Invoke the Manon - Do you dare... Review on The Craft Movie

This is the story of a teenage girl, Sarah Bailey, who moves into a new town with her father and stepmother and joins the local school there.  The usual issues of adjustment in a new environment and finding friends confront her initially.  She has her usual share of bullies and guys making advances to her. Adjusting in this new environment is also especially difficult for her as she has had a particularly traumatic childhood. Having lost her mother, she has been brought up by a loving father but there’s only this much time that he could devote to her. With literally no emotional anchor she is lead to being insecure and under confident. Now the change in city and school has made her lose out on her friends as well.

Under these circumstances she comes in contact with a group of three girls who protect her and stand up for her against all the bullies. They seem to be there every time she needs them. Soon she starts to befriend them and becomes a part of the group. They hang out together, go shopping, play games and have get-togethers. The gang of girls is now quite a force to reckon with. The tormented have become the tormentors and they too have their share of the fun. Back home each of these three girls have had their share of troubles too. While the leader of the gang, Nancy, stays in a trailer with an abusive stepfather; Rochelle, the only black girl in the foursome has had other girls abusing her racially. The third, Bonnie has deep scars all over her back and is therefore unable to attract any of the local boys.

But with all of these shortcomings these girls also have secret powers. There are even those who believe they are witches. Among themselves they hope that all this is true, however they have never been able to truly demonstrate any occult power. Now they believe that Sarah is their missing forth link and with her their circle will be complete.  And as the psychic at the bookshop says, Sarah is a natural witch! They get their first encouraging sign when the guy harassing them on the street is hit by a speeding car then and there itself. Is that just a coincidence or do they really have some powers…

One day all the four girls go out to the woods and perform a ceremony, which they had read about in an occult book, to cast a spell. Each girl wishes for something that is dearest to her. Very soon on their return they find that the guy Sarah liked has become obsessed with her. Bonnie’s scars begin to disappear magically and even her plastic surgeon is surprised. Things are not normal with the other two girls as well. Rochelle finds that the girl, who used to abuse her, starts losing her hair to a strange disease and becomes extremely ugly as a result. Last but not the least Nancy’s stepfather dies of a massive heart stroke and they find out that he has left behind a multimillion dollar insurance policy!

So finally everything begins to fall in place for these teenage witches. But Nancy is not satisfied. She wants the ultimate power that comes with the invoking of the spirit, the Manon.  From here on the teenage and girly fun ends and the story begins to take a subtle turn. That evening the girls guided by an occult book carry out the ritual to invoke the spirit. The culmination of the scary and dangerous ritual is that lightening strikes Nancy and she gets unlimited powers. She has the power but not the wisdom to use it correctly…

Back in the school the spell cast by Sarah is also going all awry. Chris, the guy on whom she had cast her love spell is out of control now and tries to rape her. Whereas Sarah is trying to deal with the issue in an honorable manner, Nancy goes out of control, and kills Chris. The ominous signs are there for to see now. Things have truly got out of hand and if something is not done immediately more death and destruction are in store. Sarah thus uses her own power to cast a binding spell on Nancy. Unfortunately since Nancy is far more powerful as a witch, Sarah’s spell has no effect on her. And further now Nancy and her other two friends turn against Sarah. While sleeping and awake there is no respite for her. Sarah has no one but the book shop owner, who sold the occult books, to turn to.

The book shop owner, who is herself a psychic, advises Sarah to invoke the spirit, the Manon, as there is no other way to fight such a strong witch like Nancy.  Sarah is extremely hesitant to do so and wants everything to return to normal.

Will Sarah be able to combat a very strong and crazy witch like Nancy? Who will come to her help? Watch this movie to witness this supernatural, gritty and scary fight.

My Take

The movie is a real cult classic of the late 1990s. Even though it’s a horror film, it does not show scenes involving too much gore of the Evil Dead type. Secondly the storyline of the movie is so believable and real that you will be literally sucked into the lives of the girls and identify with their troubles. The portrayal by all the four girls especially Sarah and Nancy is exceptional. Sarah Bailey is played by Robin Tunney and she gives a very good account of herself. Fairuza balk as Nancy Downs is exceptional. She has looked every bit a witch without even the use of makeup. Her obsessive behavior looks as real as it can get. How the scene transforms from the usual teenage girls games to authentic gauthic style ritual performance and witchcraft is truly amazing.

I am very much surprised why this movie did not create the kind of waves that it should have in India, but has surely come several times on Star Movies, and I have enjoyed it more and more each time that I have seen it.  Since it stresses more on the acting skills and the storyline rather than gory scenes, it can even be viewed by those who are not so much interested in watching horror movies.

In the end the grit and mental strength of a hapless girl, in dealing with forces so much more powerful that she will leave you spellbound. Take my word for it.