10 OKAY Movies Elevated By ONE Phenomenal Performance
9. The Craft - Fairuza Balk
The Craft is one of those so-so movies that, for one reason or another, sinks its nails into pop culture and just will not let go. The plot of school girls and satanic rituals unravels quickly as the movie goes on, but it remains a classic to this day.
Fairuza Balk in the role of Nancy Downs is a huge reason for this. Starting off as cool goth girl (goths were marginally cool for a short period in the 90s) and eventually warping into the villain, Balk is much better at carrying the movie than actual lead Robin Tunney.
It helps that she’s the only one who has any established personality. Tunney’s character has had a rough life prior to moving to the school and has attempted suicide, but we never see anything below the surface with her.
Likewise, the other two main characters have scars on their back and are black in a predominantly white school. While it’s easy to see why these things would make their lives difficult, neither character has enough personality to show us the negative emotional effects.
Balk’s Nancy though is acid tongued, vulnerable and desperate throughout the movie; it’s on her shoulders that this became a cult classic.