Part of the reason I am drawn to horror movies is they speak to those of us who feel like we didn’t fit in. Namely me. I was a quiet and shy kid. I certainly didn’t have the confidence my kids have to express themselves and embrace their individuality. Watching scary movies wasn’t just entertainment — in some ways it was therapy.

Another reason I am drawn to these movies is I tend to sympathize and often side with the person who outwardly is perceived as the villain.

This brings me to today’s choice. Each main character in this movie is an outcast in their own way. We have sympathy for some more than others.

The movie opens with Sarah, a new girl in town, getting ready to start at a new high school. She’s already an outcast because she doesn’t have her uniform yet. Sarah lives with her father and stepmother. Her mother died earlier in life, which matters later.

Sarah runs into three young women who are her classmates. They look bad ass, to put it bluntly. They reach out to her to an extent. Meanwhile, the charming Don Juan of the school, Chris, played by Skeet Ulrich, later of Scream fame.

He sees her as new “meat” as it were, Sarah doesn’t know his reputation. She accepts his flattering attention. Chris invites her to a date and also invites her to “watch me practice” football which is the most narcissistic thing I’ve ever heard.

Nancy, the mesmerizing Fairuza Balk, Rochelle, played by Rachel True, and Bonnie, the beautiful Neve Campbell, also of Scream fame, the outcasts, wander in Sarah’s orbit. They see what she’s doing and know its not going to end well, but she won’t listen, as Chris has told her they are witches and to avoid them.

Sarah naturally goes on a date with Chris and doesn’t live up to his expectations, as it were. Being the quintessential jock cliche, Chris saves face by spreading rumors about Sarah’s dignity and when she confronts him, pulls the full gaslight approach that she is not confronting him about defaming her, but instead begging him for attention.

Pause as I bit my fist in anger.

Sarah is now perfect fodder for the “I told you so” from the mini-coven of the high school. Nancy, Rochelle and Bonnie. All four have personal challenges that draw them together and make them want to take control of a higher power to right the world’s wrongs. Sarah has lost her mother. Nancy is probably the worst off. She’s not financially blessed, and lives in a trailer. Chris has also used and abused her and ruined her rep at the school. Her mother is beholden to a creep who owns the trailer and is inappropriate toward her, which her mother tolerates to survive.

Bonnie has vast burn scars on her body that make her incredibly self conscious as a result of a childhood injury. Rochelle is racially targeted by a bitchy popular girl who outright states that she dislikes her and bullies her due to her race.

Let’s face it, all of these girls have an axe to grind. They are justified in looking to even the scales, but with great power comes great responsibility.

The three girls tried hard to create a coven and become witches. In this way, Chris wasn’t wrong. But before Sarah arrived, it was just a hobby, not an effective effort. Sarah has witch in her bloodlines. Her late mother may or may not have been a powerful witch. With the addition of Sarah, the “Four corners” can be called. Suddenly, the girls finally have the power to right their wrongs.

The connection is literally magical. They can “invoke” the powers finally, they feel uplifted and superior, rightfully so. But the power goes to some of their heads, especially Nancy, whose spell out of anger results in a windfall that saves her and her mother from lecherous clutches and delivers them into better digs and money.

You can’t blame Nancy for being intoxicated by this newfound power, but she makes the mistake of letting it go to her head. Do no harm is the name of the game. She also forgets that it is a combined bond that has created this power, and she not only dismisses it, she outright aims to destroy it.

I feel for Nancy, and for all of these ladies. They carry heartache and it is understood they turn to torture and bully Sarah when she opts to withdraw from what has become a toxic relationship. High schoolers bully for much lower stakes. But yet we can’t help but cheer for Sarah when she eventually shows her hand. Because she’s got the true power that they squandered due to greed.

This lesson is as old as the golden goose. Be grateful for the universe’s gifts. They are rare. If you spit in their eye, it will come back to bite you in the ass. Be good. Be grateful. Do no harm. Good lessons from The Craft.