Happy Bloody Birthday: The Craft turns 21 today!

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

“We are the weirdos, mister”

Happy Birthday, THE CRAFT!

THE CRAFT is one of my favorite witch-flicks. Stick with me here. If you are one of those peeps that like to hate on THE CRAFT, well then you just gave yourself away as someone who never even bothered to see it because THE CRAFT is f*cking awesome. If not for the end witch-bitch battle, then you'll love it for the top-notch performances by the terrific cast, including Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, Rachel True, and Skeet Ulrich. Keen eyes will also spot Christine Taylor and Breckin Meyer amongst the cast of up-and-comers.

Last we heard about THE CRAFT was that HONEYMOON director Leigh Janiak was taking on a remake and I all but jumped for joy when I heard the news. I loved HONEYMOON and Janiak's season one episode of MTV SCREAM is (debatably) the best episode the series ever put on the screen – her episode was "the abandoned bowling alley" episode to be clear.

Anyhow, as much as I dig THE CRAFT, I am more than down for a remake of the property as, hell, most remakes nowadays are basically just sequels without the number after the title. And I am totally down for a sequel to THE CRAFT! Bring back all the hot goth ladies and slap Leigh Janiak in the driver's seat and I cannot wait to see what happens.

So join us today in wishing THE CRAFT a happy 21st birthday!

THE CRAFT synopsis:

A newcomer to a Catholic prep high school falls in with a trio of outcast teenage girls who practice witchcraft and they all soon conjure up various spells and curses against those who even slightly anger them.

THE CRAFT trivia:

Robin Tunney wore a wig throughout filming because she had shaved her head for Empire Records.

Fairuza Balk is actually a Wiccan in real life. Balk was also able to help the makers of the movie keep the storyline as realistic as they could, and was able to give them Wicca contacts to help them in areas she couldn't.

Andrew Fleming states in the DVD commentary that a PG-13 rating was sought. They followed all of the guidelines to earn that rating, but in the final outcome, the film was rated R because the film dealt with teenage girls using witchcraft.

One scene involved using over 3,000 snakes.

While researching The Craft, Fairuza Balk became familiar with Panpipes Magickal Marketplace in Hollywood, eventually buying the store and continuing to operate it until 2001.

All of the "teen" actresses were in their 20s at the time of filming. Rachel True was almost 30 years old.

Angelina Jolie was considered for a role.

Though the song "How Soon is Now" was originally performed by The Smiths, Love Spit Love did the cover for the Soundtrack.

An official website of the film said: "The crew had to return to the location a second time to complete filming interrupted by several weird occurrences that even caused witch consultant Pat Devin to raise an eyebrow. As the fog rolled in at midnight, the four actresses used actual Wiccan rites and language to invoke powerful forces. Then, as Fairuza Balk's character Nancy attempts to invoke the deity Manon, a flock of bats hovered over the set and the tide rose dramatically, extinguishing the circle of candles. Witchcraft consultant Devin recalls that 'Manon, a fictitious creation for the film, sounds very close to Mananan, the Gaelic god of the sea. Luckily, we weren't all swept to sea!'" Director Andrew Fleming is quoted: "'Every time the girls started the ceremony, and only when they would start the ceremony, the waves would start coming up tremendously fast, pounding heavily. Then, right when Nancy says her line, "Manon, fill me," right at that exact moment, we lost power. It was a very strange thing.'"

THE CRAFT opened at number 1 at the box office, scoring $6.7 million. The film finished its box-office haul at $24.8 million. According to Box Office Mojo, The Craft is the 10th highest-grossing film since 1980 within the genre of witches.

A straight-to-DVD sequel was in the works, but that didn't happen.

THE CRAFT was directed by Andrew Fleming from a script by Fleming & Peter Filardi, and stars Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, Rachel True, Skeet Ulrich, Christine Taylor and Breckin Meyer.

THE CRAFT was released on May 3, 1996.