Review of Hocus Pocus (1993) by Ethan B — 09 Aug 2014

What this movie really has going for it is that it's strangely enjoyable. Maybe I'm just a sucker for dated kids movies about Halloween, but I could definitely watch this one again. It's a great kids film and all of the technical mistakes will go over most of their heads.

With that said, the script was porous. Such as, why did the cat only talk when he needed to? There were tons of times were the kids needed to convince the adults that all of this witch stuff was happening and Thackery (the cat) just bit his tongue (no pun intended). And why didn't they all surround themselves with the salt at the end. Also, the whole concept of keeping their ears covered was barely explored and the consequences weren't very consistent throughout the film, and only seemed to be present in order to conveniently fabricate some tension. But that seemed to be a theme throughout this movie--falsely creating a sense that we need to worry. At times our expected emotions are rushed to too quickly (e.g. when they think Thackery is dead the first time after being run over, Dani is crying immediately without any build up). But why would they keep hurrying to get to these emotions, while on the other hand continuing to drag the rest of the script paper thin?

However, this is a fun and silly movie that can be enjoyed with a big group of friends. And it's probably best enjoyed at Halloween time with like spirits are in the air (pun totally intended).

Twizard Rating: 78.