“Hocus Pocus 2” became available for streaming on Disney+ on September 30, 2022 to kick off Halloween festivities in October. The original Hocus Pocus film came out in 1993 and has remained a Halloween movie staple.
This sequel was highly anticipated by fans of the first movie, and the fact that they would have the same actresses playing the Sanderson sisters made it more exciting. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy all-star in the new “Hocus Pocus 2” movie, in which a group of friends accidentally light the black flame candle and resurrect the Sanderson Sisters.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
Similar to the original movie, the friends have to work together to make sure that the Sanderson Sisters aren’t able to take over the town and steal the souls of children. The only plot difference is that the stakes are much higher because the witches want to become all powerful in order to take over the world.
Unfortunately, this sequel fell short. I am a fan of the original movie and had high hopes that the sequel would have the same comedic and spooky energy as the first one, but a lot of the jokes felt forced and cringey.
In “Hocus Pocus 2,” filmmakers tried to poke fun at how long it had been since the first movie by showing the Sanderson sisters interacting with new technology.
These parts of the movie were sometimes funny but occurred so often that they ended up feeling outdated and out of touch. That said, the protagonist of the movie (Becca) was an effective character and her development made the movie more interesting.
Overall, this remake with the same plot fails both to find the balance between being new and improved and also remaining true to the original version.
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