Hocus Pocus (1993)

Originally Written
Friday, October 19, 2007

Surprisingly there isn't much love for the Sanderson sisters on review sites like Rotten Tomatoes. While this film is not your typical Halloween horror slasher classic, it definitely offers up some fairly family friendly entertainment that's worth re-visiting every Halloween.

The Sanderson sisters are three rather old and ugly witches living in the colonial period of Salem, Massachusetts when witchcraft was quite rampant. It was the goal of these three sisters to acquire immortality and eternal beauty, all that was needed to accomplish this task was one important ingredient... a child's soul. While they managed to acquire their first soul (a young girl) they didn't have much time to enjoy their newly acquired beauty and youth before their plans were foiled by the girl's brother. Unfortunately for him his punishment for interrupting their spell leads to an eternity spent as a cat, but the Sanderson sisters quickly receive their punishment when the towns people lynch them for their wickedness.

Even in their last few minutes the Sanderson sisters were one step ahead of everyone else. By instilling a curse on the town, all it would take to bring them back from the dead was the lighting of a black flame candle by a virgin on Halloween night. 300 years later that opportunity finally arrives as a kid from Los Angeles, Max Dennison, lights the candle in an attempt to prove the legend of the Sanderson sister's is a hoax. Unfortunately all it proves is Max's arrogance towards small town superstition, as he awakens the sisters. But like every story there's a catch, the sisters must capture all the souls of Salem's children before sunrise in order to live forever, otherwise their resurrection is only temporary.

Hocus Pocus is a great example of classic Disney live action films, something you don't see much of anymore. While the film is definitely corny it still manages to entertain and stand out as one of the few films you'll see constantly aired every Halloween season. Personally I always liked this film because I had a major crush on the character of Allison (Vinessa Shaw) back in the 90's, her and a young Sarah Jessica Parker definitely make this film worth watching and it's nice to see that Vinessa is still keeping busy (she had a small role in the remake 3:10 To Yuma). Overall, Hocus Pocus is a fun little film that you'll either enjoy it or change the channel on, the chances that you haven't seen this film (or parts of it) are probably pretty slim since it's on television every day in October. It's a fun family film that manages to stay "spooky" enough to not be completely lame, provides a nice Halloween atmosphere and be quite enjoyable for the kids.

7/10