Hocus Pocus

Good. <em>'Hocus Pocus'</em> is a fairly amusing film about witches from the Salem trials era, not that it hasn't any real connection to those events. It's very much a fun fantasy film, which looks pretty neat by the way. Bette Midler (Winifred), Kathy Najimy (Mary) and Sarah Jessica Parker (Sarah) play three witch sisters. They are main reason why the film is as enjoyable as it is, all are entertaining but Midler is definitely the pick of the bunch. The trio of younger actors in Omri Katz (Max), Thora Birch (Dani) and Vinessa Shaw (Allison) are OK, nothing special but passable. I didn't fully connect or like the plot itself, but it's one that suits everything else on screen well so it kinda works to be honest. All in all, for me, this is a solid, mid-range production from Disney.

Bad watch, probably won't watch again, and can't recommend. Sometimes it is fun to get in the way back machine to visit "classic" movies, but they don't always hold up. And in some cases, like this, it is a wonder they EVER worked at all. Especially that it is a 1993 Disney movie and focuses on sex, plus a lot of witch lore being based on women being sexual in a time where it was so inappropriate they would be burnt at the stake. I digress. While the Sanderson sisters are a compelling premise, if sloppy, and an interesting metaphor for the desires of power, hunger, and sex, it goes to an almost cartoonish levels of ridiculous for next to no reasoning. All the non witch cast do a fine job, and I especially liked Thora Birch's performance, I can see why she took off so well. As for the witch cast, I have no doubt they did was in the script very well, but the script is overly ridiculous, and even just trying to relax there are jokes that make no sense and just aren't all that funny. Ultimately it comes down to being a Halloween themed sub-par Babysitter's Club, or your choice of child adventure groups.

This is an odd family movie, as I saw it called. There seemed to be a few incidents around death that might be to mature for younger kids, but a lot of the story and action seemed too simplistic for older kids. There is a lot of shrieking in lieu of acting, no real character development, and how many times to we need to hear the same lines and actions from the three witches? We decided to watch this as a preview to watching the 2022’s sequel, but alas we aren’t motivated to do so after swing the original.

What ever happened to Omri Katz? Here he is the young "Max" who moves with his sister "Dani" (Thora Birch) to the small, history-laden, town of Salem where he soon gets the hots for "Allison" (Vinessa Shaw). Out on a Halloween trick 'r treat session with his sister, they arrive at the her rather posh home where they discuss the famous "Sanderson" witches who were famously hanged there three hundred years earlier. It seems that their house was converted into a museum, so all three head to this dilapidated home where "Max" does the unthinkable - he light the wrong candle and whoosh - back come these three wicked harridans. Led by "Winifred" (Bette Midler) these women must use a secret potion to rob all the children of their youth so they can use it themselves and attain eternal beauty. Fortunately, our intrepid (and increasingly loved-up) trio have one ally from the days gone by in the form of the cat - formerly "Thackery" who was punished by these self same witches centuries ago. Can their combined efforts thwart the witches' dastardly plan? It's great fun, this - with Ms. Midler on good form supported handsomely by Sarah Jessica Parker and a slightly under-used Kathy Najimy. It's got one enjoyable set-piece musical number - "I Put a Spell on You", of course, too. The visual effects are more Hammer than ILM, but that all just adds to the quirky, almost pantomime, entertainment value as the story heads to it's amusing denouement in the graveyard. Thirty years on, it's still a characterful and enjoyable family adventure that had me wracking my brains for where I had seen "Thackery" (Sean Murray) before...