Massive spoilers ahead for The Craft: Legacy.
Every October comes with a slew of new horror movies, arriving just in time for moviegoers who are hoping to get in one scare. Despite theater closures this still occurred last month, with a few projects arriving straight to homes. This was the case with Zoe Lister-Jones' The Craft: Legacy, which was a follow-up to the the original 1996 cult classic. The new Craft movie told an entirely new story, complete with a new villain. And now the director/writer has opened up about how she came up with her movie's antagonist.
The Craft: Legacy plays out differently than its predecessor in a variety of ways, most importantly with how the members of the coven interact with each other. Rather than turning on each other in an a sequence reminiscent of Nancy and Sarah in Andrew Fleming's original, the villain ended up being David Duchovny's Adam who was out for Lilly's powers. Zoe Lister-Jones explained this choice, saying:
At the time I started writing this, I was really fascinated with a new breed of men’s rights activist. There are certain leaders in that community who are delivering their message through an academic lens, a lens of vulnerability, that makes it easily digestible to people who otherwise might have scoffed at it. I love a villain who leans back, and to me, it felt like such a perfect metaphor for the patriarchy. Often times it’s a dangerous figure with their hands sturdily in their pockets, because that’s how much power they have.
Well, there you have it. Like the 1996 original, The Craft: Legacy is a movie that addresses the issues facing modern teenage women. In addition to having the coven be a diverse group of witches, they battle misogyny in a variety of ways throughout the movie's 90-minute runtime. David Duchovny's character Adam is a prime example of this, as he promotes ultra-masculinity before using his own dark magic in the film's third act.
Before Adam is revealed to be The Craft: Legacy's villain, he was shown as Zoe Lister-Jones describes a "men's rights activist." He's an accomplished author who writes about masculinity, and is always trying to make his three sons tougher. Eventually these ideas are fleshed out when David Duchovny's character is revealed to be in a pagan cult that hunts the powers of witches.
The final battle sequence of The Craft: Legacy is where Zoe Lister-Jones gives David Duchovny the chance to be truly villainous, with Adam even getting an evil monologue in the process. Additionally he has a magical battle with the four witches of the coven, with their combined elemental powers eventually winning the day. It's a sequence that bare almost no resemblance to the final sequence in the original movie, with the women staying united rather than dividing and battling each other.
It should be interesting to see if a sequel for The Craft: Legacy ends up happening. Zoe Lister-Jones revealed that she had a story in mind for another installment, especially following the movie's twist ending. The final moments of Legacy revealed that Lilly was actually the birth daughter or Nancy Downs, with Fairuza Balk herself briefly appearing. Only time will tell.
The Craft: Legacy is currently available via video on demand. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next movie experience.
