Sightlines · reception

How The Craft was received

1996 · Andrew Fleming · The Craft on Sightlines

The arc

Critics in '96 shrugged it off as teen-horror fluff even as it opened at #1 and became a sleeper hit; decades later it's been fully reclaimed as a foundational goth-girl text, with the 2020 sequel only confirming the original's cult standing.

What’s debated

Fans still argue about the third act — whether the film ultimately punishes Nancy, its most beloved character, and betrays the very outsiders it spent the whole movie celebrating.

Its footprint

"We are the weirdos, mister" is one of the most quoted lines of '90s cinema, the four-witches-walking shot is a perennial group Halloween costume, and the film kicked off the late-'90s teen-witch wave (Sabrina, Charmed, Buffy all followed) — its aesthetic still fuels WitchTok.

Where it stands

A certified cult classic and seasonal Letterboxd favorite — mandatory viewing in the '90s teen-movie and goth canons, especially every October.

Did you know? The production hired a real Wiccan priestess, Pat Devin, as a consultant — and the deity 'Manon' was invented for the film specifically so no actual worshipped deity would be depicted on screen.