Line #92 YMMV/TheCraft


1	* AccidentalInnuendo: "I can feel you in me!" - said by Nancy after invoking the spirit. Given her desire for power, perhaps not that accidental.
2	* AlternateAesopInterpretation:
3	** One could interpret this to have a lesson on what to do if you're being bullied or mistreated - namely Chris's treatment of Sarah and Laura Lizzie's of Rochelle. Both girls opt for revenge - Sarah giving Chris MindRape to fall in love with her, and Rochelle making Laura's hair fall out - and said revenge brings them no satisfaction overall. This suggests AnAesop that bad behavior should be reported or challenged in maturer ways, as opposed to stooping to the tormentors' levels. For example, Nancy tries to punish Chris for his attempted rape of Sarah - and by contrast, Sarah seeks help from Lirio to stop the girls from tormenting her, and only preventing the girls from doing any more damage as opposed to torturing them.
4	** Another Aesop could be that one should be wary of hanging out with people just BecauseYouWereNiceToMe. Sarah drifts to Chris because he's nice to her on the first day, knowing he hangs around with a bad crowd, and this results in him humiliating her when she won't sleep with him. Likewise, she goes to the girls because they're nice to her after Chris's cruel treatment - also ignoring the fact that they thought they killed a person and were excited rather than horrified. Sarah's loneliness and latching onto anyone who shows her the smallest bit of kindness leads to her ignoring danger signs, leading to her being mistreated.
5	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
6	** Did Nancy attack Chris in outrage over his [[spoiler: attempted rape]] of Sarah, or was she just jealous that Chris was obsessed with Sarah and not her, even when the infatuation had become disturbing and dangerous? Or, if you think that Nancy was secretly [[LesYay infatuated/obsessed]] with Sarah, could it be that she's jealous of ''Chris''? Either way, she likes being [[ControlFreak in control]] of the other girls in the coven, so perhaps she felt Chris was trying to take Sarah away from her?
7	** Was Bonnie ''really'' that unjustified in acting vain after spending nearly her whole life covered in scars? On the other hand, her behaviour post-makeover points to her being superficial and perhaps getting scarred was a BreakTheHaughty for her? Bonnie seems to be more sadistic than Rochelle - who seems to be intimidated by Nancy - so maybe she was never really that 'nice' to begin with. Bonnie is shown to have few issues stealing from Lirio's store early in the film and she tends to parrot Nancy quite a bit, almost acting like a BetaBitch, so it's not implausible that some of Nancy's bad behaviour rubbed off her or that she was trying to impress Nancy because she was desperate to be liked by someone (Chris' comments about her burn scars suggests she might've been bullied by some of her classmates for them).
8	** Rochelle, particularly as we don't get as much insight into her character as the others. To some it may feel that what she did to Laura was entirely deserved. Notably it's not Rochelle herself who enacts the revenge - it's Sarah doing it for her. Rochelle's only wish was that she wouldn't let the bullying bother her. Also, given her general lack of malice and the fact she seemed genuinely remorseful or at least conflicted about what happened to Laura, it's debatable as to whether she's really as bad as Nancy or even Bonnie, or if she's just going along with them because she's afraid of them turning on her too and/or of being left with no friends.
9	** Was Chris’ [[spoiler: attempted rape of Sarah]] really entirely the result of the love spell gone wrong? Or was he always capable of it and the spell simply removed his usual inhibitions? He certainly doesn’t have much respect for women, viewing them merely as playthings/sex objects and has an arrogant and entitled attitude, particularly in regards to sex.
10	** It's up in the air if Nancy felt anything for her friends at all. A deleted scene has her chew them out, claiming "I have saved you all from oblivion" - so it could be that she sought out other outcasts just to make herself more powerful. She seems to view them as minions more than anything else, and is paranoid that they'll side with Sarah. Then again sometimes she seems to genuinely have fun with the girls, like in the glamour and levitation scenes. She also seems to feel genuinely sorry for Bonnie because of her struggle to get rid of her scars, and seems empathetic towards Sarah about the rumours Chris spread about her. Interestingly, most of the scenes of her being nice and having with fun with her friends occur ''before'' she gets more power, which could suggest that it was only when the power started going to her head that Nancy began treating her friends more like 'followers'.
11	** It's likewise up in the air if Bonnie, Rochelle and Nancy felt anything for Sarah at all either. Bonnie first shows an interest in her when she sees her demonstrating magic, and her first thought is Sarah giving them their fourth, and how her powers will allow them to get what they want. Rochelle and Bonnie can seem a bit dismissive of Sarah's backstory outside of her powers, suggesting that they only see her as an outlet for their wishes to come true. Nancy is hostile to Sarah from the beginning and only shows an interest in her after Chris does, which could be interpreted as Nancy trying to prevent Sarah from having something ''she'' wants. Her reaction to Chris's attempted rape of Sarah is not to console her traumatized friend - but to screw around with Chris. And when Sarah wants to stop misusing magic, they turn against her. If you take the deleted scene as canon, when offered the choice to side with the more powerful natural witch Sarah, they opt to stay with Nancy - out of fear or simply not wanting to give up their magic?
12	** After Sarah [[spoiler:invokes Manon]] and thoroughly freaks out Nancy with magic (giving her a taste of her own medicine), Nancy apologises to Sarah, saying that it all "got out of hand" and that she knows she can act crazy but she can't seem to help it. Is Nancy just trying to manipulate Sarah to catch her off guard or save herself? Or is she actually [[HeelRealization being]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone genuine]]? Nancy does attack Sarah again soon after, though interestingly it's only after Sarah tries to bind her powers despite her pleading, so perhaps this was a RedemptionRejection or IgnoredEpiphany for Nancy.
13	* AngelDevilShipping: Combined with MindGameShip for those that ship Sarah with Nancy even after the latter's BigBadSlippage.
14	* {{Applicability}}: ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPFPgLaBoPY Better With Bob?]]'' highlighted many parallels Sarah's character has to someone with autism; being born with a condition that causes her lots of distress, that has led to her self-harming, and she has to learn to accept its flaws while also embracing its advantages. What's more is that she's so keen to fit in that she's prone to being taken advantage of by people with malicious intentions.
15	* AssPull: Bonnie and Rochelle's abrupt [[spoiler: FaceHeelTurn]] in the third act. With Nancy it was understandable but it's never explained with them. A DeletedScene shows that Bonnie and Rochelle made ''one'' attempt at talking Nancy down, but she shames them into sticking with her by pointing out that she's their only friend.
16	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: "I Have The Touch" by Heather Nova. Also Love Spit Love's cover of "How Soon Is Now" - originally by Music/TheSmiths and Letters to Cleo's cover of Music/TheCars' "Dangerous Type".
17	* BrokenBase:
18	** Over whether Laura should be sympathised with. Some viewers feel her racism towards Rochelle makes her unforgivable and she deserved everything she got. Others point to her being a naive teenager who seemed to learn her lesson after her BreakTheHaughty.
19	** There's also Bonnie and Rochelle's status. Half the base finds them {{Flat Character}}s who don't have enough agency (Creator/LindsayEllis complained about Rochelle being underdeveloped in particular). Others however, particularly WebVideo/ChrisStuckmann, finds them just as well-developed as Sarah and Nancy - feeling that they're both distinctive, with clear motivations and personalities (while he had issue with the last act of the film, it was more to do with the plot rather than characterization).
20	* CatharsisFactor: [[spoiler: When Sarah finally accepts her powers, is helped by Mannon and dishes out LaserGuidedKarma to all three of her former friends. Nancy and Bonnie suffering BreakTheHaughty can be very satisfying]].
21	* CriticalDissonance: {{Downplayed\|trope}}. Critics generally had a more mixed response to the film (though few thought it was outright terrible, more SoOkayItsAverage), while general audiences tend to be more positive, to the point the film became a surprise SleeperHit and has a strong cult following to this day.
22	* CryForTheDevil: [[spoiler: Although Nancy was completely AxCrazy, you have to feel sorry for her ending up in a mental hospital. Her crappy homelife and the way Chris treated her also give her a more sympathetic angle]].
23	* CultClassic: Became regarded as one fairly quickly after its release (although it was [[SleeperHit more financially successful than expected]]). It's particularly popular amongst young women and inspired later DarkerAndEdgier teen fantasy films and TV shows such as ''Series/{{Charmed\|1998}}'' (which began airing two years after ''The Craft'' was released). Fans also finds its depiction of witchcraft and magic interesting; it's actually not too inaccurate a portrayal of Wicca and neopaganism (albeit exaggerated for the sake of the plot).
24	* DracoInLeatherPants: Some fans have a hard time viewing Nancy as villainous despite her [[spoiler: murdering two people]] and all the sadistic stuff she does [[spoiler: to Sarah in the third act - including trying to drive her to suicide and making her believe her parents died]]. These fans try to imagine her as being corrupted by the powers when it seems to be more of a case of being crazy first and ''then'' getting the powers. It helps that she's played in a sympathetic light, being apparently subjected to SlutShaming in the past, seems to deal with sexual harassment from an abusive stepfather and shows signs of genuine friendship and care for her mother before her SanitySlippage, as well as having a darkly charasmatic personality.
25	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Well yes Rochelle is technically one of the leads, but she's the least focused on. Rachel True however does a lot with the part, and the fact that she's easily the most sympathetic of the witches (after Sarah anyway) makes people wish more had been done with her.
26	* EpilepticTrees: There's a wild (and not widely supported theory) that there is no actual magic in the movie and all the strange goings-on are coincidences or outright hallucinations. One could somewhat plausibly make this argument in the first half of the movie, given many of the early magical occurrences aren't explicitly supernatural (the girls initially use magic to make things happen that could have perfectly mundane explanations); Sarah also admits to having had hallucinations in the past, Nancy isn't too mentally stable either, and the girls are indicated to be taking drugs at some points. However, it gets harder to buy by the latter half of the movie, given some of the clearly magical feats the girls pull off or experience, and explaining it as shared hallucinations seems a bit of a stretch.
27	* EthnicScrappy: Rochelle's entire characterization revolves around her race. A deleted scene reveals that it's not just Laura who's a racist bitch; the entire school ostracizes her because she's black (except Nancy, who throws it in Rochelle's face when she and Bonnie try to get her to lay off the magic). Many viewers were annoyed by the film's clumsy handling of racism and that Rochelle had no character beyond that. On the other hand, as mentioned under FairForItsDay, Rochelle avoids some of the more common stereotypes of black characters and some fans were simply happy to have a black character in a mainstream leading role at all (which was pretty rare at the time the film was released). Rachel True has also pointed out that she wore her hair natural at a time when many black actresses, especially in teen movies, had to straighten theirs or wear weaves.
28	* EvilIsCool: A big part of Nancy's enduring appeal besides her [[AntiVillain sympathetic traits]] is her bold personality, badass powers and gothic/punk aesthetic. Fairuza Balk's charisma makes her very appealing too.
29	* FairForItsDay: Despite the problems with how Rochelle's race was handled, Creator/RachelTrue points out that at the time the film came out, it was rare to see a black female lead in a mainstream movie. Rochelle is also not a SassyBlackWoman, nor is she from the ghetto - Rachel True also taking the time to highlight that there were either [[MinorityShowGhetto "black movies set in the hood or else white movies that everyone sees"]]. For years she was approached by other girls of colour who were happy that a middle-class black girl was one of the leads in a mainstream film. She remembers being annoyed that her parents were cut out of the film while the others' weren't but then..
30	--> "And this was 20 years ago, so then I said, 'Listen, you’re black and you’re in the movie. That’s pretty good already.'"
31	* FanPreferredCouple: Sarah and Nancy have their fair share of shippers, even when they're not friends. Doesn't help with Nancy's AmbiguouslyBi moments and her obsession with Sarah (and that Sarah's LoveInterest, Chris, is a sleazy asshole who mistreats her).
32	* FanPreferredCutContent: The deleted scene that helped bridge Nancy's FaceHeelTurn; Sarah first asks Bonnie and Rochelle about doing a binding spell, but Nancy ambushes them and gives a ReasonYouSuckSpeech. She reminds Bonnie and Rochelle of all she's done for them, also clarifying that they were outright shunned by the school before her. The director cut this, feeling it took power away from the scene in the bathroom where the girls officially turn on Sarah, and thinking it wouldn't make sense for them to remain friends with Nancy after that. The fans have a different attitude however; it explains Rochelle and Bonnie's abrupt FaceHeelTurn (which seems especially surprising for Rochelle, who's an otherwise NiceGirl) by showing they only go along with Nancy out of fear. It also gives a better reason for why Sarah would go on a date with Chris afterwards - in the finished film, she just appears to call him over simple disagreements with the girls. But the deleted scene happens right before this, meaning Sarah was feeling particularly vulnerable. Superficially, the scene shows off some killer acting by Creator/FairuzaBalk.
33	* {{Fanon}}:
34	** Fans like to interpret Nancy as being AmbiguouslyBi due to the sheer amount of sexual tension between her and Sarah. She did previously sleep with Chris and seems to on some level want his attention, but her treatment of Sarah definitely has the undertones of a spurned lover (see below).
35	** An early draft stated that Sarah was the only one with real magic, and the other three were just leeching off her powers. A lot of fans take this as canon, even if it isn't said in the film itself; just that Sarah is a natural witch because her mother was one.
36	* FansPreferTheNewHer:
37	** Nancy glamours herself into Sarah to convince Chris into getting with her. While the scene is decidedly creepy, you can't deny that Robin Tunney looks extremely good in Nancy's black dress.
38	** In fact, Nancy's wardrobe and hairstyling after she becomes even crazier is actually more flattering to Fairuza Balk than what she'd been wearing previously.
39	* FriendlyFandoms: With ''Film/GingerSnaps'' and ''Film/JennifersBody'', due to their similar story and character beats - particularly with the protagonists and antagonists suggestive relationships - as well as having an LGBTFanbase. The three movies are considered something of a trio in their fanbases.
40	* GirlShowGhetto: Subverted. WordOfGod is that they were afraid of this affecting the Box Office take - as girl-oriented teen movies conjured up thoughts of something like ''{{Film/Clueless}}''. Needless to say the film became a SleeperHit. A few years later, a blatant {{Gender Flip}}ed knock-off ''Film/TheCovenant'' wasn't nearly as successful.
41	* HarsherInHindsight:
42	** One of the first spells the girls cast is to make the car hit the snake guy. Nathaniel Marston, who plays one of Chris's friends Trey, died in a car accident twenty years later.
43	** Rochelle being OutOfFocus is harsher when Rachel True revealed that she was left out of a lot of the press for the film in contrast to the three other leads - who all attended the MTV Movie Awards while she didn't. According to her, one of the other actresses had to call the studio and get them to include her on a press junket. Flash forward to 2018/2019 where Rachel True has taken to social media to voice her disgust that she's STILL being left out of reunion events and even articles about the movie. In one article, they credited Christine Taylor as one of the stars but not Rachel. This did eventually level off, and Rachel began getting more convention invites, and has even been chosen to speak on diversity at several events - including being featured in the documentary ''Horror Noire''.
44	** When the film came out, Laura's made-up racist slurs were just too ridiculous to be taken serious. At least some of them became ''actual'' slurs over the years since premiere, even if through different sources.
45	* HilariousInHindsight:
46	** In this movie, while settling into a new home and way of life in the big city, our psychologically troubled teen hero falls in with a group of friends who practice magic by channeling the power of a metaphysical entity. One of these friends - the eventual BigBad of the story - can manipulate lightning, has a lot more to teach about magic than the others, and is sinister, charismatic, and [[EvilIsHammy delightfully hammy]]. The protagonist delves deeper and deeper into the supernatural arts and is quickly revealed to have far more natural ability than the other practitioners. Unfortunately, after foraying into BlackMagic under the BigBad's guidance, the protagonist becomes isolated and morally off track. And even though our hero embraced darkness partly for the sake of a relationship, the dark arts turn the relationship disturbing and creepy, and the LoveInterest ends up dying as a result. Keep in mind, this movie was made three years before Creator/GeorgeLucas started releasing the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels.
47	** Another one: a teenage girl moves to a new city, and soon falls in with a group of three female classmates who seem nice at first, but quickly reveal themselves to be utterly monstrous. After being exposed full-blast to her friends' villainy, our heroine resolves to destroy their power. As [[WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick Lindsay Ellis]] noted in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjefL2_Uh8Q her review]] of this film, this is essentially the plot of ''Film/MeanGirls'', only that film was a comedy without any supernatural elements -- and in her opinion, [[BetterByADifferentName a better film for it]].
48	** Christine Taylor suffers rapid hair loss in this film. In an episode of ''{{Series/Friends}}'', she guest stars and Rachel convinces her to shave her head bald. Bonus points for her being named Bonnie (the name of Neve Campbell's character in this).
49	** Rachel True, who plays Rochelle, previously had a role in the 1995 film ''Embrace of the Vampire'', which also starred Alyssa Milano. Milano later went on to play Phoebe Halliwell in ''Charmed'', who like Rochelle, is a witch...and ''Charmed'' was even said to have been inspired by ''The Craft''. Rachel True mocked Aaron Spelling for making the witches in ''Charmed'' sisters, calling it an excuse not to cast an actress of colour. The reboot, ''Series/Charmed2018'' gave all the sisters a RaceLift to become Latina.
50	** Neve Campbell bears a striking resemblance to another actress that would play a timid, neurotic witch growing into her magical powers -- Holly Marie Combs as Piper Halliwell.
51	** Nancy says of Chris that he comes onto anything with a pulse. Bonnie then says "except me". Chris is played by Skeet Ulrich and Bonnie by Neve Campbell. They played boyfriend and girlfriend in ''{{Film/Scream 1996}}'' just one year later. And it's a plot point that Neve's character doesn't want to have sex yet. Also Breckin Meyer - who plays Chris's friend - nearly got the part of Randy, who would be a rival to Skeet's character in ''Scream''.
52	** At a convention interview, when asked about participation in a reboot, Neve Campbell joked "we'd be the moms and it'd be about our young, hot daughters". ''Film/TheCraftLegacy'' did indeed focus on a new set of young cast members [[spoiler: and reveal one of them as Nancy's daughter]].
53	** The executives demanded that Sarah be depicted with long hair, so Robin Tunney had to wear a wig, although the director stated he would've been fine with Sarah sporting Tunney's "cute pixie" style. In the sequel, the Sarah-equivalent Lily (played by Creator/CaileeSpaeny) is depicted with a pixie cut.
54	* HollywoodHomely:
55	** Bonnie has scars that prevent the other kids in school from finding her attractive. But she's still Creator/NeveCampbell. The scars don't affect her face and she only wears baggy clothes and MessyHair. Once the scars are gone, everyone instantly finds her hot. It's possible that it's [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation less because Bonnie is actually physically unattractive and more because her self-consciousness over her scars and lack of confidence make her less attractive]].
56	** Throughout the film, Nancy is referred to as "trailer trash" and kids at school talk about how filthy she is, with specific remarks about her unwashed hair. Yet she's always dressed in clean, well-fitted clothes, with a full compliment of well-applied makeup and clean hair. It's possible that the rather straitlaced students associate her goth style with "trashy" and "dirty," rather than her actual hygiene or grooming. Once the girls discover how to perform a glamour, Nancy requests a smaller ass. Many a viewers likely rolled their eyes, especially if they watched in TheNewTens, where big asses are highly desired (although this could also be because of self-image issues). Part of this is due to ValuesDissonance - as although goth was an established subculture in the 90s, Nancy's rejection of typical gender norms would serve to make her seem off-putting. Her general abrasiveness and rudeness may also contribute to this.
57	** Sarah is constantly referred by the boys from her classes as ugly and unattractive. Unlike previous examples, she's not looked down due to some deformity or acting and dressing up in wildly original way - she's the epitome of GirlNextDoor, which the film ''in the same time'' bizarrely plays up as part of her appeal and allure. No effort is made to even present or suggest that a character played by Creator/RobinTunney isn't attractive, making the constant teasing feeling [[InformedAttribute really forced]].
58	** All four lead actresses are dressed down in the first act of the film to sell them as outcasts, which Robin Tunney jokes made the studio get a little worried (since things were shot in chronological order). The intent was to give their wardrobes and appearances more attention to represent their confidence and powers growing.
59	* InformedWrongness: Sarah claims that Bonnie has become "totally narcissistic" since her scars vanished. The only real evidence of this is Bonnie wearing a fitted t-shirt in class and flirting with a random guy on the street. Granted she doesn't seem too nice any more but that just seems a result of sloppy writing than her sudden beauty.
60	* JerkassHasAPoint: “You’re just jealous.” Chris has been a complete jerk and done some terrible things in the movie, but he raises the entirely valid point that Nancy’s fury at him has less to do with his attempted rape of Sarah, but the fact that he likes her INSTEAD of Nancy. Nancy’s reaction doesn’t help her case.
61	* JerkassWoobie:
62	** Nancy is a horrible person but it's not hard to feel sorry for her when you see that she lives in a trailer park, with an alcoholic mother and abusive stepfather.
63	** Laura Lizzie starts out as a racist AlphaBitch but when her hair falls out and leaves her wearing a wig, it makes her far more pitiable.
64	** Bonnie mostly post FaceHeelTurn is a borderline AlphaBitch herself (she's easily Nancy's BetaBitch anyway) but she did spend years being an outcast because of her burn scars (she actually says she spent most of her life "being a monster").
65	* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: Chris and Laura Lizzie are hated far more than the actual antagonist of the film, Nancy. Chris mostly spreads nasty rumors about Sarah (although it's implied he's done the same to other girls) and Laura Lizzie is a racist bully to Rochelle and rude to Sarah. Nancy meanwhile murders two people, tries to commit sexual assault, intimidates her friends into siding with her, threatens to slit Rochelle's throat, and does her best to torture Sarah into killing herself. But because as the villain, she's allowed a tragic backstory with her sad home life (and one of her victims being [[spoiler: Chris himself]], while the other is [[spoiler:her abusive stepfather]]), she's beloved by the fandom. Chris likely gets hated more because he tries to [[spoiler:rape Sarah]], with Nancy retaliating against him, and his only excuse is that he's an entitled asshole (albeit under a love spell), so Nancy's motives are more understandable to viewers even though they're not justified.
66	* LGBTFanbase: Lesbian and bisexual women have found the movie particularly appealing due to starring four attractive young women who wear {{fanservice}}y outfits at points, the emphasis on the girls' relationships with each other over a heterosexual romance, and some of them (''especially'' Nancy) giving off homoerotic vibes in their interactions with each other. In a more general sense, some LGBT fans identified with the film's focus upon social outcasts in an intolerant environment trying to figure out where they belong and embracing what makes them different.
67	* LoveToHate: Those that don't apply DracoInLeatherPants to Nancy love her precisely because she's so evil and crazy.
68	* MemeticMutation: Due to Rochelle being played by an actress who is OlderThanTheyLook (she was ''29'' when she did the film) and Rachel True remaining so as the years have gone by (she turned 50 in 2018!) - fans have joked that she must be a witch in real life.
69	* MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales:
70	** Despite the most gothic girl turning out to be the villain, the movie has a huge fanbase of goth and punk girls.
71	** Although Rochelle is considered a comparatively FlatCharacter whose entire arc revolves around her race, Rachel True has spoken about getting thanked by many girls of colour who were happy that someone who looked like them was one of the leads in a mainstream film. In fact, fans merely wish ''more'' had been done with Rochelle the character.
72	* {{Moe}}: Sarah manages to become this in the scene where Chris falls under her spell. She looks so adorable when she makes him carry her books and discovers he obeys her commands.
73	* MoralEventHorizon:
74	** [[spoiler:Nancy]]'s attempts to get Sarah to kill herself and, possibly, her murder of [[spoiler:Chris]] beforehand. It's the latter which makes [[spoiler:Sarah]] realize that [[spoiler:Nancy]] has to be stopped, in any case.
75	** [[spoiler:Bonnie]] had appeared to be friendly with Sarah and genuinely like her as a person, but [[spoiler: she crosses the horizon by siding with Nancy and having no qualms about torturing Sarah. She brushes off the murders of Chris and Ray as "accidents", is seen cackling cruelly during the nightmare and has a KickTheDog moment with "how ''have'' you been sleeping, Sarah?"]] - twisting the knife by letting Sarah know it wasn't just a dream.
76	* {{Narm}}: Laura's open racism is a legitimately villainous trait, but you can't help but chuckle when she uses a word like "Negroid."
77	* NarmCharm: Fairuza Balk's performance as Nancy goes off the deep end, is simultaneously hammy and terrifying at the same time.
78	* OlderThanTheyThink: Laura Lizzie's infamous 'negroid' racial taunt actually appears in passing in Stephen King's ''{{Literature/Carrie}}'' - written a good twenty years earlier.
79	* OnceOriginalNowCommon: It might be lost on younger viewers just how ''different'' the movie was when it first came out. Teen UrbanFantasy was not a mainstream genre, or, for that matter, even regular Urban Fantasy was still this new, uncharted territory at that point. The likes of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''{{Series/Charmed\|1998}}'' wouldn't hit the air for a couple of years - producer Andy Wick said "It was before YA. There were very few female heroines like that.", and the notion of a girl-centered teen movie called to mind something like ''{{Film/Clueless}}'' as opposed to anything dark. The filmmakers didn't even know who they were really marketing the film to - until hundreds of goth and punk girls showed up to the preview.
80	* PeripheryDemographic:
81	** Both [[Franchise/TheWorldOfDarkness oWoD and nWoD]] players, since the film fits right into the setting. While during the release, it neatly overlapped with the target audience of goths, things changed over the years in terms of who the players are, but not when it comes to them still watching ''The Craft'' and suggesting others to watch it.
82	** Anime fandom, particularly people into MagicalGirl shows, particularly the DarkerAndEdgier ones. This demographic developed over the years, rather than in the initial release of the film, since the MagicalGirl subgenre itself was in a completely different phase in the mid-90s.
83	* PopularityPolynomial: It was a SleeperHit in the 90s, and in the 2000s people were likely to go "yeah, I remember that". Even as early as the late 2000s, it was becoming a CultClassic. Nowadays with teen UrbanFantasy being a mainstream genre, the film is arguably more popular now than it was when it first came out.
84	* RealismInducedHorror: Part of what can make Sarah's story hit home is that she's a girl struggling with mental health problems, who falls in with a crowd of friends that seem to like her at first but convince her to help them do dangerous things - turning on her when she no longer wants to. Even without the magic, it has some tragic parallels to gang violence and peer pressure.
85	* RetroactiveRecognition: [[Series/TheMentalist Teresa Lisbon]] and [[Film/{{Scream}} Sidney Prescott]] were witches. Neve Campbell was reasonably known at the time thanks to ''Series/PartyOfFive'' but it was in AcclaimedFlop territory at the time.
86	* RonTheDeathEater: On the flipside of Nancy's DracoInLeatherPants, there has been a few [[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vb3bam/boring-sarah-is-the-true-villain-of-the-craft essays]] that [[https://reelrundown.com/movies/Why-Nancy-was-the-True-Hero-of-1995s-The-Craft try to portray]] Sarah as being the ''villain'' over the film, portrayed her as a "wet blanket" who betrayed her friends and tried to take the moral high ground when they started getting revenge on their peers. These views downplay or outright ignore that Sarah is as much a victim as her coven, with Sarah having suffered from past traumas, self harm, attempted suicide; as well as SlutShaming, AttemptedRape and gaslighting over the course of the film. These views often go as far as treating the other three girls as being entirely justified in trying to kill Sarah, and would claim that she [[UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming brought everything on herself]].
87	* SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct:
88	** It might be forgotten that at the time, Fairuza Balk was considered a FormerChildStar best known for ''Film/ReturnToOz'' (a CultClassic now but not received well on first release) and a MadeForTVMovie of ''Literature/TheWorstWitch''. Her darkly charismatic performance as Nancy was an indicator that she had plenty more to offer as an adult actress.
89	** Robin Tunney likewise was just known for TV guest spots and ''Film/EmpireRecords'' (which likewise only found its cult audience later). She herself thought she was a character actress, auditioning for the role of Bonnie, but they found her audition so good she was given the lead. Her performance as Sarah is considered one of her best.
90	* SignatureLine: '''"We are the weirdos, mister"''', Nancy's response to a bus driver telling her and her friends to "Watch out for those weirdos". It's frequently quoted by fans of the film, got a CallBack in the sequel and is often considered representative of the entire movie.
91	* SignatureScene:
92	** The shot of Sarah playing with her pencil during a class, first steadying it on its tip and then making it slooowly spin like a drill into her desk - all without using her hands. It's very brief, yet highly memorable.
93	** The "light as a feather, stiff as a board" scene is among the most remembered in the film. Even saying that quote can bring up memories of it for some.
94	** The shot during the GoodTimesMontage of all four girls confidently walking across the campus, Nancy blowing a kiss to someone off-screen. It's been homaged in the likes of ''Film/MeanGirls'' and ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution''.
95	** And then there's the memorable sequence of Sarah being made to hallucinate all the insects, rats and snakes in her house.
96	* SpecialEffectsFailure:
97	** Sarah's hair in the film is obviously a wig (due to Robin Tunney shaving her head for ''Film/EmpireRecords''); glaringly so during the glamour scene.
98	** The wide shot of Nancy WalkOnWater scene is blatantly green-screened. What makes it stand out much more is the very next shot, where she is still walking on the surface, reaching the shore, but this one was done with practical effects, still looking impressive.
99	* TestosteroneBrigade: This film was attracting goths and metalheads, regardless of their gender.
100	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
101	** Bonnie and Rochelle are demoted to being Nancy's minions in the third act. While there is a little bit of conflict over what Nancy does to Sarah, it's barely touched on. Bonnie and Sarah in particular appeared to be good friends, but this is never touched on at all. Special mention is given to Bonnie acting vain and bitchy after losing her scars, but not much of this is shown. Rochelle does seem unwilling to actually go as far as Nancy is with Sarah, judging by one brief exchange in the climax, but it's never elaborated on.
102	** Rochelle has virtually no character outside of her race; when the writers classified the girls according to the elements, they said that Sarah is Earth because she is the most grounded, Bonnie is Air because she sees things others don't, Rochelle is Water ''because of her love for swimming,'' and Nancy is Fire because she is passionate and unpredictable. Even the writers can't come up with character traits to define Rochelle. A scene was cut showing Rochelle's parents, whom Rachel True described as "stodgy", which could have helped flesh her out a bit.
103	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: There's a deleted scene that shows Bonnie and Rochelle siding with Sarah to talk Nancy down - only for her to go ballistic and attack them, heavily implying they stay friends with her out of fear. While WordOfGod says the scene lessened the impact of the one in the bathroom later, a lot of fans feel the movie would be stronger with it. More superficially, it would have allowed for some great acting from Fairuza Balk.
104	* UnconventionalLearningExperience: Although the movie just goes with ArtisticLicence into the third act, the viewer can learn quite a bit about Wicca and neopagan practices from the story. Wiccans don't worship the devil, they don't sacrifice people, spells are more like prayer, each coven has their own rules forbidden to outsiders and the threefold law.
105	* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: As WebVideo/ChrisStuckmann put it "the 1990s are bleeding out of the screen". The soundtrack, fashions, and hairstyles (especially on Nancy and Sarah) are peak 90s fashion. There's also a notable lack of internet and cell phones among the teens - they need to read books to find out information about witchcraft, a moment of tension in the third act is [[spoiler: the witches making Sarah think her parents died in a plane crash]] (which banks on Sarah being unable to contact them or use the internet to prove the fakery).
106	* UnintentionallySympathetic: Rochelle deals with racism at school, and a deleted scene reveals she's the only black girl in the neighborhood. So even after her FaceHeelTurn along with Bonnie and Nancy, it's hard to view her as a villain. Notably it's she who tries to talk Nancy down once more while she's tormenting Sarah - only for Nancy to threaten her. By the end she's treated as if she did everything ForTheEvulz when it looks like she was more motivated by fear.
107	* ValuesDissonance:
108	** While the film is a FairForItsDay depiction of Wicca and the growing Neopagan movement (apart from the third act), the film’s focus on the threefold law and karma as advocating a passive response to misogyny and racism has not aged well to many, particularly among modern progressive Pagans.[[note]]Although the movie doesn't necessarily say that one should be passive; just that magic shouldn't be used for revenge.[[/note]]
109	** [[spoiler: Nancy ending up strapped to an asylum bed]] at the end of the film can be a more uncomfortable development to modern audiences due to shifts in attitudes about the treatment of prisoners and the mentally ill.
110	** The MediaNotes/MotionPictureAssociation slapped the film with a non-negotiable R rating over "containing portrayals of occultism", but had no problems with depictions of AttemptedRape, suicide scenes or teens chain-smoking. Ironically, [[Film/TheCraftLegacy the sequel]] got a PG-13 rating despite having an actual occultist running a cult group in it, but had to be squeaky clean in terms of substance use and sex. The resulting 180 turn took a mere ''24 years''.
111	* ValuesResonance:
112	** Some of the themes explored in the film around slut-shaming, sexual entitlement, bullying, mental illness and suicidal ideation in teens are (sadly) still as relevant in the 21st century as they were in 1996, if not even more so considering the rise of cyberbullying, increasing awareness and understanding of mental illness, and movements such as Me Too and Time's Up to raise awareness about and combat rape and sexual harassment. ''The Craft'' also notably averts DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale; the scene where Nancy is caught seducing a drunken Chris by glamouring herself to look like Sarah (which could be considered rape by deception, as well as taking advantage of an intoxicated person) is depicted as disturbing and crossing a moral boundary.
113	** When it comes to mental illness, Sarah is not demonized for her suicide attempts in the past - nor is she shown as weak or unstable. Her arc is that of a mental health survivor simply trying to live her life and, although she is triggered multiple times by bad influences and has her dark moments, she finds an inner strength and comes out on the other side. Well before films such as ''Film/TheBabadook'' started incorporating legitimate mental health struggles into the horror genre.
114	* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Although some scenes do look a bit outdated by today's standards, other scenes involving magic still look very believable, a notable example being the scene where the girls levitate Rochelle. The scene where Nancy changes her face into Sarah's is more subtle, but also fairly well-done (as well as slightly creepy).
115	* TheWoobie:
116	** Sarah lost her mother in childbirth and it's implied she feels a lot of guilt over it - and indeed Nancy taunts her for it. She also tried to kill herself prior to the move, and she really just wants to have friends - not to mention she gets humiliated in her new school when Chris spreads rumors about her. Robin Tunney is very good at looking like a kicked puppy when she wants to.
117	** Rochelle suffers racial taunts from the school's AlphaBitch and deleted scenes reveal that she is the only black girl in a white middle-class neighborhood - with uptight parents too. Not to mention that in said deleted scene, when Nancy tears into her, Rochelle looks terrified and starts crying. While the stuff she does in the third act prevents her from being 100% sympathetic, she's also the only one of the girls to [[spoiler: protest what they're doing to Sarah - only to have Nancy threaten to kill her]].
118	* WTHCostumingDepartment: The wig that Robin Tunney wears doesn't look too bad in some scenes, but in others it's blatantly obvious. The director would have been happy to let Robin use her "very cute pixie" as she was growing it out from ''Film/EmpireRecords'', but the studio insisted she have long hair.

Context YMMV / TheCraft