THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISUCSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Growing up, Hocus Pocus has lived to be such an iconic film for so long you wouldn’t expect such a gap for a sequel to be released. Nevertheless, it’s never too late to be enchanted with nostalgia.
PLOT
Hocus Pocus 2 takes place 29 years since the witch trio of Sanderson Sisters (Winifred, Sarah & Mary) were resurrected but halted from their chances of killing children. The story follows a teenage girl named Becca, who shares the interest of witch craft with her friend Izzy, but has now gained an estranged friendship with fellow teen Cassie Traske (Lilia Buckingham). As Becca tends to celebrate her 16th birthday by practicing a spell before a movie marathon, she is gifted a candle by her adult friend Gilbert who owns the cottage of the Sandersons, now a magic gift shop. When Becca and Izzy light the candle at night, they find out that it was a Black Flame Candle and because they are virgins, the Sandersons are resurrected once again. They briefly outwit all three of them by making them believe skincare is made up of children. When they tell Gilbert what happened, he admits that he tricked them light it because he first saw them in '93 and was aided by the spell book to make the candle. When the sisters catch up, they notice from a flyer that Cassie's mayoral father Jefry (Tony Hale) is a descendant of the same reverend who banished them from Salem in in 1653, thus inspiring their use of magic after an older witch (Hannah Waddingham) gifted them the spell book. Deducing this, Winifred ultimately decides to use the forbidden spell of 'Magicae Maxima' to enact revenge on Traske and Salem as a whole. As the sisters pursue the mayor to retrieve his blood, in order for the spell to be completed, they trap the girls in the basement. Gilbert is forced to collect William Butcherson, as his head is also part of the ingredients. Surprisingly, he has been awake and entombed since '93. When the girls escape the basement, they warn Mayor Traske to return home by ratting on Cassie that she hosted a party without his permission. When the Sandersons reach their home, the girls trap them in a ring of salt. But the ring of salt is broken thanks to a pair of Roomba Mary used to fly. Realizing that Cassie is Traske's daughter, they take her instead. Becca & Izzy head to the forest where Gilbert has all ingredients ready for the witches. When Becca convinces the sentient book to not obey Winifred, she realizes the power she has had within, quickly choosing to share it with Izzy and Cassie. With the book, they read that those who cast Magicae Maxima must give up what they cherish the most. The book chooses to show this to them, knowing that Winifred ignored the warning. Just when she finishes the spell, Sarah & Mary unexpectedly become Winifred's sacrifice. Not wanting to be separate from them, she begs the the new witch trio to reunite her with them. They cast a reunion spell which summons Winifred to join them in the afterlife. With Winifred appearing to be dead for good, all of her spells become undone including Billy who finally returns to eternal rest. Becca ultimately decides to take the book home and continue practicing magic with her friends. As the girls walk home together, a bird resembling the Sandersons' mentor flies overhead. The film ends with an unexpected post credit scene, revealing that a spare black flame candle is still in the cottage.
THOUGHTS
When I first heard that this sequel was coming to Disney+, I could not believe it because I grew up accepting that I didn't need it. By the time it dropped, I couldn't help but wonder how it turned out and surprisingly, it wasn't so bad. Director Anne Fletcher doesn't exactly bring anything new to the table, but doesn't mean that it's not fun to get through, hence owning the campiness once again that makes this franchise generally entertaining. Rather than being a story acceptance, this sequel is a story of sisterhood/friendship. Throughout, we get a sweet iteration of how having companions you appreciate make life more special than ever. It pays off here when you witness two different generations of it. Of course we wouldn't be making time for this movie had not for the return of the Sanderson Sisters so iconic the first time around. The trio of Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy & Sarah Jessica Parker do not skip a beat at all as their chemistry matches what was left last time around. They are generally hilarious for being women out of time, yet they do their best to be self aware. Sarah may be just as air-headed as before, but at least she tries to prove her worth in between. I'm still trying to process that Mary flew with Roombas, because that had me cackling. Of course we should be scared of them for what they're capable of, but we unexpectedly relate to this trio when the opening flashback reveals their childhood neglect. Winifred was always seen as the most threatening because she led her sisters to commit such heinous crimes. She acted the most controlling due to being the oldest made her more self aware, yet despite that, she naturally cared for them both. She was power hungry, but ensured her family was by her side, which proved the unlikely heart she had. Without them, there is no point to have it. She knew that way before she lost them and seeing her accept death in order to reunite with them makes you respect her. It is a hard pill to swallow such a 180 because her crimes are unforgivable, but like Universal's Fast Saga, the love of family makes you ignore sins of the past. Whether or not we see them again after this, I do hope that they find a safer compromise to maintain youth. As much as I would have preferred the return of Allison and the Dennisons, I didn't mind the new generation of characters stopping the new form of chaos that the Sandersons caused. Whitney Peak made Becca the biggest standout for making her the most independent. She is the kind of person who is not gonna let others' opinions get the best of her, which is what made it hard for to befriend Cassie when she hung out with kids that bullied her. Once the latter saw that she was in the wrong, amends were made as expected. Becca earns her witchcraft abilities because like Winifred, she is willing to share it with those she cares about and the book sensed that in her. It's easy to dig Belissa Escobedo's Izzy because she acted as a peacekeeper between her friends the whole time, but I didn't click with Cassie at all because I couldn't find anything interesting about her, which is the consequence of over focusing on Becca. So if another film happens, of course I expect this new trio to be at their strongest at whatever danger comes their way, but I also hope Cassie gets a second chance to be more fleshed out of a character in my eyes. I generally enjoy Sam Richardson in whatever I see him in, so I don't feel too ashamed to say he kept things interesting as Gilbert. In this role, he stood out as well for being one that wanted to fit in. He grew up an outcast and felt connected to the Sandersons for that feeling alone. So one trait was enough for him to commit an unintelligent plot. Seeing him mess up and get stuck in a whole bunch of trouble just shows the plain consequences on when choosing mess with things you don't understand. The character Billy Butcherson was not so interesting of a character in the first film because his origin happened offscreen. Off of that, it was hard for me to find a reason to like him. With Doug Jones returning, it became a blessing for him to give the right depth to have me interested. He is pretty nice of a zombie, but that's because he still has a conscience and is only livid of the one who wronged him. The irony is that he's more mad of his past being a lie than his own death. I'm sure I wasn't the only one surprised when he revealed that he only had one kiss with Winifred and solely dated Sarah before he died. Knowing that comes to show how jealous Winifred can be when things weren't her way. With Billy finally getting the chance to tell the truth, it's good to know Gilbert will try to do the right thing with it. Again if a sequel does come around, I got fingers crossed for Gilbert to make smarter moves next time around. This movie was fun to sit down to, but this one had a lot of stuff that bothered me, leading to making the first one better. I originally don't mind the opening because it excuses the sympathy we later feel for the Sandersons, but how do the townsfolk immediately assume the spider was so connected to Winifred? They didn't even see the spider in their house, so jumping into that conclusion was too high. And was it really smart for Mother Witch to show the sisters of the forbidden spell? If it is so dangerous, she should've casted another spell with the book that would've prevented the latter to never be casted. It is always going to be funny when the Sandersons figure out the new world, but how do they not know the age gap for teens? That's like asking the height limit for a park ride because it's ridiculous to not know. And how come there was only one Swiffer for them? I refuse to believe that Walgreens only had one left. I didn't mind the majority of callbacks, but did someone tell a biopic of what happened in 1993 if people are dressing up as Penny & Gary Marshall from the first film? I mean that's just too meta for me. And lastly, how did the fake spider work for the ritual? That is just super bullshit compared to Gilbert survive being tossed by the witches unharmed. Maybe that's why Winifred loses her sisters. I would've liked this movie more if it was smarter than this. To wrap up, Hocus Pocus 2 is a decent sequel meant to for nostalgic smiles. If you have Disney+ and love the first one, I'm sure it won't take too long for you to see this as well.
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