So I was pretty much unhappy about the I Know What You Did Last Summer Remake and I’m equally disheartened by the news of teen, cult favourite The Craft getting the same treatment. Its despairing that Hollywood are officially completely out of their own ideas and seem to be reaching back to the glory days of the 90’s in order to replicate some of the most popular movies of the decade.
To Recap: Sarah (Robin Tunney) enrols at a new Catholic Prep School where she is befriended by a trio of outcasts led by the dark and twisted Nancy (Fairuza Balk). She learns that the girls practice witchcraft and begins to explore her own strength and powers. The whole school is no longer safe as their coven conjure up a series of malevolent curses and spells on anyone who dares to cross them.
Also starring Scream’s Neve Campbell and Skeet Ulrich as well as Rachel True, Andrew Fleming’s The Craft took on some serious and affecting topics such as racism and self harm. Most notably the song “How Soon Is Now?”, a cover of Morrissey performed in the film by Love Spit Love was used before it was made famous in the witch themed long running WB series Charmed.
The talented, up and coming genre name Leigh Janiak is set to write and direct. Janiak has received critical acclaim for her mysteriously haunting debut feature Honeymoon, which manages a disturbing, psychological impact about a couple on a romantic getaway that turns horribly wrong. A film that deals with powerful female characters is the ideal material for Janiak and its hopeful that The Craft will be safe in her hands with her ability to write two-dimensional, believable characters. That said, it would be far more interesting to see Janiak work on her own ideas. She will also be directing an episode of Scream: The TV Series, coming soon, more proof that we can’t let go of the 90s.
In 1996 The Craft proved to be a sleeper hit and is ultimately a cult classic amongst its audience. It made $6,710,995 at the North American Box Office when it opened. Fairuza Balk gave an unforgettable performance that will be difficult to match.
Everyone is all for nostalgia these days especially on platforms such as Tumblr and Buzzfeed, but we already have these movies to look back on, The Craft hasn’t even had its 20th anniversary yet!
Its time for some fresh ideas to make marketable as what will happen when there’s nothing left to remake…?
Hayley Alice Roberts
mshayleyr1989.wordpress.com 