Pagan cinema classics: Teen Witch (1989)

“The years between puberty and adulthood can be exciting and difficult,” wrote Silver RavenWolf in 1998. At the time, she was herself the mother of teenagers and the author of Teen Witch: Wicca for a new generation. The original cover of Llewellyn's bestselling young adult grimoire Witches from the '90s featured a group of kids, fashionably dressed and ready to form a circle of pure coolness.

No one would have agreed with Sliver RavenWolf more vehemently than Louise Miller, protagonist of the most tubular film of 1989: that of Dorian Walker. Teenage witch.

Trapped in this exciting and difficult time, Louise (Robyn Lively) is about to turn 16. Tormented by lust for football's muscle king, Brad Powell (Dan Gauthier), Louise seems to be lagging behind her peers in the process of becoming an adult. This is a sentiment commonly felt by teenagers, particularly given that Lively was 17 at the time the film was filmed, while Gauthier was 26 and his on-screen girlfriend Randa (Lisa Fuller) was was 23. The effect of a real kid walking unsteadily in Kitten Heels trying to get a grown man to notice his whole thing is grating and vulnerable, but it sets the all-American scene, complete with Brad's convertible Mustang.

Obviously this girl needs witchcraft.

In RavenWolf's seminal 1998 text telling kids how to try WitchCraft [sic] To find his own way, the author makes a lot of denials. The opening section addresses parents, asking them to keep an open mind and promising them that there is no devil worship in them. She comments that she wishes there was an “on-off switch” that could be “stuck” until her children turned 25.

After that, the book gives the usual advice given to witches: concentrate your will to make it happen. But what does a teenage girl want?

Louise knows exactly what she wants when Brad, distracted by the attentions of the head cheerleader, nearly runs our hero off the road on his childish Schwinn. Louise is frustrated and embarrassed. She wants to be seen and sought after by the object of her affections. She wants to seize her own power, her sexuality and her image. Instead, she combs dead leaves from her hair, dressed like an asexual librarian at a fiber arts conference and seen only as an object of pity.

Distressed and caught in the rain, Louise does what the young witch does in any movie: she seeks to establish an older, wiser witch.

Fans of Fighting spirit will be delighted to see Zelda Rubinstein, an outspoken activist against AIDS and disability, in the role of Madame Serena, a potential codebreaker who tries to empty Louise's wallet, considering her a target. However, Serena sees in the girl's palm that she is a true witch. Serena warns that the girl's power is about to fully blossom on her 16th birthday.

To which Louise said: soft!

Teenage Witch is a deeply unserious film, originally intended as a gender-swapping film. Teenage Wolf. It doesn't concern itself with the origin or meaning of being a witch. In this universe, witches are simply born and then reincarnated to work their magic over and over again. Serena has access to some books and Louise's amulet is delivered to her by chance, but there are no rules or costs to this system of magic. Some clues suggest that Louise's power is stronger now, in her teens, while Serena's is almost gone. To perform a difficult spell, Serena takes the girl's hand and says, “Now relax and give me the juice!” We have to conclude that Serena's juice is practically squeezed, but this is never explained. Louise also doesn't react with much surprise or disbelief as her own powers grow. That's simply how the world works, and she intends to use it to her advantage.

And use it, she does! Louise immediately gets to work: controlling the wind, turning her sociopathic rat-eyed younger brother into a dog, banishing a tempted rapist to an unknown outer darkness. (For real: she wishes this guy would “leave her alone” and he disintegrates, never to be seen again. 100/10, no ratings.) She becomes the most popular and fashionable girl in town. 'school. The fashion is one of the most fun elements of this film; anyone invited to an 80s themed party should look no further than Teenage Witch.

However, Louise's exercise of her own will earns her a dubious price. She secures the affections of Brad the Chad, illustrated in a very innocent scene of hugs and kisses set to soft porn music. Impressively, the film never takes an objectifying look at young Lively. When she is dressed like a model, her clothes are always age-appropriate and designed to express the power she feels in them rather than her availability in a sexual sense. When she is alone with Brad, he is the first to undress. He is the object of her desire, his own and that of the camera lens. When they reach second base, it's her raise your hand her shirt, caressing the prominent lats of his athletic back. His will is done, but it is not satisfied.

RavenWolf opens by promising that there is no devil in his book, because the 1990s version of Wiccan PR was primarily concerned with assimilation and interfaith dialogue. We have engaged seriously throughout this decade with people who have willfully misunderstood us, using the language of their own spiritual antagonist to describe our religion. It did not work. Wisely, Teenage Witch does not care at all about gods or devils, but rather locates the power to shape reality directly in the will of the individual.

Louise does not adore and she does not favor. She doesn't question where the power comes from or why it was supposed to be hers. She trusts herself and fate to make her desires come true – but always wonders if her desires are worth fulfilling and at what cost.

It's more witchcraft than Wicca, but it holds up better than expected.

Unfortunately, 1989 also marked the birth of chart-topping hip-hop to a wider audience; we were only a few months away from Vanilla Ice's debut. There's no devil in it Teenage Witch, but there is a trio of white rappers. The film's cult status is mainly due to the dream rap battle song “Top That”, in which Louise's shy friend is driven by magical courage to embarrass himself and at least embarrass himself as much as him. A tragic cheerleading routine in which the girls do aerobics while shouting “We Like Boys!” » passes for a scary second.

The whole film is about adolescence and the burden of a burgeoning self-conception and sexuality. But if you look closely, Louise does everything a young witch would try to do. She takes hilarious revenge against a teacher who humiliated her. She considers the goddess to become more beautiful and powerful in her social circle. She gives good luck to her beloved drama teacher, thereby preparing the woman for a comfortable and romantic retirement.

And in the end, she discovers that she doesn't need the book, the teacher, or the amulet. The magic was in her from the start.

Silver Raven Wolf could never on top of that.

Teenage Witch is available for streaming on Tubi, and will benefit from a 35^th anniversary engagement at Alamo Drafthouse theaters this summer.