Hocus Pocus

1993

PG

We’re moving right along with the Halloween themed movie reviews for the month of October with the Disney cult-classic, Hocus Pocus. This was certainly a change from most of the horror themed stuff I’ve been watching recently, which was refreshing in a sense. I have seen this movie before, but I am going to try to remain as unbiased as possible in this review. With all of that said, let’s break down this movie.

The film’s setting begins on Halloween Day in 1693 in Salem, Massachusetts and the main focus of the film are the Sanderson sisters. Winifred (Bette Midler), Mary (Kathy Najimy), and Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) Sanderson are the town witches and they cast a spell to absorb Emily Binx’s (Amanda Shepherd) spirit so they could regain their youth. Emily’s brother, Thackery (Sean Murray) spots the witches trying to harm his sister and tries to save her, but is quickly turned into a black cat by the witches. The Salem townspeople barge into the Sanderson’s house and hang them, but in the process, Winifred’s book cast a spell that the Sanderson’s sisters could be resurrected if a virgin lights the black flame candle on Halloween when there is a full moon. The black cat, who happens to be Thackery, guards the house to make sure that nobody lights the candle.

300 years pass by and it is Halloween Day in 1993. Max Dennison (Omri Katz) and his family recently move to Salem from Los Angeles and Max is particularly having a hard time fitting in. Max’s parents, Dave (Charles Rocket) and Jenny (Stephanie Faracy) want Max to take his younger sister, Dani (Thora Birch) trick-or-treating. He is reluctant at first, but he happens to visit the house of the girl he likes and changes his attitude on the situation. Allison (Vinessa Shaw) is Max’s crush and in order to impress her, he suggests that they visit the Sanderson House after Allison tells them that her family owns the property as a museum. They visit the house and Max, trying to impress Allison, lights the black flame candle and the Sanderson sisters are brought back to life and chaos ensues.

This is a pretty simple and fun movie concept. I wanted to review this movie because for starters, it is one film that a lot of Halloween lovers watch every year, but one of the biggest reasons was because I haven’t seen it in a couple years. I noticed that they were releasing a special edition 4K steelbook and I decided to get it. I passed on the 25th Anniversary Blu-ray steelbook a couple years ago and I definitely regretted it. When this movie came out, it wasn’t a very successful movie. Roger Ebert in fact, gave it 1 star. Throughout the years however, the film has gained more and more success and has become a cult-classic. It has gained a lot of popularity over the last few years especially and there appears that there is going to be a sequel to this film coming up in the near future. That is some exciting news and hopefully they can capture some of the same magic as they did back in 1993.

The cast of this film was absolutely loaded, especially for a film where the target audience is mostly families. Bette Midler is one of the most accomplished entertainers of all time and is just an Oscar shy of becoming the 13th EGOT winner. Sarah Jessica Parker is obviously known for her lead role on the hit TV show, Sex and the City. Kathy Najimy has had a number of roles, but is probably most known for her role as Peggy Hill on the hit animated show, King of the Hill, which happens to be my favorite show. Omri Katz’s biggest role other than this film was definitely playing the son of JR Ewing on the long-running TV show, Dallas. Thora Birch has been in a lot of successful films including Purple People Eater, American Beauty, Ghost World, and even earned an Emmy nomination for her lead role in a Lifetime Original Movie entitled Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story. Vinessa Shaw has been in a lot of supporting roles including The Hills Have Eyes, Eyes Wide Shut, 3:10 to Yuma and even appeared in 10 episodes of Ray Donovan. So, I think it is pretty safe to say that these actors have went on to bigger and better things, for the most part.

Overall, I love watching this every October, if I can. It has been a couple years since I’ve seen it, but I enjoy watching it every time. The story is fun to follow and every October film doesn’t have to be mentally taxing or brutally violent to enjoy and this movie is proof of that. The Sanderson sisters are the main focus of the film and they 100% make or break the movie. All of the actresses did a wonderful job reflecting their characters and the rest of the characters did a great job too. One interesting fact about this movie, Leonardo DiCaprio was offered the role of Max, but turned it down. He instead took on a role in the movie What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, a film where he happened to earn an Oscar nomination.

Unlike most of my film reviews, I have seen this movie multiple times and each time I watch it, it only gets better. It obviously isn’t a film masterpiece, but it is in fact a nice, fun, family film. Understandably, this is a must watch every year in October for a lot of Halloween lovers. While I think a lot of the fans of this movie are just reliving their 90’s nostalgia, I genuinely understand why they love it as do I. If you want a changeup from the blood and guts or the psychological horror, this is a great option for that. It Is light-hearted and fun watch every time you see it. This is a perfect film to watch on a quiet, October weekend.

GRADE: 4.5/5

Yacs

Movie Review: Hocus Pocus