Tis the season of the witch. In this case its three witches. Since its debut in 1993 Hocus Pocus has been a must watch during the Halloween season. Freeform, especially loves playing reruns of it and us fans can’t get enough. However, for all its appeal does this cult classic still live up to the hype 28 years later? Let’s find out!
It’s Just A Bunch Of Hocus Pocus
Hocus Pocus is a story of three witches during the Salem witch trails, who are hanged after stealing the soul of a child to get eternal life. They also turn the sister’s brother into a cat when he tried to rescue her, but more on that later. The film jumps to present day (well present back then) Salem. High school student Max just moved there from Los Angeles with his parents and little sister Dani. Max has a crush on Allison which gets them into trouble. That night Max, Dani, and Allison sneak into the Sanderson sister’s house. There Max lights the black flamed candle trying to impress Allison. The lighting of the candle brings back the sisters who now have until sunrise to steal the souls of children or they go back to Hell. Binx, the boy turned cat mentioned earlier, comes out to help them try and defeat the sisters so that none suffer the fate his little sister did.
All Part Of The Hocus Pocus Magic
Hocus Pocus premise is fun and interesting without being too scary for children to enjoy as well. The set designs and costumes look amazing with a hint of spookiness as well. The jokes had no dated effect and to me that’s great because then you’re not taken out of the film. Max is wearing a tie-dye shirt straight from the 90s, but tie-dye is making a comeback so that helps a lot. The effects still hold up great. Binx the cat looks so good that my husband and I had a full-blown discussion of if he was CGI or animatronic. Turns out he’s a mixture of both CGI and practical. The special effects don’t look dated either. Overall, it’s help up the test of time and doesn’t really look like a movie that came out 28 years ago.
Has Hocus Pocus become Bogus?
I personally love Hocus Pocus as it has been a family classic since it came out when I was just a toddler. I do believe Hocus Pocus has stood the test of time and continue to not just look good but also still continues to attract more fans. One thing is that a drinking game could be made out the word “virgin” since its mentioned so much. The acting can also either go both ways of really good or really cheesy. Besides that I do say this is a film that can still very much be enjoyed. With part two coming out soon, I’m sure this film will become even more popular with the newest generation. Let’s hope part 2 is just as bewitching!
