Just in time for Halloween and everyone re-watching The Craft (1996) to get in the mood, Entertainment Weekly sat down with the stars of the movie. In an oral history, the cast and crew talk about how the film has managed to become a cult classic for its depiction of high school life (the witchcraft and magic was a major part, too). Robin Tunney, who played Sarah Bailey, explained that a consequence of the film's popularity was that other productions were taking cues from the movie.
Fans of the film were quick to call out another witch-centric show taking some creative license with iconic Craft moments. Charmed, the WB show starring Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs, Rose McGowan, and Shannen Doherty, actually used music from the movie.
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"That cover of the Smiths' song was my idea. I wrote a pilot of The Craft for Fox," co-writer and director Andrew Fleming told EW. "The WB wanted to take it and Fox wouldn't let it go. And then the next year, Charmed came out."
In 1998, when Charmed hit the airwaves, it used Love Spit Love’s cover of "How Soon Is Now?" as its theme song. That same cover was used in The Craft, when Nancy, Rochelle, and Bonnie meet up with new girl Sarah.
"Charmed is a rip-off of The Craft," Tunney added. "It was completely obvious to the point that people would think I was on Charmed for years after."
That may seem like a blatant rip-off (or homage), but the team behind The Craft seems to have gotten over it. While Charmed keeps itself in the headlines with a possible reboot, Tunney says that she doesn't get mistaken for a Charmed star anymore. Instead, she and her costars say that fans are always approaching them about The Craft, whether it's October or not.
"I still get tweets about it," Fairuza Balk said. "What an honour to have been part of something that people love so much."