Sony Pictures set to remake The Craft

If you were a teenager in the 90s (or even younger in my case) you will remember the supernatural horror that was The Craft. Every teen watched it and fanaticised about becoming a witch just like the powerful foursome featured in the movie. Now though, a newer generation can re-live the fascination all over again as Sony Pictures have confirmed a remake of this classic.

Brought to us by Columbia Pictures, The Craft debuted in 1996 and was directed by Andrew Fleming. It follows the story of a teenage girl named Sarah (Robin Tunney) who moves to a new city with her family for a fresh start and enrolls into a Catholic school where she meets a trio of witches: Nancy (Fairuza Balk), Bonnie (Neve Campbell) and Rochelle (Rachel True). She forms a friendship with the girls and together they form a coven which uncovers unseemly powers they didn’t know they could possess. With these new-found powers, the girls gain the confidence to do anything their hearts desire, from getting the school heart-throb to like them to seeking revenge on the beautiful and popular school bully. But things become much more sinister and they soon discover that the dark forces are not something to be played around with.

Up-and-coming horror filmmaker Leigh Janiak will be directing the remake under Sony Pictures, teaming up again with Phil Graziadei, who co-wrote with her on her previous movie Honeymoon, to pen the script for the new movie. The producer of the original movie Doug Wick will be returning to the line-up, this time co-producing with Lucy Fisher, who was vice-chairman of Columbia during the time the first movie was filmed.

What we are dying to know is the difference a female director could have to the female-centric horror, and Hollywood seem just as pleased with the idea. Janiak had already impressed execs with her female empowerment tale, so it will be interesting to see how this one turns out. The original movie already made the women seem pretty powerful, however the themes and reasons they used their powers were superficial and typical when it came to female roles – get the guy, look pretty, et cetera – but with a focus on feminine empowerment I am betting on this one being a remake definitely worth taking a look at.

It may seem an unusual movie to be brought back to life for the big screen, but although The Craft only received average reviews it made an amazing $55 million worldwide on its $15 million budget at the box office.

Are you just as excited as I am? Who do you want to see as the new witchy line-up?