MovieChat Forums > The Craft (1996) Discussion > Anyone else NOT like Sarah?

Anyone else NOT like Sarah?

posted 11 years ago by dfminky
36 replies | jump to latest

I realize she's the character we're supposed to empathize with in this film, but I find her self righteous. She's the new girl, and she acts like the moral authority and totally ruins the fun for the other girls.

It's not like they were hurting random people. Every person they hurt did something to deserve it, and I didn't feel bad for any of them. Goody-two-shoes Sarah just had to make sure they got "punished" for it. She had no loyalty.

Chris didn't care about anyone but himself and his reputation. He hurt both Sarah and Nancy by spreading rumors about them. It was Sarah's spell that made him fall "in love" with her. He wasn't a "nice guy", he was under a spell and got humiliated like he did to them. I didn't feel bad for him at all, even after what Nancy did to him. He wasn't even his own person at that point, he was brainwashed from Sarah's spell. His existence revolved around being tortured by the thought of Sarah, and Nancy put him out of his misery.

Laura harassed Rochelle for being black, and had her hair fall out. Even in the scene where she was crying saying "What did I do to deserve this?" I didn't feel even slightly bad for her.

Bonnie didn't do anything to anyone at all. She got rid of the scars on her body, and was punished for what? Acting narcissistic? So what? She has the right to feel comfortable in her own skin, and she wasn't hurting anyone.

I wasn't rooting for Sarah at the end. I don't think she deserved that sense of moral superiority, to become the authority on witchcraft and hand out punishments. I felt bad for Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle. I hated Sarah.

[–] Katrina0353 11 years ago

Yes I also cant stand her. And god she was so pathetic wanting chris to like her after he treated her like *beep* Wow

[–] MikePaul854 11 years ago

Is that any different then women who stay with guys after they beat and mistreat them? You're only a victim once. The rest of the times you're an accomplice.

[–] milicentbrovovich 11 years ago

That's disgusting and you're disgusting for even writing that. You do realise this is victim blaming of the most repellent degree? But I suppose you gon't care about that do you.

To answer the OP; I don't much like her either.

[–] MikePaul854 11 years ago

You're right. I don't care. If you think he's in love with you when he's turning your face into putty, then there's something seriously wrong with your love story.

[–] pannala537 10 years ago

You are a *beep* up person. Blaming women for getting beaten up or possibly abused emotionaly. You have no idea what it is like to be a woman or to have a man take control of you. I have never been the victim of abuse but sometimes I do fear of becoming one because you do not know when it can happen or who it will come from. You are saying its a women's fault for staying with a man who beats her and esp if she has kids with him. A man can manipulate a woman and pretty much ruin her and also tell her she is worthless without him that no one else would want her or will love her. He takes away her independence and freedom and also her freewill. Yes it would be lovely if all women who are abused by men can just walk away but sometimes its not that easy. And for you a man to tell it like it is and say anything about a subject you have no way of knowing about makes you look and become a jerk. YOur picture is also very scary pretty much making you look like a jaskass. Please try to be nice in your other posts.....and no one was getting beaten up in this movie sorry to say I bet you get off on it eh!???? Victim blaming wow what a wonderful person you must be...do you blame a woman for getting raped too!???

Game Over!

[–] carthur27 10 years ago

" You're only a victim once. The rest of the times you're an accomplice."

That's really nothing but a smart-ass saying. The reasons women stay with men that are abusing them can be quite complicated. In the worst case I've seen, the woman had children that she couldn't support by herself.

[–] MikePaul854 10 years ago

So stay with the guy and raise your kids in that kind of environment where the son will learn that beating a woman is love and where the daughter will learn that being a human speed bag is being loved. And why? Because mommy couldn't leave because she never learned to support herself. Still not an excuse.

[–] EarlGreyWhore32 10 years ago

I used to share your opinions. Then I did a crazy little thing called research. Won't get into any of that, this is not the place for it, but here's a thought experiment: recall an event where you had no sense of control (physical harassment by a bully or being forced to speak in front of the class, not being able to function due to injury or substance, being in hospital overnight); recall an event where you were tricked into something, like, a sales rep up-selling you; imagine if that feeling of powerlessness was never absent and on top of that, you have been manipulated not by a salesman, but by a psychopath, not over the course of a single interaction, but slowly and gradually over the course of many, many years.

Also, whether you change your mind or not is irrelevant, your thoughts are yours, just never ever express these opinions in front of someone who's been in an abusive situation. You'll set their recovery back quite a ways.

It's always easy to think logically when you're the observer. One term you should look up: fundamental attribution error

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] heartyburgundy 10 years ago

No... that's not how that works. You do realize people mentally and physically are incapable of escaping bad situations sometimes for whatever reason? People react in different ways, just as a somewhat mature minor might be shocked or helpless if someone they loved began molesting them. Just because someone is not strong enough to get out of a situation does not make them an accomplice.

In fact, it's a bit disgusting that you're not calling out the criminal in the situation. A marriage or relationship does not mean a man or a woman can beat their partner by default. You don't become an accomplice because the crime should not be committed in the first place. You can be a victim many times, but sometimes you don't have the mental (sometimes financial) ability to leave and make the situation better for yourself unless outside sources get involved.

[–] MikePaul854 10 years ago

And how are outside forces to get involved when these "victims" keep dropping the charges?

[–] heartyburgundy 10 years ago

Just because you drop charges or do not feel charging your spouse/father of your child, does not mean that the outside forces cannot encourage or finally get the woman to leave (with her child). It happens all the time, unfortunately, you seem a little too biased to look into information like that.

[–] milicentbrovovich 10 years ago

You're being a simplistic idiot. Often peoples bank accounts are tied up together, and the woman, for whatever reason, is not only being emotionally and physically abused, but is also being financially abused; he decides what money she can use ect. Not all women have family members they can escape to. Not all women have any way of supporting themselves and their children by leaving abusive men. That's why there are women's shelters, for the women who do manage to escape. Men get abused by women too. You are looking at this situation as though it were ''black and white'' and it is not and from your avatar you look to be a grown man and you need to grow the hell up and not victim blame. Yes, ideally, a woman would leave an abusive man instantly and many women do. But when you've been married to someone, have children, are tied to them in all ways when they show their ''true colours'' or become abusive, is it as easy as instantly leaving? NOPE. Because for a myriad reasons that just can't happen for a lot of people. Should be ashamed of your damn self for saying any woman (or man for that matter) is an accomplice in their own abuse. That's simplistic, ridiculous, offensive and just plain WRONG.

[–] alyssadewahlberg 9 years ago

As someone who stayed in an abusive relationship for years, I agree: the first time an adult is abused they're a victim, and every time after that, they're a volunteer. (Kids are not responsible, hence the word 'adult')

If a boss refused time and again to pay an employee, the employee would leave.
If a stranger walked up and punched someone in the face, the victim would run or call the cops, etc.
If someone waited in line for over an hour for 'fast food,' they'd leave, complain or whatever.
Each of us is responsible for choosing what treatment we will accept and what treatment we won't accept.
"Love" is NOT a reason to endure abuse of any kind, period. Teens make bad choices, that's a given, but to promote those bad choices or condone them is irresponsible.
I chose to leave, several times. I went back, several times. Then I left for good. Each time was MY choice. Leaving meant exchanging one set of problems for another, but it WAS a choice. If a killer chases you to the edge of a cliff, you have a choice of jumping or being killed by the other person; it isn't much of a choice, but it IS a choice.
If abuse victims have a syndrome to explain staying, do they also have a syndrome to explain leaving?
Staying with an abuser if you have kids puts the kids at risk of all kinds of abuse and neglect. Also, if the abuser kills you, you can't protect the kids. That isn't 'victim blaming' - it's cold hard reality. If you're in a body cast or a grave, you can't keep the kids safe.
Back to the topic..
I felt Sarah put the spell on Chris as revenge, rather than because she really wanted him. She may also have been wanting a 'guinea pig' for her powers, to see if she could really do it. Lots of teenage (and adult!) misadventures start with, "I wonder if I could.. *fill in the blank*"
I think the lessons here are:

Teenagers do stupid sh*t

Men who mistreat women will get their come-uppance sooner or later

Jealousy can be deadly

Obsession isn't 'harmless'

Playing with magic can go horribly awry

Abuse - verbal, physical, whatever - is wrong

Women should avoid/prosecute men who stalk, harass, violate etc

Falling out of windows can be deadly

Being politically correct doesn't save lives. I'd rather someone be offended by me for a moment and live, than sugar-coat things and watch people crash and burn.
Truth hurts, but does not kill.

[–] mandycw 11 years ago

I don't think she wanted him to like her. I just think she was getting even with him.

[–] jefgg 11 years ago

I thought Sarah was a good witch, kind of like a young Stevie Nicks.

[–] SexyDirtyTalk 11 years ago

I like Sarah. I like that she wasn't a "strong" character at the beginning. Sarah was a natural witch with real ability and she had a sense of that. I think her putting the spell on Chris was her own punishment. She knew she was wrong and that's why she started to change her tune, esp. after he died. Killing someone is a whole another thing then making their hair fall out. I think she saw that the craft was going to led them into something even worse and she wanted it to stop before someone else got hurt.

[–] ricky_says_hi 11 years ago

I never thought about it that way but it does seem to make sense that Sarah as a natural witch would be the first to realise what they're doing is wrong. It also kind of makes sense that as the new girl, she wouldn't be as afraid of Nancy as the other two were

I'm gonna die of long hair!

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] moviebp 11 years ago

You have my vote! I don't know why either. She was the good one but I think the way they wrote her character made her dislikable to me. From almost the beginning, she was irritating and in the classroom, she spins the pencil by telekinesis and knows that she is being watched. She tries too hard to gain acceptance from the very ones who disliked her. She was pouty and came across as too needy. I didn't care for her timid personality except when she was throwing insults with such confidence at Lyria in the store and also to Laura. She was only strong in the presence of her click. Also perhaps because she wore a wig throughout the movie because of a prior movie she just made shaving her head, also made her seem a little odd. But I didn't care much for her in other movies as well but her career went no where anyway. In fact, Each of those kids seemed to loose their popularity after that movie with exception to Skeet and Neve Campbell who did go on to make a few more movies and Scream that was a huge success for Neve. I wished they all had better careers.
I suppose selling your soul isn't all it's cracked up to be after all. Still a really good movie. I wish they had made a sequel where Nancy escaped and went after all of them and of course the plot could have easily gone on similar to the Scream Movies. I think it garnered too much negative attention when Kids and Adults began practicing Wicca in the late 1990's. I know where I live, in just 2 years after the movie came out, herb shops and candle shops and wicca shops were popping up all over the place and headlines made in the neighboring College Town where many sacrificial murders took place and the Movie made many headlines in the defense trials that ensued for the next number of years. The Subject matter was too tempting to the masses. There was never a movie made like it again or before that was even close to the subject.

[–] daan_8336 11 years ago

But I didn't care much for her in other movies as well but her career went no where anyway.

The Mentalist is a pretty popular TV show. Ever seen it?

[–] daan_8336 11 years ago

All I want to say is, Sarah didn't want reverse the other girls' spells, or even so much as spoil their fun. After she saw that the girls' behaviour began to get out of hand, she just wanted out. She wasn't trying to "punish" them for anything.

And okay, maybe it wasn't very cool of her to bind Nancy's power. But then again, it wasn't very cool of the girls either to give her constant nightmares, fill her house with imaginary snakes, frame her for murder, and try to kill her. They did kind of push her to fight for survival.

Do I like Sarah? I don't know. Though I understand why she reacted the way she did.

[–] shannondevay 11 years ago

Good points and I understand them completely. It is always a little irritating to see someone "Bend" themselves to be accepted by people who really weren't worth it. But on the flip side, perhaps Sarah knew they were like her and really wanted to fit in with them. Sarah should have been a little more aggressive with Nancy who was always jealous and taunting of Sarah. Maybe that's what irritated me. Either way, when she got them back it was worth it. I really wish people had not ruined it's chances of a sequel by esteeming it a CULT status but they did and now we will never get to enjoy another one like it. Wish those same people who took this movie to heart and began the Wicca age again had got the main message, "Do unto others as you would have done unto you" then so much negative would not have come from it and it could have easily became a trilogy. But the movie was blamed over and over for witchcraft and sacrafices being made after it's premier. Actually the media forgot that the height of the witchcraft was in the 1970's.

[–] Frantastic_Miss_Fox 11 years ago

I agree with everything you said! To be honest I'm not sure there were any of the characters that I particularly liked that much, but I could definitely understand Sarah's motives. Especially by the end.

'You people. If there isn't a movie about it, it's not worth knowing, is it?'

[–] Pythe 11 years ago

I thought it was strange that Bonnie and Rochelle allowed themselves to be complicit in Nancy's murderous schemes at the end. Rochelle, at the very least, seemed to feel bad about the ultimate outcome of the spell she put on Laura. Then she sets aside her conscience to help kill Sarah? Seems out of character.

Sarah was incredibly merciful in not killing any of the girls, even Nancy, who clearly was not willing to stop until Sarah was dead. I'm not sure if I would have had that much compassion if my life was in danger and I believed they had murdered my family as well.

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"People either loved us or they hated us...or they thought we were okay."

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] GeneticSugarKane 11 years ago

I just watched the film last night for the first time in about 8 years or so. I was able to appreciate everything going on within the story so much more this time around.

Sarah sort of starts off as the unlikable one. She's a bit of a snob when she arrives in the town, is cold toward her dad and step-mom and is a pushover for the school jerk. Nancy and the other girls on the other hand are more sympathetic for the first half. They don't put up with the school snobs or try to seek their approval and are all bullied. Even though Nancy's creepy and bitchy, one can see that she has a terrible home life and can sympathize to an extent.

By the end, though, Sarah is revealed to be a truly good, caring person, while the other girls become petty and violent. They try to kill her for goodness's sake! Like another poster said, Sarah never set out to punish the other girls until they put her life in danger. At that point she simply fought back and they were punished as the outcome. Sarah found her inner strength and calmness during the film and I was very much rooting for her in the end.

A subtle but telling scene about the girls' true natures is near the film's middle when they're riding the bus out to the woods. There are two little girls sitting across from them. Sarah is making silly faces at the little girls in order to make them laugh. While Bonnie, Rochelle and Nancy simply stare at the little girls, with Nancy in particular glaring at them with contempt.

[–] edithisaok580 10 years ago

I didn't like her either; because, she was just as silly as the other girls were. they tried to pass her off as wise, but she lacked what i would call a decisive form of goodness that marks a commendable character. for example, she had no qualms about getting rochelle the sample of laura's hair when she wanted to do that spell for revenge, and she was dumb enough to find chris 'worthy' even after she saw what a total cretin he was. normally, good people show their aversion to nasty behaviors before they meet consequences, not after. her goodness felt more 'emphasized' than anything ( you're different from your friends[ the store scene with lirio]).