24 years after The Craft, there’s a new coven in town.
The synopsis:
In Blumhouse’s continuation of the cult hit The Craft, an eclectic foursome of aspiring teenage witches get more than they bargained for as they lean into their newfound powers.
Here’s what we can see in the trailer. Hannah (Cailee Spaeny) arrives at a new school when her mum moves in with her (very) new partner and his three sons. Befriended by three other girls after an embarrassing period leak in a lesson, she’s the fourth would-be witch that they need.
Initially all is sparkles, candles and flowers, though soon the strength of Hannah’s magic leaves the others believing she is racing out of control – “the number one rule of The Craft, if a person is a danger to herself or others they will be bound”. Hannah then finds a photo of Nancy (Fairuza Balk) from the original movie. And all of this to the sound of a slowed-down Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.
I have no problem with remakes, reboots, re-imaginings and “continuations”, as the original is still there for eternity if people want to watch it. Every generation of teens deserves new takes on the old stories as far as I’m concerned, especially the scary ones, as long as they get new stories too.
The Craft: Legacy looks like it’ll be fun and sparkly with an increasingly dark heart; though I doubt it’s going to be much of a game-changer. From what I can remember of The Craft – and I last saw it decades ago – this seems like a rerun, a quarter of a century on. Maybe that’s a deliberate trailer ploy and the finished film will diverge significantly. We don’t have long to wait to find out, as it’s released in UK cinemas on 28 October, and on digital in the US on the same day.
Written and directed by Zoe Lister-Jones, The Craft: Legacy stars Spaeny, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone, Zoey Luna, Nicholas Galitzine – with Michelle Monaghan and David Duchovny.