The Craft: Legacy

Last updated
The Craft: Legacy
The Craft - Legacy.png
VOD release poster
Directed by Zoe Lister-Jones
Written byZoe Lister-Jones
Based onCharacters
by Peter Filardi
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyHillary Spera
Edited byLibby Cuenin
Music byHeather Christian
Production
companies
Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • October 28, 2020 (2020-10-28)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$18 million
Box office$2.3 million [1]

The Craft: Legacy, also known as Blumhouse's The Craft: Legacy, is a 2020 American urban fantasy film written and directed by Zoe Lister-Jones. A legacy sequel to The Craft (1996), the film stars Cailee Spaeny, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone, and Zoey Luna as four teenage girls who practice witchcraft as a coven. Additional cast include Nicholas Galitzine, Michelle Monaghan, and David Duchovny, with Fairuza Balk making a cameo appearance.

Contents

The Craft: Legacy was released in the United States through video on demand on October 28, 2020, by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia Pictures label, with a theatrical release in select international markets beginning the same day. The film has grossed over $2.3 million worldwide and received mixed reviews from critics, and earned a nomination for the 2021 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film – Wide Theatrical Release.

Plot

Three girls, Frankie, Tabby, and Lourdes, are trying to freeze time with magic, but failing as they require a fourth member. Lily Schechner moves into the town with her therapist mother, Helen, to live with Helen's new boyfriend Adam Harrison and his three sons, Jacob, Isaiah, and Abe. The girls befriend Lily after she begins her period and bleeds through in class, then is mocked by her other classmates, particularly by the school bully Timmy Andrews. They are amazed when she telekinetically pushes Timmy into the lockers. When Lily responds to them using only her mind, the girls confirm her to be their fourth member and invite her to join their coven, to which she agrees. As a result, they succeed in freezing time.

To seek revenge on Timmy, the girls cast a spell on him. The next day, Timmy behaves sensitively, confirming the girls' success. They continue to experiment with their powers, including levitation. Adam learns of the incident in school and scolds Lily, but Helen defends her. Lily overhears them arguing and goes outside where Abe talks to her about his father's authoritarian beliefs. Timmy hosts a party, inviting the coven, and apologizes to Lily, eventually becoming friends with the coven. When Timmy is at Lily's home for a project with Jacob, he admits to the girls that he had sex with Isaiah, Jacob's elder brother and that he is bisexual. Later, Lily places a love spell on Timmy, using his sweatshirt, and the two kiss.

The next morning, during class, the coven is told by their teacher that Timmy allegedly committed suicide the night before. Lily opens up to her friends about her kiss and love spell. They sever ties with her and bind themselves from magic. Lily suspects Adam to be dangerous and asks her mother for them to move out, but she does not agree. In hopes of finding something against Adam, she searches his office only to find her own adoption papers, forcing Helen to admit to her that Lily is actually one of her psychotherapy patient's child. After Timmy's funeral, Helen tells Lily she agrees to move out. Helen also admits that she knows about her powers of telepathy, telekinesis, and magic. The conversation prompts Helen to ask Lily to give her powers to Helen. When Lily grows suspicious of her, Helen shapeshifts into Adam who had disguised himself with his own magic. Adam tells her he is a member of a pagan cult and that he has been after her powers since the beginning, before knocking her unconscious.

Lily awakens in a forest at night with Adam, who confesses that he murdered Timmy and threatens to kill her too. When Timmy's spirit contacts Lily's friends through a Ouija board and tells them about being murdered by Adam, they arrive to save Lily. They try to freeze time, but Adam subdues them quickly. The girls then work together and use their elemental powers to defeat Adam, burning him to death. Later, Lily continues her friendship with the girls and Helen takes her to a mental health hospital to meet her birth mother, who is revealed to be Nancy Downs.

Cast

Production

Development

A straight-to-DVD sequel to The Craft was in the works circa 2010, but was terminated. [2] [3] In May 2016, Sony Pictures announced that a sequel to The Craft was in development and would be written and directed by Leigh Janiak. The announcement of the sequel spawned negative reactions from fans of the original. [4] [5] [6]

In March 2019, Zoe Lister-Jones was named as writer and director of the soft reboot, with Jason Blum as producer under his Blumhouse Productions banner, with Andrew Fleming (director of the 1996 film) as executive producer, and Columbia Pictures distributing. [7]

Casting

In June 2019, Cailee Spaeny was set to star in the film. [8] In September 2019, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone, and Zoey Luna joined the cast as the other witches. [9] In October 2019, Nicholas Galitzine, David Duchovny, Julian Grey, and Michelle Monaghan were also added, [10] [11] [12] [13] and in November 2019, Donald MacLean Jr. was cast. [14]

Filming

Principal photography began in October 2019. [15] During filming in Toronto, director Zoe Lister-Jones explained in an on-set interview that The Craft sequel "... centers on young people, and young women specifically coming into their power in today’s current climate..." [16]

Music

The film's original music, composed by Heather Christian, was released digitally by Madison Gate Records on October 28, 2020. [17]

Release

The Craft: Legacy was released on video on demand by Sony Pictures Releasing on October 28, 2020, followed by a theatrical release internationally. [18] [19] The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 22, 2020, by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. [20]

Reception

Box office

In its first weekend the film earned $680,000 while in the following weekend it earned $390,000 and in its third $242,000.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 48% of 113 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.5/10.The website's consensus reads: "Although director Zoe Lister-Jones has forged a new path for the weirdos of today, The Craft: Legacy's spells may only enchant fans of the original. " [21] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 54 out of 100 based on reviews from 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [22]

Kate Erbland, writing for Indiewire, said the film is "an entertaining and insightful mashup of tropes, both respectful of what came before and willing to try new tricks." [23] Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com gave the film two stars, saying, "The Craft: Legacy gets sidetracked with the Timmy sub-plot, and the film morphs into a teenage soap opera and/or ABC Afterschool Special ." [24]

Accolades

The Craft: Legacy was nominated for the 2021 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film (Wide Release). [25]

Future

In October 2020, when interviewed about Fairuza Balk's cameo, Zoe Lister-Jones explained that she wrote the script with a continuation in mind. [26] Lister-Jones also revealed that she had met with the original film's actresses during the preparation for Legacy and that she would be interested in making a third installment with an intergenerational storyline. [27]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Craft</i> (film) 1996 film by Andrew Fleming

The Craft is a 1996 American teen urban fantasy film directed by Andrew Fleming from a screenplay by Peter Filardi and Fleming and a story by Filardi. The film stars Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, and Rachel True. It follows four outcast teenage girls at a Los Angeles parochial high school who pursue witchcraft for their own gain and subsequently experience negative repercussions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairuza Balk</span> American actress (born 1974)

Fairuza Balk is an American actress, musician, and visual artist. Known for her portrayals of distinctive characters—often with a dark edge and "goth-girl" persona—she has appeared in numerous independent films and blockbuster features.

Rachel India True is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in such films as The Craft (1996), Nowhere (1997), and Half Baked (1998). True is also known for her role as Mona Thorne on the UPN sitcom Half & Half, which ran from 2002 to 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Garland</span> British writer and director (born 1970)

Alexander Medawar Garland is an English novelist, screenwriter and director. He rose to prominence with his novel The Beach (1996). He subsequently received praise for writing the Danny Boyle films 28 Days Later (2002) and Sunshine (2007), as well as Never Let Me Go (2010) and Dredd (2012). In video games, he co-wrote Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (2010) and served as a story supervisor on DmC: Devil May Cry (2013).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoe Lister-Jones</span> American actress and screenwriter

Zoe Lister-Jones is an American actress and filmmaker who co-starred as Jen Collins Short in the CBS sitcom Life in Pieces from 2015 to 2019. She is also known for her roles in the television shows Delocated (2009–2010), Whitney (2011–2013), and New Girl (2015). Lister-Jones made her directorial debut with the 2017 comedy-drama film Band Aid. In 2020, she wrote and directed the horror film The Craft: Legacy. During the Covid-19 pandemic she co-wrote and co-directed the comedy-drama film How It Ends (2021) with Daryl Wein. In 2023 she produced, wrote, directed, and starred in the comedy series Slip for The Roku Channel, with Dakota Johnson as executive producer under her TeaTime Pictures banner. On December 5, 2023, it was announced that Slip was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards.

<i>Pacific Rim Uprising</i> 2018 film by Steven S. DeKnight

Pacific Rim Uprising is a 2018 American science fiction monster film directed by Steven S. DeKnight, and written by DeKnight, Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder and T.S. Nowlin. It is the sequel to the 2013 film Pacific Rim, and second installment in the Pacific Rim franchise. Guillermo del Toro, director of the first movie, serves as a producer; while production studios Legendary Pictures and Double Dare You Productions developed the movie. The sequel stars John Boyega, as well as Scott Eastwood, Cailee Spaeny in her film debut, Jing Tian, Adria Arjona and Zhang Jin, with Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, and Burn Gorman returning from the original film. The film takes place in 2035, ten years after the events of the original film. The story follows Jake Pentecost, who is given one last chance to live up to his father's legacy after Kaiju, giant sea monsters, are unleashed back into the world and aim to destroy it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brittany O'Grady</span> American actress (born 1996)

Brittany Ann O'Grady is an American actress and singer. She is known for her leading roles in the Fox series Star (2016–2019), and the Apple TV+ series Little Voice (2020), as well as her role in the first season of the HBO anthology series The White Lotus (2021), and a lead role in the Amazon Prime series The Consultant (2023). She has also acted in the film Black Christmas (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cailee Spaeny</span> American actress

Cailee Spaeny is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Priscilla Presley in the biopic Priscilla (2023), which earned her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress in addition to a nomination for a Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gideon Adlon</span> American actress

Gideon Adlon is an American actress. Her films include Blockers (2018), The Mustang (2019), The Craft: Legacy (2020), and Sick (2022). On television, she is known for her roles in the Netflix series The Society (2019) and the NBC series The Thing About Pam (2022).

<i>Devs</i> (TV series) American science fiction thriller TV miniseries (2020)

Devs is an American science fiction thriller television miniseries created, written, and directed by Alex Garland. It premiered on March 5, 2020, on FX on Hulu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lovie Simone</span> American actress

Lovie Simone Oppong is an American actress, best known for her role as Zora Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, Greenleaf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Galitzine</span> British actor (born 1994)

Nicholas Dimitri Constantine Galitzine is a British actor. He is best known for starring in the romantic films Purple Hearts (2022) and Red, White & Royal Blue (2023), and the comedy Bottoms (2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Grey</span> American actor

Julian Grey is an American actor. Most recently, Grey can be seen in The Matrix Resurrections (2021) as Brandon, the teenage son of Tiffany. Grey can also be seen in Blumhouse's The Craft: Legacy (2020) as Abe, the youngest son of Adam, and in Searchlight Pictures dark comedy Downhill as Finn, the fearless son of Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. In television, Grey can be seen in AMCs Fear the Walking Dead (2023), Netflix award-winning limited series Godless (2017), and Fox's Wayward Pines (2016).

<i>The First Lady</i> (American TV series) American anthology drama television series

The First Lady is an American anthology drama television series created by Aaron Cooley which premiered on Showtime on April 17, 2022. It stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Viola Davis, and Gillian Anderson, among others, and portrays life and family events of three First Ladies of the United States: Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Michelle Obama. The series received mixed reviews, with praise for Pfeiffer's and Anderson's performances, as well as the costuming, set design, and themes, but criticism for its pacing, plot, and Davis's performance. In August 2022, the series was canceled after one season.

<i>Willow</i> (TV series) 2022 American fantasy television series

Willow was an American fantasy adventure television series based on and serving as a sequel to the 1988 film of the same name. Warwick Davis, the original actor of Willow Ufgood in the 1988 film, reprised his role for the show. Val Kilmer was unable to reprise his role as Madmartigan, instead his son Jack voiced a cameo appearance of the character. Produced by Lucasfilm, the series was mostly filmed in Wales in April 2021, and premiered on the streaming service Disney+ on November 30, 2022.

<i>How It Ends</i> (2021 film) 2021 American apocalyptic comedy-drama film

How It Ends is a 2021 American apocalyptic comedy-drama film written, directed, and produced by Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones. It stars Lister-Jones and Cailee Spaeny, with cameo appearances by 23 others in a series of vignettes, facilitating the reality of 2020 COVID-19 protocols while serving the underlying plot device of walking through the deserted streets of Los Angeles.

Alien: Romulus is an upcoming American science fiction horror film and a standalone installment in the Alien franchise set between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986). Directed by Fede Álvarez, who co-wrote it with Rodo Sayagues, it stars Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu. A production of Scott Free Productions, the film is scheduled to be theatrically released by 20th Century Studios on August 16, 2024.

<i>Priscilla</i> (film) 2023 film by Sofia Coppola

Priscilla is a 2023 American biographical drama film written, directed, and produced by Sofia Coppola, based on the 1985 memoir Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley and Sandra Harmon. It follows the life of Priscilla and her complicated romantic relationship with Elvis Presley.

References

  1. "The Craft: Legacy Box Office". The Numbers . Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  2. "The Craft – Sequel". Bloody-disgusting.com. Archived from the original on 2010-07-07. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  3. "BD Horror News – 'The Craft' Sequel Officially Dead in the Water". Bloody-disgusting.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-09. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  4. "The Craft is getting a sequel". 12 May 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  5. "Fans in uproar over the Craft remake | Irish Examiner". Archived from the original on 2015-05-20. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
  6. Balk, Fairuza [@fairuza] (May 20, 2015). "FYI- I did not say I thought remaking The Craft specifically was a bad idea- I said remakes -IN GENERAL-tend to be a bad idea" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  7. D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 26, 2019). "Columbia Pictures & Blumhouse Officially Tap Zoe Lister-Jones To Direct & Write 'The Craft' Reboot". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  8. Galuppo, Mia (June 21, 2019). "'The Craft' Reboot Finds Lead With Cailee Spaeny (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  9. N'Duka, Amanda (September 19, 2019). "Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone, Zoey Luna Join Cailee Spaeny To Lead 'The Craft' Remake From Blumhouse". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  10. N'Duka, Amanda (October 8, 2019). "'The Craft': Nicholas Galitzine Set For Sony, Blumhouse Revamp". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  11. D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 16, 2019). "'The Craft' Casts Spell Over David Duchovny As 'X-Files' Actor Joins Blumhouse-Sony Revamp". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  12. D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 22, 2019). "'The Craft': Netflix 'Godless' Star Julian Grey Joins Sony-Blumhouse Revamp". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  13. D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 24, 2019). "Michelle Monaghan Under The Spell Of Blumhouse-Sony's 'The Craft'". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on December 29, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  14. D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 5, 2019). "Donald MacLean Jr. Joins 'The Craft' Cult". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  15. "Directors Guild Canada" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  16. Cairns, Bryan (October 2, 2020). "'The Craft: Legacy' is Bringing Back That Cult-Classic Magic for a New Era". SyFy . Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  17. "'The Craft: Legacy' Soundtrack Details". Film Music Reporter. October 27, 2020. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  18. Chichizola, Corey (September 29, 2020). "Blumhouse's The Craft: Legacy Trailer Reveals Connection To The Original". CinemaBlend. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  19. Squires, John (September 29, 2020). "Blumhouse's New Movie 'The Craft: Legacy' is a Sequel to the 1996 Original Film!". Bloody Disgusting . Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  20. "'The Craft: Legacy' Blu-Ray". Blu-Ray.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  21. "The Craft: Legacy". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 10 May 2023. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  22. "The Craft: Legacy Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  23. Erbland, Kate (2020-10-28). "'The Craft: Legacy' Review: Cult '90s Teen Witch Classic Gets a Clever Modern Sequel". Indiewire . Archived from the original on 2021-01-13. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  24. O'Malley, Sheila (October 28, 2020). "The Craft: Legacy movie review (2020)". RogerEbert.com .
  25. Ramos, Dino-Ray (January 28, 2021). "GLAAD Unveils Nominees For 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards; Deadline's New Hollywood Podcast Honored With Special Recognition Award". Deadline Hollywood . Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 2021-01-28. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  26. Nemiroff, Perri (October 30, 2020). "'The Craft' Director Zoe Lister-Jones Teases More Screen Time for [SPOILER] in the Next Sequel". Collider .
  27. The Craft: Legacy’ SPOILERS! Cameos, Sequel Plans and Easter Eggs REVEALED. YouTube. Entertainment Tonight. November 3, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2021.