STACK #196 Feb 2021

FILM FEATURE

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STACK chats with prolific producer and horror specialist Jason Blum about The Craft: Legacy – his reboot of the 1996 teen-witch thriller. Words Gill Pringle

I f Jason Blum established a boys club within his low budget male- directed horror film empire – initially spearheaded by The Purge , Paranormal Activity and Insidious franchises – then last year’s Black Christmas , directed by Sophia Takal, marked his first foray into female- directed film. Now Blumhouse Productions delivers its second female-helmed horror flick with Zoe Lister-Jones’ teen witchcraft movie, The Craft: Legacy . A reboot of 1996’s The Craft , this new film’s “coven” features talented young actors Cailee Spaeny, Lovie Simone, Zoe Luna and Gideon Adlon, alongside seasoned pros, David Duchovny and Michelle Monaghan. Blum didn’t hesitate in hiring Lister-Jones. “It was hard for me to imagine doing The Craft directed by a man,” he says, despite the original movie being directed by Andrew Fleming; the reboot featuring a nod and a wink to one of the film’s original stars, Fairuza Balk. “It would have been tough for a man to convince me that they were the right person for the job in a reimagining of The Craft . It’s so much about female empowerment, that it would have been

weird if a man had done it.” In hiring Lister-Jones, he opened the door to an almost entirely female crew. “I visited the set in Canada and I was really into it. She told me she wanted to hire a female crew and I was very supportive of that." With three witchcraft experts hired during The Craft: Legacy’ s production, Blum confesses he didn’t personally meet with any of them. Considering his own horror legacy, netting him multi-millions at the box- office, he does admit to recently meeting with an Ivy-educated supernatural expert. “I’m curious about it but I don’t want to get too close. I’ve been invited to exorcisms but I’ve never gone,” he says, citing how horror movies are usually the happiest sets while comedy sets can oftentimes be quite dark. “One of the reasons I love horror movies is that we have a sense of humour about what we’re doing. Most of my sets are pretty fun and I think The Craft was no exception.” When STACK speaks with Blum, 51, his high-intensity energy is palpable even over Zoom as he talks animatedly from an armchair in his home library. Undeniably charming, it’s easy to see how he

Jason Blum

It was hard for me to imagine doing The Craft directed by a man. It’s so much about female empowerment, that it would have been weird if a man had done it

68 FEBRUARY 2021

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