Eighteen years ago, on May 3, 1996, The Craft hit theaters. The teen witch genre never looked so fierce.
Teen witches have been around since Salem, of course, but in the ’80s and ’90s we got a lot of girl-sorcery. The Craft‘s Fairuza Balk first cast spells as Mildred in 1986’s Worst Witch; Teen Witch was released in 1989; and in September of 1996, Sabrina the Teenage Witch premiered on ABC. (Buffy and her teen witch friend Willow hit the air in ’97.) But The Craft! The Craft was truly magical. The Craft fulfilled every desire felt by every sensitive, moody, downtrodden, bullied, ostracized teenage girl. Revenge on Mean Girls? Check. Revenge on stupid boys? Check. Forming a ruthless anti-clique clique? Check. Hot outfits with cute socks? Check. Attempts at world domination? Check. I love this movie more than Nancy’s mom loves a jukebox that only plays Connie Francis.
Whether your favorite part was calling the four corners, binding someone from doing harm, or watching Skeet Ulrich behave like a dim-witted puppy, the ultimate joy came from watching the powerless come into power. (If you can’t get enough, check out this turn-of-the-century fanfic: The Craft 2: The Return of Nancy.) Even though The Craft is pre-microblogging, it feels designed for animated screencaps. Hail to the Guardians of the Watchtowers of the Animated Graphics Interchange Format! It’s time for a Gif Party! We invoke thee!