation of the Spirit” ritual. The aftermath appears to leave Nancy, more endowed with magical prowess and what Sarah perceives as a lack of empathy.
Things begin to spiral for everyone and calm reverts to chaos as the spells casted earlier by each of the girls go out of control. One night after going on a drive Chris becomes more forceful in his lust for Sarah and attempts to throw her on down on the side of the road and rape her. She escapes and the other girls are shocked and try to comfort her, Nancy isn’t concerned with comfort though and zeros in on seeking revenge on Chris and making him pay for what he has done. Sarah doesn’t want this though and just wants to forget it. Nancy doesn’t listen.
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This leads us into one of the most interesting sequences of the film and pretty crystal clear look into the way these two (Sarah & Nancy) tick. Nancy locates Chris and with a swift transformation into Sarah attempts to seduce the unknowing boy. It is further revealed that this seeking of revenge is slightly faltered by unresolved feelings Nancy has for Chris from being rejected by him in the past.
Having this pointed out enrages Nancy and she kills Chris with a swift push out a window, now almost for a wounding on her pride and less for revenge on a friend’s near sexual assault. Sarah is horrified and in shock as she truly believed Chris was a good guy despite his bad actions.
Nancy doesn’t buy into this though which is highlighted in her last diatribe to Chris before propelling him out the window… “The only way you know how to treat women is by treating them like whores, when you’re the whore! And that’s gonna stop.” Nancy won’t go as far as to look the other way or forgive Chris, and maybe despite what the movie wants you to think… Maybe she was right. Even just a little… Chris was a jerk who cared very little for Sarah’s agency.
Things explode in one final confrontation. Sarah fearing that Nancy is going down too dark a path and may be a harm to herself and others wants to bind her from inflicting harm. This doesn’t bode well for Nancy who alongside Bonnie and Rochelle plot out a night of terror to end Sarah, when all it does is push Sarah to her breaking point. The two girls collide and Sarah defeats Nancy’s power trip which results in her being locked away for good.
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The altercation leaves Sarah changed and in the last moments of the film she seems lacking in that certain naivety she had earlier. But maybe it is for the best as Sarah in finally letting her rage out against Nancy regained a part of her agency. Throughout the movie she is bossed around by Nancy, assaulted by Chris and slowly ostracized by her friends. In expressing herself and stepping away from being complacent, Sarah comes into a sense of power befitting her.
At the end of the day Nancy and Sarah’s relationship and dynamics are the most interesting aspect of the film and its strongest point. Points can be made for both sides; even though Nancy is painted the villain it is easy to see that most of the time, before the power became too much for her, she had good intentions.
Female rage in film is a provocative subject that often doesn’t get the same nuanced treatment that their male counterparts receive. But it is powerful, and if The Craft gives us anything it is a thoughtful picture of female rage at a young age, when most girls likely feel at their least powerful, wanting their voices and feelings heard.
