‘Hocus Pocus 2’ Review: Lock up Your Children Because They’re Back, Witches

By Jashyra Carmenatty
October 25, 2022


Hocus Pocus the original was released In July of 1993 the sequel didn’t follow until September 30th 2022. The director of the first movie was Disney’s own Kenny Ortega. The sequel was directed by Anne Fletcher who has directed seven other movies prior to Hocus pocus 2.  “The sequel takes the same silly comedic tack as the Kenny Ortega original, focusing on the sisters’ reactions to contemporary innovations like robot vacuums, Amazon’s Alexa, and even Walgreens.” according to an anonymous review posted on a site called rottentomatoes.com Although both movies are quite similar their differences are what draw watchers to wanting more. In the first movie, upon moving to Salem an inquisitive young man experiences social difficulties before reawakening a trio of evil witches who were killed in the 17th century. The Sanderson sisters were killed for engaging in black witchcraft 300 years ago. However, In the second movie the Sanderson Sisters are mistakenly transported to contemporary Salem by three young ladies, who then have to figure out how to stop the child-hungry witches from wreaking devastation on the planet once again. In the first movie the witches come into Salem without any malicious intentions. However, in the second they come back ready to cause more chaos. The Salem sisters wish to gain their powers by drinking the blood of children in order to come together and get revenge on the men who attempted to separate them as children. Will they succeed or will they be stopped just in time the clock strikes midnight on Halloween night?

  This movie allowed viewers to go back in time and revisit the first movie. Using the same actors to play these characters really made the movie come back to life from the way they moved in unison, sang, and danced together even to their sisterly banter as they conspired for revenge It brought back many memories from my childhood, and it was so good to hear that the witches were back in Salem! Although the sequel provided fresh twists and insights, they also made numerous references to the original.

  Hocus Pocus 2, which manages to convey much of the same energy, and holiday playfulness of its original, will appeal to fans of the 1993 picture in a lot of ways. Nearly three decades have passed since the actors Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy appeared in Hocus Pocus, but you wouldn’t know it from the way they jumped right back into the roles. 

  Overall, the movie captured the raw illustrations of the first movie all while displaying modern day technological advances. The sequel gives the Halloween sense as well as complements the original movie and was a great sequel just in time for Halloween.