Let’s Be Honest. Sarah Bailey Walked So That Harry Potter Could Run.

The 90’s were a downright fantastic time for goth culture. From Tim Burton (The Nightmare Before Christmas pretty much solidified him as a household name early in the decade) to rock star Marilyn Manson and rock band The Cure, the dark subculture seemed to be everywhere (and I do mean, everywhere.) So, how would a film about magic and wizards from the middle of the decade be like? Well, let’s just say it had “goth” written all over it! (Not that that’s a bad thing, in fact it works, what with it being about witches and all.)

The film follows Sarah Bailey, a young telekinetic woman who’s wary of her power. When she meets three other witches, Bonnie, Rochelle and Nancy, at a local school, she finds out how important her gift is, particularly to the group itself. She eventually bonds with the girls over their issues, but when a spell causes a fellow student to lose her hair (long story short, she insulted their token black girl) the girls grow hungry with power.

Is it any good? Let’s just say it’s a very dark film- dark as in “lots of black colors,” not dark as in “heavy,” thankfully. (If anything, it’s more of a black comedy.) With the goth style combined with all the magic and “girl culture,” It strikes itself as Mean Girls meets Harry Potter (yes, I know this movie predates both franchises) meets The Cure. However, some of the humour is rather mean-spirited- the film’s “mean girl” for instance, targets the black girl for no other reason other than for being black, which would’ve been going too far in the 80’s, let alone 1996- even for a mean girl. (Honestly, the writers could’ve been more creative when it came to their bully- she comes across as so unsympathetic, it makes it difficult to feel sorry for her when her hair starts falling out due to a spell.) However, given the film, you can count on it to have an amazing “goth rock” soundtrack. And there are, admittedly, some rather cool action sequences, particularly ones involving magic. It’s enough to make you wonder “why” Fauriza Balk, the star of the show who just so happens to play the chief witch, didn’t have too much of a career after the 90’s.

In short, if you’re interested in magic and/or goth culture, you’re bound to enjoy this film. Even some non-fans may enjoy this film as well, fi they aren’t put off by how goth it is. 3 1/2 stars out of 5.