History Trivia / TheCraft

* TypeCasting: Fairuza Balk would play similar wild and dark characters in ''Film/AmericanHistoryX'', ''Literature/TheIslandOfDrMoreau'' and ''Film/TheWaterboy'' too.

** Robin Tunney had shaved her head for ''Film/EmpireRecords'' and was still growing her hair out - so the studio insisted [[LongHairIsFeminine she wear a wig]].

** Robin Tunney claims that she still gets recognised as "that girl from ''The Craft''", despite having done other notable films like ''Film/EmpireRecords'', ''Film/VerticalLimit'' and TV shows like ''Series/PrisonBreak'' and ''The Mentalist''.

* PlayingAgainstType: Robin Tunney was surprised when producers asked her to play Sarah - saying she viewed herself as a character actress and didn't think she could play "the Ingenue lead". Indeed Bonnie or Nancy would be closer to her usual type at the time.

** The original script was ''much'' darker and focused on the occult part of the plot, with horror bits playing the first fiddle. Studio quickly got afraid it wouldn't fly with the MPAA rating system, not to mention being hard to market as a teen movie, leading to many changes.

** Rachel True had also recently had to cut most of her hair off due to breakage. She had previously sported long braids in ''Film/EmbraceOfTheVampire''.

* SleeperHit: Unexpectedly managed to earn $55.7 million on a budget of only $15 million. Such a dark film for teens had not really been done, and UrbanFantasy wasn't really a mainstream thing at the time (''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''{{Series/Charmed|1998}}'' weren't airing yet).

* GenrePopularizer: The film really helped boost the popularity of the UrbanFantasy genre and DarkFantasy aimed at teens; while these genres existed prior to the film, they were pretty niche. The popularity skyrocketed following the success of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Charmed}}'', which first aired in 1997 and 1998, respectively, while ''The Craft'' was released in 1996.

* 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).

* FandomLifeCycle: Sits at Stage 6a these days. It was an [[SleeperHit unexpectedly big hit]] when it was first released in 1996, possibly reaching Stage 3, but it didn't manage to become as deeply ingrained in pop culture as similar works like ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' (although The ''Craft'''s initial success paved the way for young adult {{urban fantasy}}). Chances are if you were an adolescent in the 1990's or are into urban fantasy, you'll have at least heard of it, but it's more obscure outside of this. Before its release, the [[Film/TheCraftLegacy sequel]] was theorized to generate renewed interest in the film, but turned out to be a flop, setting the original back to cult status.

* FandomLifeCycle: Sits at Stage 6a these days. It was an [[SleeperHit unexpectedly big hit]] when it was first released in 1996, possibly reaching Stage 3, but it didn't manage to become as deeply ingrained in pop culture as similar works like ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' (although The ''Craft'''s initial success paved the way for young adult {{urban fantasy}}). Chances are if you were an adolescent in the 1990's or are into urban fantasy, you'll have at least heard of it, but it's more obscure outside of this. It remains to be seen if the upcoming reboot will spark renewed interest in the film.

* {{Jossed}}: Fairuza Balk was assumed to be a Wiccan for years (not helped by one of the producers reporting her as such on the DVD special features). She just owned an occult shop for a while.

* MissingTrailerScene: The trailer refers to the school as "St Bernard's Academy" when the film depicts it as St Benedict's.

** Creator/HollyMarieCombs was in the running for the role of Bonnie. Had she been cast, it would have reunited her with ''Series/DrGiggles'' costar, Cliff De Young. Ironically, she would eventually star in ''Series/Charmed1998'', which was also about witches.

* RealLifeWritesTheHairstyle: Robin Tunney wears a wig throughout the movie as she'd shaved her head for ''Film/EmpireRecords'' and didn't have time to grow her hair back.

* YouLookFamiliar: Fans of 1990's/2000's urban fantasy tv (which got a huge surge in that era, partly because of The Craft) would probably find themselves squinting at Nancy's mother and stepfather in recognition. Helen Shaver was a lead in Series/PoltergeistTheLegacy and John Kapelos in Series/ForeverKnight - he was also the janitor in Film/TheBreakfastClub.

* BigNameFan: According to Creator/RobinTunney, Creator/SeanPenn told her he loved the film once.

** The original script was ''much'' darker and focused on the occult part of the plot, with horror bits playing the first fiddle. Studio quickly got afraid it won't fly with MPAA rating system, not to mention being hard to market as a teen movie, leading to many changes.

* ActorInspiredElement: Rochelle getting bullied about her race was written when Rachel True was cast. Likewise, because Rachel wears her hair natural and has wanted to avoid straightening it, they threw in a line where Laura Lizzie taunts her about her hair.

* ThrowItIn: During the "calling the corners" scene, while the camera was spinning around, a wave rolled in from the shore and wiped out the fire. The take is used in the final film.

* StillbornFranchise: There were plans to release a direct-to-DVD sequel focusing on Nancy. However, those plans were dropped for unknown reasons. This was [[SequelGap finally]] subverted in 2020, when it got a stand-alone sequel, ''Film/TheCraftLegacy''.

** Robin Tunney read for the part of Bonnie and was keen on that, but producers felt she was a better fit for Sarah.
** Rochelle's character was originally written as white, before Rachel True auditioned and got the part. The character's trauma was also originally that she was bulimic and anorexic. A scene was also shot with Rochelle's parents - who Rachel True describes as "stodgy" - but cut from the film.

** A sequel and pilot for a potential spin-off series were talked about but neither were picked up. WordOfGod is that none of the original girls would appear and "it was the school without those girls. It was the legacy of what those four girls had done at the school". Rachel True suspects ''{{Series/Charmed|1998}}'''s sudden success prevented any sequels from being made.

* ActorInspiredElement: Rochelle getting bullied about her race was written when Rachel True was cast.

* StillbornFranchise: There were plans to release a direct-to-DVD sequel focusing on Nancy. However, those plans were dropped for unknown reasons.