SMALLS' FRIGHT FEST: HOCUS POCUS

"It's just a bunch of Hocus Pocus"

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

To celebrate the day we have all been waiting for, I take a fond look back at one of my personal favorite Halloween films: Hocus Pocus.

Hocus Pocus follows 8 year old Dani (Thora Birch, who went on to appear in American Beauty), her older brother Max (Omri Katz), and his crush Allison (Vinessa Shaw). Max moves from California to Salem and is none too happy about it. It's Halloween, a holiday Max feels he has outgrown, and in an effort to impress Allison, Max breaks into the old Sanderson House (a group of child eating witches that died 300 years ago) and inadvertently reawakens Mary (Kathy Najimy, who also appeared in Alien Encounter at WDW), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker, who is as hot as she ever was), and Winnifred Sanderson (Bette Midler) who immediately restart their old witchy habits, setting their sights on Dani and all the children of Salem. Now, it's up to Max to stop the witches three before they can complete their evil plan. Along for the fun is Thackary Binx (voiced by Jason Marsden), a boy cursed by the witches to live out the rest of eternity as an immortal black cat, and Billy Butcherson (Doug Jones, who appeared in Hellboy's 1 and 2, Pan's Labyrinth, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer), a bumbling zombie.

Hocus Pocus is NOT a perfect film. Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler, and Sarah Jessica Parker can be amusing at times but they mainly ad lib and mug for the camera (which can be a bit annoying). Omri Katz, Vinessa Shaw, and Thora Birch do pretty good acting jobs here. They aren't amazing, but they fit their roles surprisingly well and are likable.

I actually grew up with this film, and while I was never too big on it when I was kid (didn't like how dark it was) now that I'm older I find myself thoroughly enjoying the hell out of this flick whenever I re-watch it. This was actually a Disney Channel Original Movie that was somehow green lit for release in theaters instead. What's most perplexing about this though, is that despite how silly it can be at times it's actually one of Disney's darker films .

The film was made in 1993, and it kind of shows. It makes dated pop culture jokes (Vanilla Ice, Tubular, etc.), and the effect used for the talking cat is pretty lackluster (bad CG, speaking of which I'm pretty sure I spotted Pixar listed somewhere in the credits). The film is stuck in the 90's, and that gives Hocus Pocus a charming nostalgic quality. Surprisingly, Hocus Pocus does excel at creating a good Halloween atmosphere though. It does feel like the film takes place on Halloween, and we get to explore a cemetary, an empty school, and a Halloween costume dance (all good settings for a Halloween film).

It can not be denied that Hocus Pocus is a kids film, but that doesn't mean that the young at heart can't enjoy it as well. It's one of the rare films where it's faults actually make the film a bit more fun to watch.  In fact, I'm going to say that Hocus Pocus is a perfect Halloween film, and naturally it's recommended viewing on a Halloween night.

3 STARS