HallowScream - Hocus Pocus (1993)

          Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, I think I've built up this review enough. So, let's dive into a 90's Halloween cult classic: Hocus Pocus. Originally meant to be a Disney Channel exclusive, this 1993 film became big enough to get a theatrical release, and in spite of an average box office take, the film got a major cult following due to subsequent television airings around Halloween. So, as part HallowScream, let's take a look at Hocus Pocus.

         The movie starts off on Halloween night in Salem, Massachusetts during Colonial times, where a teenage boy named Thackery Binx, who attempts to save his younger sister Emily from a trio of witches, the Sanderson sisters: Winifred, Mary, and Sarah. Using a potion crafted by Winifred, the sisters absorb Emily's youth to make themselves younger again. Emily is left as a skeleton, while Thackery is turned into a black cat. The parents of Salem take the witches and hang them to death, but not before Winifred sets a spell that they will return on a Halloween night if and when the black flame candle is lit. 

       Cut to many years later, and a teenager named Max Dennison is adjusting to life in Salem, having just moved to town from California. Max in instructed to take his younger sister Dani trick-or-treating for Halloween while their parents are out partying like a bunch of jerks. While trick-or-treating, Max and Dani run into Max's classmate Allison, and the three check out the Sanderson House, and Max, like an idiot, lights the black flame candle, bringing the Sanderson sisters back from the dead. However, the spell is only good for this one night, so they need to recreate the potion that was used on Emily centuries before. Max grabs Winifred's spell book, and the three run from the house. 

      Max, Dani, and Allison are confronted by Binx, who is still alive in his cat form, and he berates Max for lighting the black flame candle and bringing the witches back. Winifred also resurrects an old lover named Billy, who is now a zombie forced to chase after Max, Dani, and Allison by the Sanderson sisters. The chase takes them all over town, and they do everything they can to stay ahead of Billy and the Sanderson sisters. All the while, the Sandersons wander around, learning of the new era they find themselves in. And, I'm going to stop here, as the rest of the movie is something that really needs to be experienced first hand. 

         Okay, so Hocus Pocus is the kind of movie that could only exist in the early 90's, as it's definitely got a lot of that early 90's cheese that kids movies had at the time. However, the one big stand-out of the movie is the performances by Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker as the Sanderson sisters. These three are so entertaining in just how over-the-top they can be. I also enjoyed Doug Jones as Billy the zombie. I did enjoy the performances by Omri Katz, Thora Birch, and Vinessa Shaw as the Max, Dani, and Allison, as well as the dual performance of both Sean Murray and Jason Marsden as Binx in human and cat forms, respectively. The rest of the cast, however, are pretty hit-or-miss. 

        The story is, in my opinion, super cheesy, and it's definitely one that is an acquired taste. In fact, that's how I would describe the movie as a whole: an acquired taste. If it's not really your thing, I understand. If you've seen it and enjoy it, great. If you haven't, check it out some time. As for me, I give Hocus Pocus a rating of 3.75/5. This is Chuck signing off, and HallowScream continues this Friday with the newest special arriving this week on Disney+: Muppets Haunted Mansion.