Supernatural '90s Classic The Craft To Be Remade

Dust off your fishnets, eyeliner and The Cure CDs - the 1996 horror movie that made everyone want to be a Goth (or want to go out with a Goth, at least) is set for a 21st century remake.

Yes, there’s a new take on ‘The Craft’ in the works - but if that news prompts the usual eye-roll from horror fans long sick of seeing everything remade, there may be some cause for optimism in the somewhat unexpected choice of director.

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According to The Hollywood Reporter,  Leigh Janiak - writer-director behind the recent, critically acclaimed indie horror drama, ‘Honeymoon’ - has been hired to bring ‘The Craft’ back to the big screen for Sony.

As well as directing, Janiak will also pen the script for this reinterpretation of writer-director Andrew Fleming’s 1996 original, in collaboration with her ‘Honeymoon’ co-writer Phil Graziadei.

Original ‘The Craft’ producer Doug Wick is also on board to produce this remake, along with Lucy Fisher.

The 1996 original played out along the lines of a gender-reversed ‘The Lost Boys,’ centring on Robin Tunney as a troubled new kid in town who finds herself initiated into a coven of witches, lead by an iconic Fairuza Balk.

As a foursome, the high school witches see their power increase exponentially - but it isn’t long before that power begins to corrupt them.

The ensemble was filled out by Rachel True and Neve Campbell - the latter of whom would soon skyrocket to scream queen status thanks to her leading role in (appropriately enough) ‘Scream’ that same year. In a further ‘Scream’ association, ‘The Craft’ also featured Skeet Ulrich in a key supporting role. Other notable supporting performances came from Breckin Meyer and Christine Taylor.

Though only a moderate success at the box office, ‘The Craft’ really found its audience on video, and soon became a teen favourite thanks to the cool clothes, killer soundtrack and for the time pretty impressive CGI FX.

Given the flashiness of the original, Leigh Janiak is hardly the most obvious choice to helm a new take on ‘The Craft.’ Her 2014 debut ‘Honeymoon’ is a quiet, understated chiller centred almost entirely on two actors, Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones) and Harry Treadaway (Penny Dreadful), who play newlyweds whose nuptial bliss is thrown into disarray by mysterious circumstances.

Janiak’s hiring would seem to suggest this new take on ‘The Craft’ may be a bit less flash, and a bit more intimate and character-based; but then, given it will only be Janiak’s second feature, it’s surely too early to pigeonhole her as a director.

THR give no indication of when we might expect ‘The Craft’ to return to screens, nor do they mention any casting - although, as if to complete the circle, they do note that Janiak is also attached to direct an episode of the new ‘Scream’ TV series coming from MTV this year.

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Picture Credit: Sony, THR, Fewlas Entertainment/Arrow Films