Hocus Pocus (1993)

I imagine most of the love for Hocus Pocus comes from people who re-watch it with nostalgia goggles. Even as a child of the 90's I had never seen Hocus Pocus and knew little of it, so I had no prior attachments to this film. If you have seen any of the Disney Channels terrible made for TV movies, Hocus Pocus is like a particularly bad one with some questionable language and sexual innuendo. The acting is really bad from the entire cast, which is a little surprising considering the witches (who I had always assumed you the heroes of the story, but are clearly not) are two D-List actresses (Bett…

r96sk

7.0

Sep 27, 2020

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 did…

Kamurai

4.0

Oct 18, 2020

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…