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The Craft: Legacy

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The Craft: Legacy
VOD release poster
Directed byZoe 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 bySony 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,[2] is a 2020 American supernatural horror film[2] 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 includes Nicholas Galitzine, Michelle Monaghan, and David Duchovny, with Fairuza Balk making a cameo appearance.

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 was a box-office bomb, earning $2.3 million worldwide on an $18 million budget, and received mixed reviews from critics. It was nominated for the 2021 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film – Wide Theatrical Release.

Plot

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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, invites 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 if they can 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 the child of one of her psychotherapy patients. After Timmy's funeral, Helen tells Lily she agrees to move out. Helen also admits that she knows about her powers. The conversation prompts Helen to ask Lily to give her powers to Helen. When Lily grows suspicious of her, Helen shapeshifts into Adam who has 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 an 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

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  • Cailee Spaeny as Lilith "Lily" Schechner, the central character
  • Gideon Adlon as Frankie, one of the members of the coven and Lily's friend.
  • Lovie Simone as Tabby, one of the members of the coven and Lily's friend.
  • Zoey Luna as Lourdes, one of the members of the coven, a self-identified trans-woman, and Lily's friend.
  • Nicholas Galitzine as Timmy Andrews, Lily's schoolmate
  • Michelle Monaghan as Helen Schechner, Lily's mother
  • David Duchovny as Adam Harrison, Lily's stepfather
  • Julian Grey as Abe Harrison, Lily's stepbrother
  • Charles Vandervaart as Jacob Harrison, Lily's stepbrother
  • Donald MacLean Jr. as Isaiah Harrison, Lily's stepbrother
  • Hannah Gordon as Ashley
  • Chris Tomassetti as Jeremy
  • James Madge as Mr. Bly
  • Fairuza Balk as Nancy Downs, a witch and Lily's biological mother.

Production

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Development

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A straight-to-DVD sequel to The Craft was in the works circa 2010, but was terminated.[3][4] 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.[5][6][7]

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.[8]

Casting

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In June 2019, Cailee Spaeny was set to star in the film.[9] In September 2019, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone, and Zoey Luna joined the cast as the other witches.[10] In October 2019, Nicholas Galitzine, David Duchovny, Julian Grey, and Michelle Monaghan were also added,[11][12][13][14] and in November 2019, Donald MacLean Jr. was cast.[15]

Filming

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Principal photography began in October 2019.[16] During filming in Toronto, director Zoe Lister-Jones explained in an on-set interview that The Craft sequel "... centers on young people, young women, and crossdressers, specifically coming into their power in today’s current climate..."[17]

Music

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The film's original music, composed by Heather Christian, was released digitally by Madison Gate Records on October 28, 2020.[18]

Release

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The Craft: Legacy was released on video on demand by Sony Pictures Releasing on October 28, 2020, followed by a theatrical release internationally.[19][20] The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 22, 2020, by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.[21]

Reception

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Box office

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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

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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. "[22] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 54 out of 100 based on reviews from 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[23]

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."[24] 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."[25]

Accolades

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The Craft: Legacy was nominated for the 2021 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film (Wide Release).[26]

Future

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In October 2020, when interviewed about Fairuza Balk's cameo, Zoe Lister-Jones explained that she wrote the script with a continuation in mind.[27] 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.[28]

References

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  1. ^ "The Craft: Legacy Box Office". The Numbers. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "BLUMHOUSE'S THE CRAFT: LEGACY | Sony Pictures Entertainment". www.sonypictures.com. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  3. ^ "The Craft – Sequel". Bloody-disgusting.com. Archived from the original on 2010-07-07. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ "The Craft is getting a sequel". 12 May 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Fans in uproar over the Craft remake | Irish Examiner". Archived from the original on 2015-05-20. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
  7. ^ Balk, Fairuza [@fairuza] (20 May 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ "Directors Guild Canada" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "'The Craft: Legacy' Soundtrack Details". Film Music Reporter. October 27, 2020. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ "'The Craft: Legacy' Blu-Ray". Blu-Ray.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  22. ^ "The Craft: Legacy". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 10 May 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  23. ^ "The Craft: Legacy Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ O'Malley, Sheila (October 28, 2020). "The Craft: Legacy movie review (2020)". RogerEbert.com.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ Nemiroff, Perri (October 30, 2020). "'The Craft' Director Zoe Lister-Jones Teases More Screen Time for [SPOILER] in the Next Sequel". Collider.
  28. ^ The Craft: Legacy' SPOILERS! Cameos, Sequel Plans and Easter Eggs REVEALED. YouTube. Entertainment Tonight. November 3, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
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