Hocus Pocus Movie Review

“Hocus Pocus 2” is a sequel to the popular 90s film “Hocus Pocus” and it has been released on Disney+. The original film followed the story of three witch sisters executed centuries ago in Salem, who return from the grave to cause mayhem. The original ¨Hocus Pocus¨ became a Halloween classic because of its mix of humor and spookiness. The sequel perfectly matches the charm of the original while adding some new originality and story.

¨Hocus Pocus 2¨ starts when two friends light a bewitched candle in the woods, accidentally awakening the Sanderson sisters. The three witch sisters continue their goal from the first movie: to sacrifice a child to gain immortality and last longer than the sunrise. However, the friends understandably do not want to be sacrificed and instead must escape the Sanderson sisters from completing their goal. There were a lot of laugh-worthy scenes in the movie, from a costume competition between the Sanderson sisters to enchanted roombas. There were also a lot of references to the original movie.

The movie was mostly centered around the three Sanderson Sisters. These witches are played by Sarah Jessica Parker (Sarah Sanderson), Bette Midler (Winifred Sanderson) and Kathy Najimy (Mary Sanderson). All three witches had their unique personalities and charm, and they were the main source of humor in the movie with their over-the-top hijinks. A good example of this would be a scene where the witches take to the sky after their would-be sacrifices escape. While one witch uses a legitimate broom, the other witches use a vacuum cleaner and a pair of “Broomas”, or Roombas that act like brooms, to chase after the kids. The witches also seemed particularly enchanted by modern technology, like fluorescent lights and a smart assistant.

The movie was funny, spooky, enjoyable, and sweet at times. The actors for all the characters did an excellent job. There was a lot more humor than the original, mostly due to the witches’ over-the-top acting. My favorite scene was when the Sanderson sisters were flying after a football player as he ran down the street. The ending also felt right and was surprisingly emotional. One issue with the movie was that sometimes there was just too much humor and it hurt the overall mood of the movie. This happened a few times during the movie and it seemed like the witches were just goofing off rather than actually trying to accomplish their task. The humor and the plot were much better in the original. Other than that, the movie was very entertaining and was a good sequel to the original.