Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
A Catholic school newcomer falls in with a clique of teen witches who wield their powers against all who dare to cross them -- be they teachers, rivals or meddlesome parents.
The Craft is a solid mid-90s genre piece that blends teen angst with occult horror effectively. Its plot hits familiar beats of outsider-finding-belonging followed by power-corrupting-youth, competently executed but not especially surprising. The young ensemble — Tunney, Balk, Campbell, and Skye — deliver engaged, watchable performances that elevate the material without quite transcending it. Cinematography is stylish for its era with some genuinely atmospheric gothic lighting and production design, though nothing formally distinguished. Its novelty lies in centering female friendship and adolescent female power in a genre space that rarely did so, giving it a distinctive cultural identity even if its mechanics are familiar. The ending, however, is the weakest link — the third-act horror showdown devolves into conventional special-effects chaos and a rushed resolution that undercuts the more interesting interpersonal tensions built earlier.