After 29 years, we finally have a sequel to Hocus Pocus. Please note, if Hocus Pocus isn’t one of your favorite Halloween movies, you might have something wrong with you.
Hocus Pocus 2 begins in 1653 Salem, when a young Winifred Sanderson (Taylor Henderson) has just turned 16. Reverend Trask (Tony Hale) insists that she should be married. When she refuses, the Reverend tries to take her sisters, Mary (Nina Kitchen) and Sarah (Juju Journey Brener), away from her. The sisters manage to escape to the forbidden forest behind the town. There the trio meets a mysterious witch (Hannah Waddingham) who recognizes them as sister witches and gives Winifred her beloved spellbook. Fast forward to 2022, where we meet Becca (Whitney Peak) on her 16th birthday. She has had a falling out with her friend Cassie (Lilia Buckingham) but plans on performing her annual birthday ritual with her other friend, Izzy (Belissa Escobedo). The girls are given a black flame candle by Gilbert (Sam Richardson), a magic shop owner and fan of the Sanderson sisters. They light the black flame candle at their ritual, bringing the Sandersons back to life once more.
The original Hocus Pocus is one of my husband’s favorite movies. In 2018, a book was released telling more of the story of the Sanderson sisters. After reading the book, my husband was really looking forward to the movie sequel. He was not disappointed.
I thought Hocus Pocus 2 was a pretty good sequel to the original. Where the original movie was all about normal kids trying to defeat a trio of witches, this one goes further by letting Becca dabble in the occult. Needless to say, that does make the ending a little predictable but I won’t give it away here. Let’s just say that I highly enjoyed the change from the mundane to the magical.
While the songs that Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker perform this time around aren’t quite as iconic as the “I Put A Spell On You” performance from the original, all of the songs were still very entertaining. My favorite was the cover of Blondie’s “One Way Or Another.” Though “The Witches Are Back,” a parody of Elton John’s “The Bitch Is Back” is the theme song of the movie. There’s even a scene during the credits of the sisters recording the song. Speaking of credits scenes, make sure you stick around after the credits. There is a post-credit scene to watch.
If you liked the original Hocus Pocus, I think you will find enjoyment in the sequel. There are some inside jokes and references that make watching the sequel fun. Personally, I liked Mary flying on two Roombas instead of a broom, the way she rode a vacuum cleaner instead of a broom in the original. Only the Roombas are way more useful this time!
