Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

The Craft 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

"You unleash something with a spell, there's no undoing. It must run its course."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown February 16, 2024

"Carrie Meets Clueless" may be misleading billing for this decidedly bloodless, less-than-witty supernatural teen thriller (R-rated though it may be), but there's something to The Craft the years haven't been able to whittle away. Maybe it's the cast -- Neve Campbell, unknowingly prepping for the Scream stardom that would come just seven months later, and Faruka Balk, as weird and wonderful a snarling villainess as ever -- or maybe it's the idea of everyday witches cursing bullies and enacting dark justice on schoolyard antagonists that gives the teenager in my brain a bit of vicarious fantasy-revenge on people I've long forgotten. Or maybe it's just the midnight movie glee of a coming-to-power tale replacing the typical coming-of-age story. Whatever the case, and believe me, The Craft isn't a hallowed classic or a perfect '90s gem, the film remains a blast in its own small stakes, big witchy energy kind of way, beating Diablo Cody to the Jennifer's Body punch by more than a decade.

"Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble..."

After transferring to a Los Angeles high school, Sarah (Robin Tunney) finds that her telekinetic gift appeals to a group of three wannabe witches, who happen to be seeking a fourth member for their rituals. Bonnie (Neve Campbell), Rochelle (Rachel True) and Nancy (a hyper-devilish Fairuza Balk), like Sarah herself, each have a troubled background, which combined with their nascent powers lead to dangerous consequences. When a minor spell causes a fellow student to lose her hair and others to get what the witches feel each person deserves, the girls grow power- hungry. Some of them even go mad. Directed and co-written by Dick's Andrew Fleming, the film also stars Skeet Ulrich, Cliff DeYoung, Christine Taylor, Breckin Meyer, Nathaniel Marston, Helen Shaver and Assumpta Serna.

The Craft offers a good bit of late-night teen flick fun, not to mention a power fantasy aging Harry Potter kiddos may find alluring (even almost thirty years later), but it all comes with an unhealthy dose of plot contrivances and uber-convenient twists and turns. The result feels overly manufactured, and lacks the organic flow that the high chemistry cast shows in spades. It also undercuts the actors' performances with wild shifts in character motivations and reactions, particularly in regards to Tunney, whose Sarah leaps from saint to sinner and back again with jarring abruptness. Does it still work? Hell yeah (he says a bit too literally). The actresses chew on all the scenery (and all the boys and bullies in between), and Balk charms in her own strange way with wild-eyed enthusiasm that borders on salaciously satanic. It remains decidedly R-lite, and there's a big ol' horror junkie in me that wishes Fleming and the studio went full hard R, gothic gore and goth-princess galivanting and all. Still, it taps the vein of teen angst, heartbreak, betrayal, popularity, self-esteem and ever- changing alliances with such vigor that you can't help but get a kick out of the offerings it sacrifices on the teen cinema alter.

The Craft 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hoo boy, has the 4K release of The Craft been the cause of a forum war. You'd think it was Helen of Troy.

Multiple Blu-ray.com members have reported excessive artifacting that is, by several impassioned accounts, obvious and easy to spot, even when watching the film at distance and at speed. The determination? A poor encode. Truth be told, and maybe I'll regret saying so later, but my experience couldn't have been more different. I did catch sight of the tiniest of artifacts during the opening credits and in some of the optical FX shots. I suspect because I was directed at exactly the right spots, to the second, and because I took time to watch the boring opening credits and its floaty sky/cloud reel. And I agree, in later scenes you can and should delineate between the reduction in quality you see with 1990s optical effects (which shouldn't negatively impact an evaluation of a transfer) and encoding issues found in a modern transfer (which should). However, and this is a big however, I just don't see how any of what we have here spoils the presentation. The slightest of dents? An asterisk noting a known, albeit minor problem? Sure. A major issue worthy of the internet's outrage, a recall and fix, or so much exaggerated, overly broad, hypertensive criticism? Hardly. At least not to my tastes or my eyes. And here comes the real kicker. My only struggle was in deciding whether to score The Craft's illuminating 4K video transfer a 4.0 or a 4.5. I recorded a 4.0, but let's call it a 4.25, which is more accurate.

Other than the handful of instances detailed ad nauseum in the forum, I didn't encounter any other significant blocking, banding or unsightly issues, other than perhaps the film's strong grain field, which I don't consider an "issue", rather a sign that the team responsible for the 4K disc took its time with the original elements and gave The Craft a proper remastering that's (mostly) faithful to its every last speck of grain. It can be a tad inconsistent from scene to scene (blame flashes of lightning in drearily dark scenes or the near-pitch black or midnight blue moments that frame some of the girls' outdoor rituals), but even when a shot's lighting was challenging and I expected a massive dip in clarity, what I discovered was the opposite. The image and, yes, the bitrate stood true. Don't misunderstand, at no point does the film look like anything other than a rejuvenated teen thriller from 1996 with a $15 million budget. Nor does its cinematography ever fully break free of some suspiciously TV-esque trappings. And I'm not dismissing the screenshot hunters' artifact safari and offending screen-captured shots. However, the print is clean as you could hope for, the palette is teeming with life and energy, shadow detail is quite good (considering how heavy the darkness can occasionally fall), and even the film's FX shots -- which do show their seams more readily in 4K, as is the case with most, if not all optical effects of the era -- hold up pretty well, even under 4K scrutiny.

Colors shift from warm, beautifully saturated, firelit interior hues to crisp, even chilly tones that remain natural whatever the lighting and register as lifelike as anything else in the film. Skintones are lovely and on point, as is contrast, which lends welcome depth and dimensionality to an image that every so often shows how flat the image could be (lightning strikes, I'm looking at you again). Black levels do exhibit a touch of crush on occasion, though nothing that suggests all that much shadow detail is being obstructed, and primaries every so often lack some of the kick they boast in the vast majority of scenes. But each instance of weakness appears to trace back to the source, not a faulty or lesser encode, or worse, a shoulder-shrug of a remastering effort. Detail, meanwhile, is excellent. Illuminating even. The film benefits (and then some) from the more refined grain, the crisper, halo-free edge definition, the terrifically resolved fine textures (particularly in close-ups), and other improvements. And again, I just didn't come across any substantial signs indicating a lackluster encode. I can study graphs, track bitrates and go pixel by pixel all day long. What matters to me is what a film looks like in motion at a proper viewing distance, at proper speed, with proper home theater lighting, and a properly calibrated display. The Craft's 4K transfer should only encourage a purchase. Its briefly apparent issues are few and mostly negligible.

As to the forum arguments surrounding this particular 4K encode, add my (idiot's) opinion to the canon, light the fuse and fire away. I leave it to all of you to battle it out...

The Craft 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

*Raises head out of foxhole* Are they gone? Is it safe? As far as I can tell, no one is arguing about The Craft's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, which seems to be the same decent lossless mix featured on both the 2009 standard edition and 2019 Collector's Edition Blu-rays. From the 2009 review: The brief witchcraft scene prior to the opening title sequence delivers a nice sense of atmosphere as wind blows, thunder claps and girls chant; followed by a steady and strong presentation of a rock song that delivers a satisfying, room-filling listen. These scenes set the tone for the remainder of the film, with surround speakers being nicely engaged throughout. Student chatter (as heard during Sarah's initial arrival on campus) fills the soundstage nicely and does a good job of placing the listeners in the midst of the hallowed halls. A thunderstorm in chapter five delivers a full experience that takes advantage of the entire soundstage, placing booms of thunder and steady rain all around the listening area. The track also features problem-free dialogue reproduction and a wonderful collection of more subtle ambient effects, particularly during several outdoor scenes that are almost good enough to fool the listener into feeling a part of the environment. An explosion (of sorts) rocks the listening area in chapter 13 with a prodigious wave of bass; while the low end isn't a consistent companion throughout the film, it's used to good effect when called upon.

The Craft 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary - With co-writer/director Andrew Fleming.

• Directing The Craft (HD, 15 minutes) - This newly produced chat with Fleming allows the filmmaker to double back over thoughts and stories shared in his commentary. Here those thoughts are brief and more succinct on the whole, but there are a few times when the interview bears fruit the commentary missed. Angelina Jolie's stab at landing a role is discussed, as are Fleming's tussles with the MPAA and his satisfaction with the final soundtrack.

• Producing The Craft (HD, 13 minutes) - Next up is producer Douglas Wick, who offers a different take on casting, the film's legacy and various aspects of the production, which he remains proud to have been a part.

• Writing The Craft (HD, 11 minutes) - Third out of the gate is screenwriter Peter Filardi, who talks about what inspired The Craft in the wake of Flatliners. He also touches on Fleming's alterations and additions to his original script, which is typically an icy, bitter affair, but here is thoughtful and engaging.

• Effecting The Craft (HD, 11 minutes) - Makeup effects supervisor Tony Gardner talks all things witchy.

• Conjuring The Craft (SD, 25 minutes) - This archive production featurette offers a number of interviews with key members of the cast and crew, who mull over the possibility that the set was haunted or cursed (perhaps thanks to Balk, who apparently was fully invested at all times).

• The Making of The Craft (SD, 6 minutes) - Another vintage featurette for completists.

• Deleted Scenes (SD, 7 minutes) - The same deleted scenes included with past releases.

• Theatrical Trailer (SD, 2 minutes)

The Craft 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's been a long time since I waded into the waters of video quality debating (hello Fellowship of the Ring!) but when I saw that the 4K release of The Craft had slipped through the cracks, I had to bite. Go easy on me, gents. It just isn't really that bad. In fact, the video transfer is quite good; borderline excellent even. Sure, a few minor encoding anomalies enter the fray, but blink-and-you'll-miss-em infrequencies shouldn't undermine how much of an upgrade this release represents. Add to that a solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track and a full package of extras and you have a 4K release that doesn't deserve any of the hate some are so eager to pour over it. My take? 99% of fans -- as well as 98% of even the most eagle-eyed videophiles on the net -- will be most pleased with the overall results.