29 years ago we were graced with the masterpiece that is “Hocus Pocus.” Now, they finally gave us a sequel. When I first heard they were making a sequel I was a little scared because this movie is so classic but then when I saw the trailer I had hope. When I actually watched it I immediately knew whether it was a trick or a treat.
Before I get into the review I want to give a quick summary so spoiler alert. There will be a marker where the spoilers end so scroll down there if you don’t want to know.
The movie begins in 1700’s Puritan Salem. Winnifred is turning 16 and we see her stomping angrily through the village because she was asked to marry. Because she refuses to marry, she and her sisters get exiled into the woods where they meet a witch. This witch reveals that Winnifred is also a witch and gives her the famous spell book.
Flash forward to present day Halloween in Salem and we are introduced to Becca and Izzy, two teen new age witches. It is also revealed that the third member of their coven, Cassie, got a boyfriend and hasn’t been around much. Cassie is also the mayor’s daughter which is important later. Becca and Izzy are hanging out in their favorite metaphysical shop when the shop owner, Gilbert, gives them a special candle on the house as it is also Becca’s 16 birthday.
Next, Becca and Izzy go into the woods for their Samhain/ birthday ritual with their new candle. The candle starts to spark uncontrollably. After they put it out it burns a black flame and the Sanderson sisters enter. The sisters want to do the “life potion” from the first movie to stay alive and young so they want to eat the girl’s souls. The girls then trick them into going into the beauty section of Walgreens instead.
When the Sanderson sisters realize that drugstore beauty products aren’t potions they attack the girls with magic which Becca blocks with salt and they escape unscathed.
Everyone ends up back at the metaphysical shop where it is revealed that Gilbert made the black flame candle on purpose because he is the Sanderson’s biggest fan. While in the shop the sisters see a flier for mayor Traske of Salem whose ancestors hung them back in 1693. Then the sisters trap the girls in the basement and tell Gilbert to gather the ingredients for a spell to make them all powerful so they can kill the mayor and take over Salem.
Meanwhile the mayor is at the Halloween festival and Cassie is throwing a party behind his back; needing to keep the mayor safe at home Becca and Izzy rat out Cassie so that he’ll go home.
Becca and Izzy then escape from the basement and they go to tell Cassie what is going on and hopefully save the mayor. Turns out, the mayor went back to the festival… great.
The Sanderson sisters have now enchanted the town’s people and they trap the mayor in a flash mob to get him to go back to his house where the sisters are waiting. Luckily Becca trapped them in a salt circle so they can’t actually attack him yet but they realize that Cassie is his daughter. Not only do they want to get rid of the mayor but they need the blood of an enemy for their spell so they escape, kidnap her and take her into the woods. Then plot twist: Becca finds out she has powers.
Becca and Izzy save Cassie and the Sandersons end up doing the spell. Winnifred decided she didn’t need to read the warning before doing the spell so when she completes it she finds out that it takes what you love most and her sisters disappear.
Winnifred then has Becca do a spell to reunite her with her sisters.
So…. I LOVE THIS MOVIE. I was honestly scared to watch it because I didn’t know if it was going to be that good but omg. I loved how they showed the teen witches doing actual stuff that the real modern witches are doing. I was expecting them to either be just normal people or if they were witches they would be like the fantasy witches who can do all kinds of crazy magic. I thought it was cool that they made them so real and relatable. I also liked how they portrayed the Gen Z characters. As an older Gen Z it’s so annoying watching characters around my age because they either use way too much slang and sound stupid or it’s a situation like “Euphoria” where they act way older. They did a good job by allowing them to act like teenagers without making them sound stupid. Another minor detail about the teens that I liked was their outfits because they actually look like normal teenagers and each character has a slightly different look. They also didn’t take it too far with outfits like the old disney channel. I also loved the dynamic of the Sanderson sisters, it is just like the first one! They also gave Mary more of a character because I feel like in the first one she didn’t do much. The one thing I didn’t like was they made Sarah way too stupid. I get that she’s supposed to be the dumb one but in the first one they made her more ditzy and flirty. In the first one there was more to her character than just being dumb but in the second she’s almost annoying because of how dumb she is. This made me so sad because she was my favorite character. Another thing I LOVED was the witch’s reactions to modern day items. I don’t want to spoil it too much but they are hilarious and the things that the directors have them react to are so mundane which makes it so much better.
I think it’s safe to say that I am obsessed with this movie. I think that it’s the perfect witch movie for the new age because it has a balance of modern witchcraft and fantastical movie witchcraft. The characters are also relatable and actually funny which is something that many family movies don’t get right. Which brings me to my next point that it is entertaining for all ages. People who love the original will enjoy it because it doesn’t stray too far and the younger audience will find it entertaining. Also if you look closely at all the Halloween costumes in the movie you will notice that some of them are characters from the first movie. All in all I 100000000% recommend this movie to anyone who is a fan of the first movie, has a family of all ages, and people who just like witchy content but watch out because the Sanderson sisters might just put a spell on you.
Venusian VVitches 