The cast of The Craft
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The Main Four
In General
- Classical Elements Ensemble:
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According to the script, the four girls all have an Elemental Motifs 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. - When they cast a spell, each one invokes their element, in their incantation.
Nancy: "Hail to the guardians of the watch towers of the East, powers of air and invention."Bonnie: "Hail to the guardians of the watch towers of the South, powers of fire and feeling."Rochelle: "Hail to the guardians of the watch towers of the West, powers of water and intuition."Sarah: "Hail to the guardians of the watch towers of the North, powers of mother and earth." -
- Dysfunction Junction: All the girls have various issues at school and home, and tragic or distressing pasts.
- Sarah's mother died in childbirth, she struggles to make friends, and suffers from depression and once tried to kill herself. Mere days/weeks after arriving at her new Catholic school, she gets nasty rumours spread about her after she turned down the offer of sex with a popular Football Player who Sarah thought genuinely liked her.
- Nancy lives in a crappy trailer park with her irresponsible Alcoholic mother and abusive Alcoholic stepfather. She is regarded as a freak at school, partially due to her goth appearance and mainly because her boyfriend (the same guy who spread rumours about Sarah) broke up with her after they had sex and then told the whole school about it, resulting in Nancy being badly bullied and slut-shamed. It's also implied he gave her an STI. Nancy is also not the most mentally stable girl, and becomes increasingly distressed.
- Bonnie was involved in an accident as a child resulting in severe burn scars around her body. She undergoes numerous painful treatments to no avail, is implied to be bullied over them, and has serious self-esteem issues - she even calls herself a "monster" at one point.
- Rochelle loves swimming and is a star on the swim team, but she's unable to enjoy herself because the resident Alpha Bitch Laura and her Girl Posse are also on the team and bully her every chance they get (with at least Laura being motivated by racism).
- Fanservice Pack: Round about when they start properly using magic, all the girls begin dressing in more revealing outfits and behaving somewhat more provocatively. Special mention should go to Bonnie, though, as she starts out being very insecure and bundles herself up in layers of clothing. After magically removing her burn scars, she gets a big confidence boost and begins strutting about in more flattering clothes and makeup, getting lots of attention from the boys at school. Bonnie even has the nerve to catcall a random guy.
- Four-Girl Ensemble: Rebellious goth girl Nancy is the Mannish one, increasingly image-obsessed Bonnie is the Pretty one, level-headed Sarah is the Team Mom and Nice Girl (initially) Rochelle is the Sweet one.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Bonnie is Sanguine (moreso after her Character Development), Nancy is Choleric, Sarah is Melancholic and Rochelle is Phlegmatic.
- Out of Focus: Bonnie and Rochelle in the second half of the film, as the story focuses more upon Nancy and Sarah's Character Development and rivalry.
- Those Two Girls: Bonnie and Rochelle, especially in the second half of the film.
Nancy Downs
Nancy Downs
"We are the weirdos, Mister."
Played By: Fairuza Balk
A troubled goth girl who seeks to gain magical power to better her life. However, her desire for power leads her down an increasingly dark path. She represents the element Air.
- Abusive Parents: Her abusive stepfather really did a number on her psyche. It's hinted that her mother, while loving, is also somewhat neglectful and oblivious.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Although Nancy was completely Ax-Crazy by this point, you have to feel sorry for her ending up in a mental hospital.
- Ambiguously Bi: She makes a few offhand, suggestive comments about women and some viewers feel her obsession with Sarah goes beyond just friendship/rivalry.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear how intentional it was when Nancy makes Ray have a heart attack. She lashes out in an emotional outburst when Ray becomes abusive towards Grace and her expression as Ray's being rushed to hospital gives away little.
- Ax-Crazy: As her powers grow, Nancy becomes MUCH more insane. By the end, she is slashing at Sarah with an athame, shrieking incoherently.
- Berserk Button: When Chris says she's just jealous. When her stepfather hits her mother. When Sarah tries to bind her from doing harm against others and herself.
- Big Bad: She becomes this by the film's third act.
- Big Bad Slippage: She starts out as one of the main protagonists, with the film chronicling her descent into madness and villainy.
- Breakout Character: Nancy's signature look and Fairuza Balk's electric performance turned her into an enduring goth icon. As a consequence, Nancy is the thread that ties the film into its distant sequel, The Craft: Legacy.
- Cheshire Cat Grin: The smile she gives during rare moments of happiness, though it can easily be interpreted as/ transform into a Slasher Smile.
- Control Freak: She exercises her power over the girls once she is given greater magical abilities; she also really doesn't like it when people question or challenge her authority.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Subverted. At the beginning, she wears black a lot but seems to be a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, at worst. After going mad with power, however...
- Daughter Of A Whore: Possibly. Her stepfather makes a comment about her father being "the one who paid [her mother] fifty bucks for a quick bang in the backseat", though it's unclear if he's telling the truth or just being a Jerkass.
- Disappeared Dad: Her biological father is nowhere to be found.
- Drunk on the Dark Side: Hoo boy. Played with in that technically-speaking, true magic is neither good or evil, but Nancy takes her power to a "dark place" and the scene of her on the beach after successfully invoking Manon fits very well with this trope.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: As seen in her page image, she has black hair and pale skin; she also has a somewhat creepy and offputting demeanour, especially after her Sanity Slippage.
- Elemental Motifs: Air, according to the script. She is said to be the most unpredictable of the girls and is certainly destructive with a nasty temper.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: She genuinely loves her mother and is protective of her, especially since it's hinted at the her stepfather, Ray, is abusive to her as well.
- Evil Former Friend: To Sarah eventually.
- Evil Is Hammy: The more unhinged she gets, the hammier and more aggressive her behavior becomes.
- Evil Wears Black: She even alters her uniform to befit her personality.
- Fearless Fool: Nancy very rarely shows outward signs of fear and puts up a confident demeanour, but her attitude also makes her reckless, putting both herself and others at risk. She completely dismisses Lirio and Sarah's warnings about dealing with powerful forces and misusing magic, and in one scene she speeds through traffic lights in her car and nearly gets hit, to which her only reaction is a dry "That was pretty close."
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Choleric. She's bold, charismatic, determined and the de facto leader of the coven, but also arrogant, abrasive, quick to anger and unstable.
- Freudian Excuse: For her Jerkass behavior it's her abusive stepfather; for her later insanity, it's her magic addiction (which is implied to be a by-product of her abuse).
- Ghostly Glide: When confronting Chris, she floats just above the ground as she advances on him, the tips of her boots dragging along the floor whilst she rants at him in an increasingly deranged manner.
- Good Witch Versus Bad Witch: She is the bad witch, whereas Sarah is the good witch.
- Goth: Of the most stereotypical kind: she's always dressed in black, wears dark makeup, is obsessed with the occult (and with good reason) and is usually in a morose/angry mood.
- Goths Have It Hard: She's the most gothic member of the coven, and she clearly has the most issues, even before she begins to go insane.
- Green-Eyed Monster: It is clear she is jealous of Sarah's powers.
- Icy Blue Eyes: Has these. They look particularly creepy when she's having some Sanity Slippage.
- I Just Want to Be Special: One of her driving motivations. She is frustrated by her lack of powers, repeatedly wishes to be bestowed powers and is jealous of Sarah for being a natural witch. Rochelle also states she hates being "white trash" (she starts out living in a leaking, messy house in a trailer park with her slovenly and abusive stepfather).
- Implied Death Threat: Makes a barely-veiled one to Sarah near the climax: "You know, in the old days, if a witch betrayed her coven...they would kill her."
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: Hinted at. Rochelle implies that Nancy hates being perceived as "white trash" and she goes ballistic when Chris states she's just jealous of him and Sarah.
- Jerkass: She can be downright mean or rude when people question her authority, evidenced by how she reacts to Sarah telling the girls they should be careful how they use their powers. It's not hard to still feel sorry for her, though, considering her Freudian Excuse.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: At first. Although she can be pretty mean and abrasive at times, she does have some Pet the Dog moments and seems to genuinely care for her mother and friends – it's also implied her attitude is partly due to suffering years of abuse, bullying and neglect. However, as she grows more powerful, the Jerk part of her character becomes increasingly prominent.
- Kick the Dog: Whilst terrorising Sarah with magic, she tells her how if she were her she'd have "killed myself ages ago" (Sarah had previously attempted suicide) and also mockingly brings up how she "managed to kill [her] own mother coming out of her".
- Laser-Guided Karma: After she abuses her powers and tries to kill Sarah, it seems pretty fitting that her punishment is to have Sarah strip her of her powers.
- Missing Mom: Is one at the time of The Craft: Legacy, as she's revealed to be the biological mother of the films protagonist Lily.
- Mind over Matter: Uses this power to throw Chris out of a window to his death.
- Next Tier Power-Up: She becomes the most powerful of the girls after invoking the god Manon. Unfortunately, this makes her a lot crazier too.
- Pet the Dog: Although she has a tendency to be just plain cruel, there are a few understated examples:
- Before going mad with power, it's her concern for her mother's safety that causes her powers to manifest.
- When Sarah wishes for Chris to like her, Nancy's face seems to show pity more than annoyance.
- When Bonnie is having an I Just Want to Be Beautiful breakdown before her scars heal, Nancy seems to be genuinely distraught.
- She and the other girls comfort Sarah over her Near-Rape Experience, after they got into an argument. Unfortunately, this leads to them getting revenge on Chris, and Nancy and the other girls have a falling out with Sarah.
- Psychopathic Woman Child: The way she acts when she's mad with power. It's especially notable in the climax: When Rochelle and Bonnie are scared away by Sarah, Nancy demands to know where they're going in a tone that sounds no different than a kid who's friends left her slumber party early.
- Psycho Supporter: Especially towards Sarah. After the incident where Chris tries to rape her, Nancy goes to a house party he's attending and uses magic to seduce him for revenge, which then escalates to her giving him a brutal "Reason You Suck" Speech and ultimately using telekinesis to toss him from a window to his death. Sarah is utterly horrified by this and it's what finally convinces her that Nancy is completely out of control and needs to be stopped.
- Rebellious Spirit: She has a big chip on her shoulder because of the abuse, neglect, and slut-shaming she's suffered from.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Sarah's blue. She is a lot more aggressive, impulsive and emotional compared to her.
- Rejected Apology: Holy hell. Late in the film, when Chris drunkenly tries to apologise for his awful behaviour towards her and Sarah, Nancy makes it very clear she doesn't accept it."He's sorry? Oh, he's sorry, he's sorry, he's sorry, he's sorry! SORRY MY ASS!" (Chris is flung out the window)
- Retired Monster: She's implied to have become this by the time of the distant sequel.
- Sanity Slippage: She becomes increasingly unstable and erratic in the second half of the film. She eventually winds up in a mental asylum, after her powers are stripped from her.
- Shapeshifting Seducer: After Chris tried to rape Sarah, she tries to seduce him to get revenge. When he doesn't fall for it, she uses a glamour to take on Sarah's appearance, which works.
- Slasher Smile: An alternate interpretation to the smile seen in Cheshire Cat Grin.
- Slut-Shaming: When she refused to sleep with Chris (or he got tired of her), he spread rumours that she gave him an STI and was terrible in bed, and she now unfairly has a reputation as a slut.
- Spikes of Villainy: Wears a spiked collar when she kills Chris and in the film's climax, where she terrorises and outright tries to kill Sarah.
- Sympathetic Murderer: When she causes Ray to have a heart attack, seeing as it was in defense of her mother and he's heavily implied to be abusive to them.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Though she was always kind of mean and rude, she gradually loses her sympathetic traits and becomes completely Ax-Crazy by the end.
- Unstable Powered Woman: Nancy becomes increasingly unhinged and Ax-Crazy when she invokes the spirit to gain more power. However, it's indicated she wasn't the most stable girl to begin with and she's fixated on gaining power right from the start; it's her belief that having magical powers means she can do whatever she wants that makes things worse rather than her just having powers. When Sarah expresses reluctance at invoking the spirit herself because it "made Nancy crazy", Lirio states that it's actually all down to the individual witch and Nancy takes her power to "a dark place". After her powers are bound, Nancy completely loses it and is confined to a mental hospital, insisting she can fly.
- Villain Has a Point: She may be a violently unhinged egomaniac, but a lot of the points she makes about Chris' harmful treatment of women are good ones and she is right something needs to he done about it, although murdering him is beyond the pale.
- Villainous Breakdown: Goes completely bonkers at the end of the film and winds up in a mental hospital.
- Walk on Water: Displays this ability, walking across the ocean back to land, after invoking Manon.
- Wicked Witch: After she invokes the spirit of Manon and goes mad with power.
- Wife-Basher Basher: Of a supernatural variety. After her stepdad tries to hit her mother (and it's implied this isn't the first time) she uses her power to blow up a microwave and give Ray a heart attack. It's not entirely clear how intentional this was, though she isn't exactly sorry to see him dead. She also kills Chris in retaliation for trying to rape Sarah.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Due to her insecurities, she had a history of alcohol and drug abuse, but when she invokes Manon's powers, she compensates her insecurities by abusing her near-omnipotent powers.
- Wild Hair: Her hair gets a lot messier and more unkempt to reflect her inner insanity after she invokes Manon.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: She comes from a disadvantaged and abusive background and is bullied and ostracised at school, causing her to desire power to better herself. Unfortunately, she lets it go to her head and begins victimising and tormenting other people to get back at them.
Sarah Bailey
Sarah Bailey
"Be careful, you don't want to end up like Nancy."
Played By: Robin Tunney
The new girl in town, who has struggled with depression and has a natural aptitude for magic. She represents the element Earth.
- The Ace: She's not only more mature than the other girls, but rapidly outpaces them when it comes to magical skill. She does have a lot of issues with self-doubt, lack of confidence and depression, though she gets better about this by the end.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Gets a crush on Chris Hooker, despite his horrible treatment of her. She eventually casts a love spell on him, which culminates in him trying to rape her.
- Befriending the Enemy: With Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle, before they become drunk off of power and try to kill her.
- Break the Cutie / Broken Bird: She suffers from depression and once attempted suicide, and it's implied she blames herself for her mother's death. She becomes even more broken over the course of the film mostly due to Chris trying to rape her and her friends turning on her, but in the end she ultimately rises above her foes and becomes more confident and happy with herself.
- Bullying a Dragon: As it turns out, Bonnie, Nancy and Rochelle made a big mistake when they tried to mess with her.
- The Chosen One: She is a natural witch, after all. Lirio also states she has "a light inside [her] stronger than [she's] ever known".
- Deadpan Snarker: She can be pretty snarky at times.
- Dramatic Slip: While on an increasingly uncomfortable date with Chris, she tries to leave and panics when he follows her, tripping and falling down as she runs away. Chris then tries to sexually assault until she's able to get away.
- Driven to Suicide: Subverted. She tried to commit suicide once, but survived. Near the end of film, the girls try to force her to commit suicide, but this fails, prompting Nancy to try and murder her instead.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: She gains the confidence in herself to stand up to her former friends, preventing Nancy from killing her or from hurting anyone with magic again, and fully masters her powers, too.
- Elemental Eye Colors: Her green eyes possibly reflect her 'down-to-earth' nature and association with the earth element, as well as her status as a natural witch.
- Elemental Motifs: Earth. She invokes this element in the invocation of the spirit, often wears earthy-coloured clothing and is the most 'grounded' and 'down-to-earth' of all the girls.
- Eye Colour Change: The first time she demonstrates a glamour spell, she uses it to turn her eyes brown.
- Friendless Background: She states she's never really had close friends and has difficulty fitting in.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Melancholic. She's usually level-headed, witty, brave and caring, but also anxious, self-doubting and prone to depressive episodes.
- Gone Horribly Right: Her love spell on Chris. It works...but as a consequence he becomes utterly obsessed with her and he still doesn't respect her boundaries, turning him into a stalker.
- Good Witch Versus Bad Witch: She is the good witch, whereas Nancy is the bad witch.
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple / Purple Is Powerful: Wears a purple dress whilst she's being initiated into the coven.
- Groin Attack: She manages to knee Chris in the groin when he tries to rape her, giving her the chance to escape.
- Heroic BSoD: Briefly has one when she's lead to believe her father and stepmother have been killed, dropping into a fetal position and rocking back and forth whilst staring into space, though she quickly snaps out of it. She spends around half the climax running or stumbling around the house, crying and generally freaking out...until she finds the strength to invoke Manon, after which she Took a Level in Badass and becomes much calmer and more assertive.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: Combined with I Just Want to Have Friends. More than anything Sarah wants to be loved and accepted by others, so it's rough for her when she experiences bullying and rejection at her new school. Even though Chris is an asshole to her, she still wishes that he loved her and is eventually disappointed that her love spell just made him infatuated with her. In the end, she learns to love herself without relying on the approval of people who treat her badly.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Before she befriends Nancy, Bonnie, and Rochelle she tries to fit in with the in-crowd, but this goes astray when Chris spreads a rumor about her.
- It's All My Fault: Though not explicitly stated, it's implied she blames herself for the death of her mother, who died giving birth to her. Later in the film, she also partly blames herself for Chris' death.
- Light Is Good: In the climax, she wears a white sweater (which almost becomes a White Shirt of Death) and at the end of the film, after she fully embraces her power and defeats the girls, she's wearing all-white.
- Mind over Matter: Her earliest on-screen magical feat is using telekinesis to rotate a pencil on her desk.
- Missing Mom: Her mother died giving birth to her.
- Naïve Newcomer: To both the school and to witchcraft at the beginning of the story, though as a natural witch, she has the most raw power out of the girls.
- Only Sane Man: When the girls begin misusing their powers, only Sarah seems genuinely concerned.
- Primal Fear: She is afraid of snakes and other creepy-crawlies.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Nancy's red. She is comparatively a lot more level-headed, calm and serious.
- Scar Survey: The girls at one point notice and ask about the scars on her wrists, which she confides were from her suicide attempt.
- Shock and Awe: At the end of the film, she causes lightning to strike a tree branch to freak out Bonnie and Rochelle.
- Team Mom: She is the most level-headed and matronly of the girls.
- Took a Level in Badass: In the film's climax, once she realises her raw magic potential, kicks Nancy's ass and cancels out Bonnie and Rochelle's powers for good.
- Troubled, but Cute: Has issues with self-harm, depression and self-esteem, but is a nice person and quite attractive.
- Unskilled, but Strong: At the start of the film, Sarah has never had any formal training in witchcraft and knows very little about it, but she is naturally gifted in magic and has been unknowingly using it all her life. After she joins with the other girls and starts learning more about witchcraft, she becomes even more powerful.
- Unstable Powered Woman: Inverted. She starts out as anxious and depressed, but becomes a lot happier when she starts practicing witchcraft. When she invokes the spirit and achieves her true potential, she goes from despairing and hysterical to calm and confident. She ends the film in the best place she's been in years, possibly ever.
Bonnie Hyper
Bonnie Hyper
"We can make things happen."
Played By: Neve Campbell
A shy girl who is extremely self-conscious about severe scarring on her body and wishes to become beautiful. She represents the element Fire.
- Beauty Is Bad: After getting rid of her scars and becoming attractive, she takes several levels of Jerkass as a side effect of this.
- Beta Bitch: She acts like a bit of one to Nancy in the later stages of the film, though Nancy isn't exactly a traditional Alpha Bitch.
- Co-Dragons: With Rochelle to Nancy by the film's climax.
- Elemental Motifs: Fire, according to the creators, shown by her scarring from being burned in the past.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Sanguine, though this only really comes out after she magically cures her scars (her personality is actually more Phlegmatic at first). She's initially sweet, observant and contemplative, though also shy with poor self-esteem. After her scars are removed, she's a lot more carefree, outgoing and enthusiastic, but also increasingly self-absorbed, flippant and irresponsible, as well as subservient to Nancy.
- Good Girl Gone Bad: She started off a genuinely nice person, though also shy with poor self-esteem due to severe scarring, but turned vain and heartless once she was bestowed with the power of beauty and magic. When Sarah points out Bonnie's unpleasant personality shift, she dismisses it and also laughs off Sarah's warnings about misusing their powers. She later joins Nancy in terrorizing Sarah when the girls have a falling out, although she does express some reservations about actually killing Sarah.
- Good Parents: Her mother seems to be very caring and supportive, holding her hand as she goes through painful operations to treat her scars.
- I Am Not Pretty: She makes multiple references to her feeling and being treated like a monster because of her scars, thus causing her to hide under layers of clothing. Another example is this:Nancy: He comes on to anything with tits, Sarah.Bonnie: Except me.
- I Just Want to Be Beautiful: She asks Manon to take her scars and to make her beautiful on the outside as well as in.
- Narcissist: Sarah accuses her of being narcissistic late in the film. She doesn't quite fit all the aspects of this description, though she does start to become rather vain, bitchy and self-absorbed after she uses magic to cure her scars.
- Nice Girl: She's quite sweet and friendly at the beginning of the film...until she gets powers anyway.
- Noodle Incident: The accident that caused her burn scars is never elaborated on. It's also hinted at that she may have self-harmed in the past.
- Pet the Dog: She gets a small moment of this in the climax; when Nancy is threatening Rochelle with an athame for not wanting to torment Sarah anymore, Bonnie quickly intervenes and tells Rochelle she'll go with her. While she's not an especially nice person anymore, Bonnie still cares about Rochelle.
- The Quiet One: Subverted. She's intially quite shy and soft-spoken, but after her scars are removed, she becomes more outspoken, even having the nerve to cat-call a random guy.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Especially after her scars disappear.
- Scars Are Forever: Subverted. She has severe burn scars on her back that no amount of surgery seems to be able to remove...but she's able to get rid of them using magic.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: After Sarah tricks her into thinking her burn scars have returned, only this time on her face, she flees along with Rochelle, believing it to be the Rule of Threefold at work.
- Self-Harm: Possibly. After seeing Sarah's scars from trying to kill herself, she remarks that Sarah "did it the right way", leading Rochelle to ask how she knows it's the right way and carrying the suggestion that
she's at least contemplated hurting herself. - Shameless Fanservice Girl: She becomes this in the second half of the film after curing her scars. Although she's not walking around naked, she's clearly aware of her attractiveness, happily strutting around in short skirts and cleavage-revealing tops and brazenly flirting with a random guy.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: After her scars are removed, she begins grooming herself regularly.
- Shrinking Violet: Before her scars are removed, she is often quite shy and withdrawn.
- Significant Wardrobe Shift: At the beginning of the film, she wears bulky and unflattering clothes due to her low self-esteem. After magically removing her scars and gaining more confidence, she starts wearing more revealing outfits and make-up to reflect this.
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: After a beauty spell is performed, she becomes increasingly narcissistic.
- Those Two Girls: Often seen hanging out with Rochelle, more so than the other girls.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: She becomes quite selfish and nasty by the end of the film, turning on Sarah.
- Vain Sorceress: She becomes this eventually. She uses a spell to heal her burn scars and finally sees herself as beautiful, which isn't treated as an inherently bad thing, but once she loses her shyness she becomes increasingly conceited and arrogant.
Rochelle Zimmerman
Rochelle Zimmerman
"You're white honey, just deal with it."
Played By: Rachel True
The only black student in school, who is frequently bullied and finds solidarity and comfort with other 'misfits'. She eventually seeks revenge on her tormentors. She represents the element Water.
- Amusing Injuries: When the girls manage to levitate her, they accidentally drop her from a height when Bonnie's mother walks in, causing her to exclaim "my butt!" in a pained but amused voice. She then insists the others try it too.
- Anti-Villain: Compared to Bonnie and especially Nancy, Rochelle is a lot less outwardly sadistic and malicious. It's implied she's mostly going along with the craziness in the climax out of fear of Nancy and loyalty to Bonnie, and she actually tries to call out Nancy after she tries to force Sarah into killing herself, saying they've gone too far, only for Nancy to threaten her as well.
- Black and Nerdy: The film's only black character, and she's a nerd to boot.
- The Chain of Harm: Rochelle is a victim of bullying, and in the end, she herself becomes a bully towards Sarah. Part of her even seems to be aware of this.
- Co-Dragons: With Bonnie to Nancy by the film's climax.
- Elemental Motifs: Water, according to creators. She likes swimming and is the most 'go-with-the-flow' out of all the girls.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Phlegmatic. She's usually friendly, optimistic and non-confrontational, but also increasingly passive-aggressive, vengeful and a bit of a doormat, especially when it comes to Nancy.
- Everyone Has Standards: She is shown to be genuinely disturbed when her curse causes Laura Lizzie to suffer a mental breakdown after going completely bald and is also the first to express some reluctance with Nancy's plan to actually kill Sarah.
- Good Girl Gone Bad: She's one of the sweetest and most easy-going members of the coven, not even retaliating against the constant taunts of the school's Alpha Bitch (some of which are blatantly racist). She eventually gets sick of it and puts a spell on her bully to make her hair fall out every time she's mean to her, and sides with the increasingly unhinged Nancy, helping her terrorize Sarah with magic. That said, Rochelle is shown to feel some guilt over her actions and it's implied she's following Nancy more out of fear.
- Heel Realization: Downplayed, as she doesn't change her behaviour and only gets worse, but besides Sarah, she's the only one of the girls who seems to become aware that she's abusing her powers, given her reaction to her curse on Laura, as well as her statement regarding her hair falling out, where she expresses a belief it's her actions "coming back [to her] times three" (she being unaware it's only a glamour).
- Hidden Depths: She is seen as being adept at swimming. Unfortunately, this is only witnessed in one scene and is never brought up again.
- Kick the Dog: Not as much as the others, but she gets a moment in the school bathroom, tauntingly telling Sarah "Sweet dreams", after she and the others used magic to give her nightmares, and also ganged up on her to threaten her.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Seems to have a brief moment of this when she sees what her curse has done to Laura Lizzie.
- Nice Girl: She is quite friendly at first - arguably the friendliest of all the girls, as Nancy tends to be quite standoffish, Bonnie is rather shy and Sarah is somewhat withdrawn - and tries to handle Laura Lizzie's bullying in a mature, non-aggressive manner. However, she eventually Took a Level in Jerkass (although part of her seems shocked and regretful when she sees that her curse made Laura's hair fall out, prompting a breakdown).
- Plucky Comic Relief: Downplayed, but she is the most prone to making jokes and wisecracks to lighten the mood. She loses this trait, or at the least takes it to more sinister places, after her Face–Heel Turn.
- The Pollyanna: Downplayed. Although she's a victim of bullying, she retains quite an optimistic attitude and is openly the most cheerful of the girls. However, eventually the effects of the bullying, as well as the power-trip that comes with having magic, starts to get to her (which could possibly imply she's a bit of a Stepford Smiler).
- Quirky Curls: Wears a style of very curly, dark brown hair and is a rebellious witch.
- Revenge: Her primary motivation is getting back at Laura Lizzie for bullying her.
- Satellite Character: She has no family (on-screen, at any rate), or real characterization outside of her encounters with other people.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: After Sarah tricks her into thinking her hair has fallen out, she flees along with Bonnie, believing it to be the Rule of Threefold at work.
- Tempting Fate: Her sniggering to Bonnie that Sarah "probably doesn't have any powers anymore" in the ending scene. Sarah instantly proves her wrong by summoning lightning to strike a tree branch, which nearly falls on top of them.
- Those Two Girls: Often seen hanging out with Bonnie, more so than the other girls.
- Token Black Friend: Downplayed. She's not just the only black witch in the coven but also the only black student at school. Out of the four girls her home life and family are not shown on-screen, emphasizing her status as a token character. Despite this she is given unique character traits and her own subplot, but she has less onscreen development compared to the others.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Towards the end of the film, she becomes increasingly selfish, irresponsible and power-hungry, even turning on Sarah.
- Turn the Other Cheek: Her initial attitude to Laura Lizzie's bullying, but she eventually decides cursing her to suffer every time she's mean to her is the way to go."I drink of my sisters and I ask for the ability to not hate those that hate me. Especially racist pieces of bleached blonde shit like Laura Lizzie."
Others
Chris Hooker
Chris Hooker
Played By: Skeet Ulrich
A popular but entitled jock who Sarah develops a crush on.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Despite spending much of the film being an arrogant Jerkass and treating women like crap, Sarah is shaken by his death, believing he was a Jerk with a Heart of Gold despite everything, and that killing him was not the answer, especially because of the love spell she put on him.
- Archenemy: Downplayed as he's not the Big Bad but can be seen as a mutual enemy of both Sarah and Nancy, having dated and Slut Shamed them both, and is a target of both their ire, and wrath (mind you, Sarah just wanted to humiliate him, Nancy straight up kills him). He can be seen as the films secondary antagonist with an important and antagonistic role in the plot.
- Asshole Victim: To Nancy anyway. She uses her powers to have him thrown out of a high story window, after he accuses her of being jealous of him and Sarah.
- Attempted Rape: As a result of the love spell and Sarah rejecting his advances, he tries to rape her.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He's initially kind and charming towards Sarah, apologizing on behalf of his friends for how they behaved towards her in class and trying to make her feel welcome. However, he's soon revealed to be an arrogant, petty and entitled jerkass after Sarah turns down his advances.
- Delirious Misidentification: When Nancy uses a glamour to take on Sarah's appearance, he quickly falls for it. The fact he's extremely drunk probably helps.
- Disc-One Final Boss: He serves as one of the main antagonists in the film until he gets killed and Nancy becomes the Big Bad.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Became one when Sarah put him under a love spell. He takes it to creepy levels eventually.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Even though it's only brought up once, he admits to Sarah that in addition to loving her (while he was under the love spell, mind you), the only other people he ever had love for were his mother and a puppy he had as a child.
- Freak Out: When he realises he's been making-out with Nancy disguised as Sarah using a spell, and that she's a real witch.
- Hate Sink: Right out the gate, he's introduced as an arrogant and entitled prick who uses and mistreats women; notably he pretends to befriend Sarah only to spread Slut-Shaming rumours to humiliate her after a seemingly friendly date; he apparently did the same to Nancy, which draws her hatred. It's also implied he gave Nancy an STD and may have bullied Bonnie over her burn scars. The fact that he only acts nice to Sarah is to try and get in her pants or as part of a love spell shows that he's pretty much a genuine jackass. Whether or not he gets sympathy points due to the love spell which resulted in his attempt to rape Sarah, or if the incident makes him more despicable.
- Jerk Jock: He and his friends act this way towards several people in the film, especially Nancy and Sarah. He's also on the football team.
- Karmic Rape: Averted. Nancy trying to pull a Bed Trick on him after his (arguably love potion-induced) Attempted Rape of Sarah is still portrayed as crossing a line.
- Loving a Shadow: Sarah's love spell seems to make him obsessively infatuated with her rather than genuinely falling in love with her. He remarks that he just woke up one morning and couldn't stop thinking about her. Sarah herself lampshades this when she's trying to snap him out if it, pointing out that he doesn't even know her. Then there's the fact that Nancy is able to seduce Chris by glamouring herself to look like Sarah. He's immediately taken in by it (being quite drunk probably didn't help) and Nancy herself points out he only thinks he loves her because of the spell.
- Meaningful Name: His last name is Hooker and Nancy calls him a whore.
- Not Good with Rejection: After Sarah turns down his offer to go back to his house, he spreads rumours that she puts out and is terrible in bed to save face, utterly humiliating her. Later, he tries to rape Sarah when she rejects his advances.
- Really Gets Around: Nancy say's he comes onto anything with boobs.
- Slut-Shaming: After his date with Sarah, he spreads rumors around the school that she puts out. Apparently, he did the same to Nancy in the past.
- Stalker with a Crush: What he eventually devolves into towards Sarah after the spell's curse continues.
- Would Hit a Girl: He physically attacks Sarah when she rejects him, throwing her to the ground and tries to force himself on her.
Laura Lizzie
Laura Lizzie
Played By: Christine Taylor
A popular but cruel girl who bullies misfits, particularly targeting Rochelle.
- Alpha Bitch: She is a popular but racist bully who habitually torments Rochelle until her hair falls out. She also mocks Sarah after Chris spreads rumors about her.
- Asshole Victim: Downplayed and even deconstructed to an extent. Rochelle punishes her for her bullying by making her lose her hair, leaving her humiliated. However, even Rochelle seems to feel bad for her when she sees the fallout of this and Laura actually appears to take a level in kindness afterwards (while Rochelle Took a Level in Jerkass).
- Bitch Alert: Zig-Zagged, she was civil towards Sarah when they first meet (only to laugh at/spread false rumors' about her later), but played straight when she bullies Rochelle.
- Break the Haughty: She became more humble and civil to Rochelle after her hair fell out.
- Hate Sink: Given her racism, haughtiness and penchant to spread rumors about other girls, she's clearly meant to be disliked. At first.
- Heel Realization: Apparently had one after going bald, as she starts being civil to Rochelle.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Flat out tell Rochelle she doesn't like black people.
- Punished with Ugly: Laura loses her good looks when Rochelle makes her hair fall out. She becomes bald and then wears a wig at a party. It’s not made clear if her hair will grow back.
- Shower of Angst: Rochelle eventually finds her huddled in the school shower, sobbing over her extreme hair loss.
- Sympathy for the Devil: She's not nice, but Rochelle is shocked to see how genuinely traumatized she is after the curse makes her hair fall out, and seems to begin regretting her actions.
Lirio
Lirio
Played By: Assumpta Serna
An experienced witch who runs a magic supply store and tries to warn the girls about the dangers of misusing magic.
- Aloof Darkhaired Girl: She has brown hair and is somewhat stern, but she becomes friendly towards Sarah. Also, given that Nancy, Bonnie and possibly Rochelle have a habit of stealing from her store, it's not too surprising she's a bit cool towards them.
- Cassandra Truth: Just about everything she says in regards to magic. None of the girls pay any attention until it's too late.
- The Obi-Wan: Played with. She's an Older and Wiser witch, who tries to offer advice to the girls. However, most of them ignore her except Sarah, and she becomes something of a mentor to her towards the end of the film.
- Parental Substitute: She becomes a bit of one to Sarah; she behaves in a maternal manner towards her and she's the only adult Sarah feels she can go to for help and comfort when things start going horribly wrong.
- Playing with Fire: When she lights a candle, dozens of other candles light up too.
- Psychometry: Possibly. She is able to tell Sarah upon their first meeting that her ring belonged to her late mother and that she had been a natural witch.
- Token Adult: She's the only adult witch in the film (and the only adult who's actually helpful to the girls in any way).
Mr Bailey
Mr Bailey
Played By: Cliff DeYoung
Sarah's father, who has recently moved to Los Angeles with his family.
- Disney Death: Sarah is lead to believe he and his wife died in a plane crash after seeing it on the news, but he turns up alive and well at the end of the film and it's revealed the news report was just a glamour conjured by Sarah's ex-friends to mess with her.
- Good Parents: He seems to be a loving and protective father to Sarah, trying to comfort her when she's upset, being supportive of her and actively going out looking for her when he thinks she's run away, though he seems a bit stumped as to how to get through to her exactly.
- Happily Married: Is apparently to his second wife, Jenny.
- Muggle–Mage Romance: Revealed to have been in one with his late first wife, who was a natural witch.
- Papa Wolf: He chases away the threatening homeless man who frightens Sarah with a poker, uses the same poker to take out a snake (Sarah has a phobia of them) and angrily confronts Chris with only a flashlight when he turns up outside Sarah's bedroom window in the middle of the night.
- Parental Obliviousness: At the end of the film, when Rochelle and Bonnie turn up to see Sarah, he greets them rather cheerfully, apparently unaware that they'd recently used magic to terrorize and nearly kill his daughter.
Jenny
Jenny
Played By: Jeanine Jackson
Sarah's stepmother and Mr Bailey's second wife.
- Bit Character: She's only got about one line, appears in about two scenes maximum and has little impact on the overall plot.
- Disney Death: Sarah is led to believe she and her husband died in a plane crash after seeing it on the news, but it turns out she's fine in the end, as the news report was just a glamour conjured by Sarah's ex-friends to mess with her.
- Flat Character: All we really know about her is that she's Mr Bailey's second wife and Sarah's stepmom.
- Good Stepmother: Although they don't interact much on-screen, she and Sarah are apparently amicable. The fact that Sarah shows concern for Jenny when she and her father disappear in the climax (and has a breakdown when she thinks they've been killed) and that Jenny was absent from the house, indicating she'd gone with her husband to look for Sarah when they believed she'd run off, implies that they care about each other.
Sarah's mother
Sarah's mother
Played By: Jane Eilber
Sarah's biological mother, who died in childbirth.
- Death by Childbirth: She died giving birth to Sarah. It's implied that Sarah blamed herself for her death, which contributed to her depression.
- Death by Origin Story / Posthumous Character: She's been deceased for years by the events of the film and we only ever see her photograph. Despite never meeting her mother, Sarah is deeply affected by her death and thinks about her lot.
- Muggle–Mage Romance: Revealed to have been in one with Mr Bailey, as she was a natural witch like their daughter.
- Tragic Keepsake: Her ring, which her daughter Sarah wears to remind herself of her.
Grace Downs-Sanders
Grace Downs-Sanders
Played By: Helen Shaver
Nancy's mother.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: To Nancy; her daughter rolls her eyes and slams her door on her when she tries to hang out with her and her friends.
- Lady Drunk: Strongly implied; she's often seen with a drink in her hand and is apparently drunk in her first appearance.
- Love Martyr: She's still with Ray even though it's strongly implied he abuses her and is distraught when he collapses and dies of a heart attack, even though he'd tried to hit her moments before. She doesn't seem all that upset after finding out how much his life insurance policy is worth, though.
- Parental Neglect / Parental Obliviousness: Though she loves her daughter, she comes across as irresponsible, not really calling her husband out on his inappropriate behaviour towards Nancy and having no idea what she gets up to.
- Womanchild: Comes across as one at times.
Ray Sanders
Ray Sanders
Played By: John Kapelos
Nancy's abusive stepfather.
- The Alcoholic: Implied to be one; he is often seen drinking or holding a drink.
- Asshole Victim: After Nancy uses magic to give him a fatal heart attack.
- Domestic Abuse: He's implied to be physically abusive to his wife and throws her down and tries to hit her at one point. He's not very nice to his stepdaughter either.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: He completely loses it after Grace playfully smacks his arm, prompting him to throw her down and raise his hand to her, yelling at her to "never hit [him]".
- Jerkass: He's a slovenly drunk who abuses and disrespects his wife and stepdaughter.
- Lecherous Stepparent: Implied. Nancy's mother's boyfriend is verbally and physically abusive to both Nancy and her mother and he tries to look underneath Nancy's robe at one point. He gets called out on it and told to act like a father to her.
- Slimeball: From his greasy, unkempt appearance to making sexual comments towards his teen stepdaughter and mockingly stating to her face that she's the product of her mother's prostitution.
- Wicked Stepfather: He is strongly implied to be abusive to Nancy and does things like trying to lift her dressing gown and making inappropriate comments.
The Vagrant
The Vagrant
Played By: Arthur Senzy
A strange and creepy homeless man who stalks Sarah.
- Crazy Homeless People: He's homeless and certainly has some mental healthissues.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He seems to be trying to warn Sarah of some impending doom, but breaking into her house, following her around and yelling that she's going to die isn't really the best way to go about it.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: We don't see what happened to him after he was hit by a car.
Manon
Manon
- Nancy Downs: "If God and the Devil were playing football, Manon would be the stadium that they played on; He would be the Sun that shone down on them."
The supreme deity worshipped by the girls.
- Above Good and Evil: Due to being a personification of nature, Manon is said to be neither good or evil, merely protecting the balance of nature. That being said, he isn't best pleased with Nancy for abusing her gifts and comes to Sarah's assistance when she invokes him.
- Enigmatic Empowering Entity: He grants Nancy great power after she invokes him, though unfortunately she abuses her powers. He later grants greater powers to Sarah after she invokes him too, allowing her to kick Nancy's ass.
- The Ghost: Mentioned often, but never physically appears. Though, seeing as he's supposedly part of nature itself, it could be a subversion; he's not a Physical God but is always present in some form.
- God Is Good: Though Manon is said be neither truly good or evil, he seems pretty benevolent for the most part. Although giving Nancy powers was a pretty bad idea...
- Powers That Be: He is said to be part of nature/the universe itself - Nancy states that if God and the Devil were playing football, Manon would be the field they played on and the sun shining down on them.
