Zjolie’s Dark Secret reimagines Matthew Sweet’s 1996 original (from The Craft’s iconic soundtrack) as sultry, soft-goth electro pop. It oozes with feminine energy that feels both threatening and alluring, just like the teen witch cult classic itself.
She always knew her Dark Secret video would visually reference The Craft, but upon revisiting the film, she realized there was a much deeper story to tell.
“I was watching fan-made videos for styling inspiration that touched on the issues Rachel True faced on set during filming and afterwards with not being invited to conventions with the other actresses. Rochelle was the only witch to not have parents or a backstory in the film” Zjolie says. “So I immediately knew, that was our video!”
Dark Secret goes beyond homage, presenting a thoughtful fanfic prequel that aligns seamlessly with film canon and fan canon alike.
“As a Black woman and specifically African-American, Rochelle inherits a deep connection to the ways witchcraft and Christianity intersect. When enslaved Africans were forced into the Americas, many continued to follow their traditional spiritual beliefs. However, these systems were deemed immoral by the church, so they hid their practice behind the guise of Christianity. In the case of Catholicism, for example, many traditional African spirits were associated with the Saints. A fusion took place between the two religions, creating a new practice known as Voodoo/Hoodoo, which is often associated with witchcraft. The Craft had a chance to cultivate in Rochelle a liberating discovery of not only witchcraft but ancestral magic (quite similar to Sarah’s realization her mother was a witch).”
-KayLee Chie Kuehl
Set 15 years before the events of The Craft, Zjolie’s video finds Baby Rochelle (played by Nyla Divine) and her magical parents (played by Darius Russel and Kelsie Marin) in steamy, subtropical Miami, a city steeped in Cuban and Caribbean Spirituality. As KayLee Chie Kuehl mentioned, many religions of the new world were created by the fusion of Yoruba Cosmology and Catholicism, including the Santeria traditions that are so present in Miami.
In a candlelit room, baby Rochelle’s parents give her loving and gentle guidance. In a lush, canopied yard, they call the corners around a bonfire with their coven, played by local Miami musicians April Nicole, Jay Thomas, and Oscar Quesada.
Interwoven with the story scenes, Zjolie performs against a white wall. Behind her, a shadowy figure begins to emerge. As the video continues, we realize that this figure is omnipresent. Eventually it materializes at the coven’s bonfire as well.
Zjolie explains, “At the end of the video you see the feet of bodies around the fire and the dark spirit has taken everyone out. Then someone comes and picks up the only survivor unharmed by the spirit, baby Rochelle, to adopt her and eventually put her in a school where she feels like she doesn’t fit in.”
Shot at Casa Fe and The Copper, cultural institutions of Cuban and Afro-Caribbean arts in Miami, this prequel honors the rich cultural tapestry of artist Zjolie’s hometown, while creating a powerful backstory for Rochelle Zimmerman.
In an interview with Yahoo, True remembered being uncomfortable with the way Fleming used her skin color as a plot point. “I remember thinking, ‘Do they see Blackness as a problem?’ All the characters have issues, and to me being Black wasn’t an issue; the way other people treat me for being Black is the issue. But once I really thought about when I got older, I realized it’s a good thing they have that in there. We’d come out of a time where we had things like The Cosby Show where nobody ever mentioned racism, and here was a movie that tackled it head on. It’s a big movie in terms of my career, but it’s also a big movie for Black people out there. It’s one of the first teen movies that wasn’t a Black teen movie or a white teen movie.”
Despite having made peace with that, True still takes issues with some of The Craft’s creative choices in the climactic scenes.
“I was like, ‘Rochelle is more powerful than this! She’s an astral bridge, why is she cowering?’ That’s actually how I felt about that scene.”
Zjolie’s Dark Secret honors Rachel True’s interpretation of her iconic character Rochelle, while giving her an origin story that seamlessly aligns with The Craft.
