Disney has a knack for producing classic films, but even they probably would have been surprised to see a late-nineties bomb starring Bette Midler become a cult classic. Such is the case with the 1993 film “Hocus Pocus,” a film that’s omnipresence on FreeForm has made it hard not to see it as an essential remnant of the Halloween season.

However, is “Hocus Pocus” an actual classic, or a film that’s looked upon with rose — or orange — colored glasses? As a film, it’s hard not to see why “Hocus Pocus” was criticized by critics upon release. There are bright spots, but the film is a weak effort.

The film centers around the Sanderson sisters, three witches who were hung for murdering children to stay young in Salem, Massachusetts. After 300 years, the sisters have become the stuff of legends in Salem. The tales lead Max, a new kid from California, to travel to their old house with his younger sister, Dani, and new friend, Allison. Max lights an enchanted candle that brings the sisters back to life, putting their lives and the lives of all of the children in Salem at risk.

What should be a fun, spooky ride is bogged down by a weak, generic script. Most of the child actors are thinly written. For instance, the bully Ice, uses the term “tubular” instead of showing his sentiments visually. Not to mention that the film has the new kid adjusting to a new home and the incompetent adult tropes that are all over films of this kind.

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The worst aspect of the film is that much of the humor is not for the targeted family audience. “Hocus Pocus” is littered with adult jokes made in such bad taste it’s shocking that Disney let some of these lines get released.

In technical terms, this film is mostly solid. The score of the film is quite lovely and atmospheric. The makeup and costumes for the Sandersons and especially on the zombie Billy Butcherson, played delightfully by Doug Jones, are very well done. Even some of the back paintings when the witches are flying are nice.

The aspects that don’t hold up are mostly the special effects. There’s a talking cat cursed to live forever by the Sandersons, and the cat’s speaking motions are very fake looking. Also, several shots of the Sanderson’s flying are noticeably fake. But many films released at this time have noticeably dated special effects.

The main reason why this film is considered a classic is because of the over-the-top witches. Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker ham it up every moment on screen. The film’s best moment is the “I Put a Spell on You” scene along with Jones’ work as Butcherson and Parker’s alluring siren song.

That being said, much of their early scenes are overused fish-out-of-water scenarios in which the witches are reacting to modern day amenities with little depth beyond one basic character trait. Also, their powers are inconsistent, as the witches can take down Max with ease, yet are knocked over by Dani’s bag of candy.

For the most part, there are a lot of moments in which ‘Hocus Pocus’ can be fun to watch with friends on Halloween. The corny ‘90s moments and outlandish performances can provide light-hearted fun if you are in the right mood. The key phrase here is “the right mood,” as the bad humor and clichés are easily enough to bog down viewings of this film.

Bottom line is that there’s nothing wrong with watching ‘Hocus Pocus.’ However, it’s a bad film, and there are much better films centered around Halloween that you could be watching this season.

Published on October 21, 2019 at 10:11 pm

Contact Patrick: pagunn@syr.edu