AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Mr-Fusion I remember seeing the commercials for "Hocus Pocus" as a teen, but I think I'd just missed its target audience. Evidently, it's become somewhat of a cult movie because it seems like people mention it everywhere this time of year. But its charms are lost on me. Aside from the makeup and effects budget, it smacks of Disney Channel fare. Not to mention loud.That said, the witches' costumes were impressive. This is just one of those movies that seemed to pass right by me.5/10

aharmas "Hocus Pocus" is fun, simple, silly, and delivered in a long gone style. There is nothing deep or complicated but a tale of legends and children who dare to play with forbidden objects. The line " I told you so" is probably one that one could hear over and over. Instead, we just tag along and enjoy the various episodes dealing with black cats, vengeful witches, and adventurous children.Back in the time of Salem, three witches are executed, leaving enough proof of their existence and becoming the heart of the many legends in a small Northeastern town. There's nothing really scary or threatening here. Yes, the witches are back for revenge and speak of having people for dinner. However, as the lines are delivered by Midler with a twinkle in her eyes and her sisters ham it up for the camera (Najimi being more successful than Parker), the comedy is broad; the type that children will enjoy the most, and adults can be willing participants to feel like kids again.I was mostly impressed by the quality of the production, obviously filmed in a studio, yet good enough to give the illusion of a Halloween fairy tale. You will see witches flying, some double entendre for the adults, and a hint of zombies. Just tune in, get some pop corn and enjoy a bit of magic.

jimbo-53-186511 Back in 1693, the Sanderson sisters are hung for performing witchcraft. 300 years later they become resurrected after a sceptical teenager lights the infamous black candle as he believes the legend of the Sanderson sisters to be merely 'Hocus Pocus'. Newly resurrected, the mighty Sanderson sisters are set to bring about a new reign of terror on the town of Salem with only 2 teenagers, a young girl and an immortal cat intent on trying to stop them.Strangely, the best way for me to analyse a film like Hocus Pocus is to imagine yourself being sober and being in the company of a bunch of drunk people; they start off amusing and you find yourself being able to have a bit of a laugh with them in the early stages, but then the longer the evening progresses and the more drunk they get you start to notice that they become louder, more annoying and harder to tolerate. Interestingly, this was my perception of this whole film....In the last paragraph I am specifically referring to the 3 witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy). To be fair, their performances are excellent here and they are definitely responsible for the funniest moments in the film, but when watching them it does feel like you're in the company of the 3 of the most irritating people in the world (Najimy as Mary says 'I smell children' quite a lot and this is her only real memorable contribution). Parker puts in a good performance, but it essentially just consists of her either being flirtatious or childish - again a mix that works well at the start, but begins to wear out its welcome in the latter stages). Midler is easily the best of the 3 and is able to carry the film with ease - it probably helps that as the leader of the group that she's given more of a character to work with, but she's the only one who really shows any general menace. All 3 women are guilty of overacting at times and their scenes together also feel quite theatrical a lot of the time. The supporting cast are actually OK, but are not as compelling as the leads with only Thora Birch really being able to display any real talent (Birch is probably better known for her work in American Beauty).Aside from feeling like a wacky, zany and crazy acid trip the film is also rarely funny and seems overly reliant on star power to get by; the story is actually quite weak and isn't particularly involving - this isn't helped by the obligatory trite teenage romance slotted slap bang in the middle of the picture which seems to dominate proceedings.I also felt that the film missed out on opportunities to be smarter or funnier; the witches are resurrected 300 years later, but the only comments they make on their new society relate to firemen being witch-hunters and Bette Midler asking a bus driver what the strange contraption is that he's driving... More tit-bits like this would have given this film an edge and just made it a bit funnier than it was.I have to admit that although there were a lot of things that I disliked about this film it's still a colourful and fairly lively film at times and Midler, Najimy and Parker do breathe some life into the film and make it much better than it has any right to be. I suspect that the basic level of escapism that it provides will please older children (its darker themes make it unsuitable for young children). For me though, despite it having some historical significance I just found the story a little weak and found the whole thing to be a little too wacky and crazy and sadly these things came at the expense of it being funny most of the time.

denireguerrero Hocus Pocus is a great Halloween Movie for any age. The plot is interesting because through out the movie three children are going against three witches and they steal their spell book. The low key lighting in the scene before the children enter the school at night creates suspense and a nerve-racking image. The part where the witches and the children are inside the movie gets because you can hear the lightning outside and again there's low key lighting, but there's a little bit of light from the candles. You can also hear the chandelier squeaky noise and swinging back and forth constantly from the wind. The special effects of the spell casting is cool to see because of the colors that appear on the screen and it has some sort of like lighting sound to it. There's really only medium lighting in the beginning, but it makes sense sense it is a Halloween movie. Hocus Pocus is also a comedy. Mostly for children, but I still watch it because it's not to scary and just a fun movie to watch with anyone.