Hocus Pocus (1993)
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A group of teenagers must stop a trio of resurrected witches from taking over Salem on Halloween night.
The story
On Halloween night in Salem, Massachusetts, a teenage boy named Max, his sister Dani, and their friend Allison visit an abandoned museum. Max inadvertently resurrects three villainous witches—Winifred, Mary, and Sarah—who were previously executed in 1693. The witches seek to steal the life force of the children to remain young. With the help of a boy transformed into a cat centuries ago, the children must navigate the supernatural dangers of the town to stop the sisters before they can complete their dark magic.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1693, the Sanderson sisters were executed but cast a curse: a virgin lighting the Black-Flame Candle on a full moon and All Hallows' Eve would resurrect them. Centuries later, Max, Dani, and Allison visit the sisters' former cottage. Max lights the candle, resurrecting the witches. The sisters attempt to drain Dani's life force, but Max and the children, aided by a boy-turned-cat named Binx, flee to a cemetery. The witches summon a zombie, Billy Butcherson, to hunt them. The children eventually lure the witches into a high school kiln, but the sisters survive. Later, the children are separated from each other. Max drinks a potion to save Dani, and a final confrontation occurs in the cemetery. Max and Winifred fight in the air; she falls into hallowed ground and turns to stone. As the sun rises, Mary and Sarah turn to dust, and Winifred's stone body explodes. Binx's spirit is freed, and he is reunited with his sister's spirit in the afterlife.
- First release year
- 1993
- Runtime (minutes)
- 96
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Kenny Ortega
- Writers
- Mick Garris · screenplay; Neil Cuthbert · screenplay; David Kirschner · story; Mick Garris · story
- Cast and characters
- Bette Midler · Winifred; Sarah Jessica Parker · Mary; Kathy Najimy · Sarah; Omri Katz · Max; Thora Birch · Dani; Vinessa Shaw · Allison
- Genres
- fantasy; comedy
- Tone and mood
- comedy; fantasy
- Premise and plot tags
- supernatural; witchcraft; Halloween
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and was initially a box-office bomb, but it has since become a cult classic due to annual television airings during the Halloween season.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 42% · scale: percentage · review count: 65; Metacritic · score: 43 · scale: 100 · review count: 27; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was originally titled 'Disney's Halloween House' and was intended to be much darker and scarier.; The character of Winifred was originally written for actress Cloris Leachman.; The film's score was composed by John Debney in just two weeks after James Horner became unavailable.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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