I’ll Put a Spell on You, One Way or Another: Hocus Pocus 2 Movie Review
By Faith Bowen
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s officially the best time of the year…SPOOKY SEASON! As that autumn chill starts flowing through our quaint town, we, the people, must get ready. Now you might be asking yourself, what is the best way to prepare for the greatest time of the year? Lucky for you, I have the answer right here. Bette Midler singing the iconic song I Put a Spell on You and Stephanie Faracy dressed as Madonna. The movie, Hocus Pocus has been America’s favorite Halloween movie since it was first released in 1993, but did you know there’s a new witch in town??
Are you done laughing? Good, okay moving on.
Hocus Pocus 2 was released on September 30th, 2022. It picks up where the first one left off just 29 years later. No one has lit the Black Flame Candle for this period of time, making the Sanderson sisters angry and causing them to look for revenge. Now it is up to three high-school students to stop the evil witches from wreaking an unexpected kind of havoc on Salem before dawn on All Hallow’s Eve.
That’s the general consensus of the movie. I watched it in very close detail and I can say with full confidence this is a really fun movie. I tried to put my biased love for Bette Midler aside and focus on the film and-although I could’ve done a better job-the movie as a whole was able to give me the happy fall feeling I was so very deprived of. I appreciated the family friendliness it had, while it also had an eeriness to it that made it much more enjoyable.
In the beginning of the movie, we actually get to find out how Winifred and her sisters became witches. This gave us a better perspective of the witches and a clearer understanding of why they act the way they do. Also, I absolutely love when sequels show flashbacks from the first movie. The second movie had a few clips from the first one and the timing was perfect, making it super fun to watch!
As mentioned in the summary, the three high school students have the responsibility of saving Salem from the witches, but what the summary doesn’t tell us is that they were also the ones who brought them back. I thought this was a fun touch to the movie since they caused the problem, they felt a much bigger need to save Salem.
I especially enjoyed Young Winnie’s character played by Taylor Paige Henderson. She did an excellent job of taking on the iconic character of Witch Winifred. Her teeth and hand gestures especially stood out to me, and gave me the fun reminder of what makes Winnie, Winnie.
Luckily though, we had the talent of Bette Midler to save the day. Her acting and vocals ATE. The song and dance number remix of One Way or Another by Blondie was an iconic performance from all three of the sisters. Obviously nothing can compete with Bette’s performance of I Put a Spell on You from the original movie, but it was a very fun and enjoyable number.
Overall, this is a fun family-friendly movie to help get you in the spirit of Halloween. It was humorous, creative, and overall entertaining. Would I add it to the list of a must watch movie? No. Was it a necessary addition to the Hocus Pocus storyline? No. If you are looking for a Halloween movie that is going to blow your mind and scare you half to death, then this is not the movie you should watch. But if you’re looking for a fun addition to the classic original movie and a little something to get you in that fall spirit, I recommend lighting a candle, snuggling up in a warm cozy blanket by the fire, and watching Hocus Pocus 2.
