3/5 stars Over the past decade, indie film production company Blumhouse has made its name producing low-budget, hugely profitable horror movies such as Insidious and The Purge . It was only a matter of time before it latched on to existing franchises. Two years ago, it was Halloween ; last year it was Black Christmas; and now? The Craft . Made in 1996, The Craft told the story of a coven of teen witches and starred Neve Campbell, Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk and Rachel True. Over time, it has gained cult status. Whether that will happen to The Craft: Legacy is hard to say, given it basically retreads the same story with an occasional nod to its forebear. Here, Lilly (Cailee Spaeny) arrives in a new town with her mother (Michelle Monaghan), who has a new man (David Duchovny) in her life. He already has three sons – but despite this ready-made family, Lilly’s early days are anything but easy. In class, she unexpectedly starts her period, which draws her peers’ mockery but also brings her close to three sympathetic girls. Seemingly Tabby (Lovie Simone), Frankie (Gideon Adlon), and Lourdes (Zoey Luna) are all would-be witches, representing fire, air and earth. They want Lilly to be the fourth member of their coven – water – to complete the circle. When she agrees, they decide to flex their powers and teach school bully Timmy (Nicholas Galitzine) a mild lesson, in one of the film’s more amusing elements. He turns completely woke, even calling himself “cis-gender” in class. Writer-director Zoe Lister-Jones doesn’t play this for serious laughs, preferring to skew the film darker. But for a film that’s arriving at this time of the year, the traditional slot for horror movies, it’s a shame that The Craft: Legacy isn’t scarier. A black-and-white snake slithers its way around the film. And there’s a spooky moment when one of Duchovny’s sons sleepwalks. But when the de facto villain is revealed, it’s a damp squib. It’s also that rare Blumhouse film where more money thrown at the VFX budget would’ve helped. Those who were around when The Craft came out may find it hard to connect with this film. The use of Sharon Van Etten’s song Seventeen , with its lyrics “ I used to be seventeen ” ringing out, is a pointed nod to the 24-year generation gap between the two films. Still, the audience the new film is aimed at – teenage girls – should be spellbound. And in the mesmerising Cailee Spaeny, who featured in Devs and Vice , there is a real star in the making. Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook