Honest Movie Reviews: 'Hocus Pocus 2' Is a Trashy Halloween Treat

In the latest edition of Honest Movie Reviews, we’re pulling together the funniest audience movie reviews on the internet. From laughable to ironic, truthful to downright silly, we’re diving into the deep, dark rabbit hole of online movie fandom. Today, we turn our attention to Hocus Pocus 2, the sequel to the cult classic Hocus Pocus, which was released in 1993.

In case you missed the first installment (which means you had a very sad childhood indeed), audiences were instantly enamored with the tale of the Sanderson sisters (Winifred, Sarah, and Mary, played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, respectively) who lived in Salem, Massachusetts, circa Oct. 31, 1693. The witches kidnapped a little girl, Emily, and sucked away her youth in order to make themselves young. Emily’s older brother, Thackery, tried to stop this from happening but was instead turned into an immortal black cat. Thackery’s father and his drinking buddies then hung the witches, but not before Winifred cast a spell that would ensure their resurrection on Allhallows Eve – via a virgin and a candle.

Though Hocus Pocus is older than most of its fans, it still maintains a hardcore following to this day.

“I don’t think any of us who were making it at the time thought ‘Hocus Pocus’ would have such a long life,” Parker once told Entertainment Weekly. “People tell me all the time they grew up watching it, and that they still watch it. I think it’s wonderful.”

But just because people loved a thing once upon a time doesn’t necessarily mean they need more of it. Or do they? The success (or lack thereof) of Hocus Pocus 2, which dropped on Disney+ last week, will decide.

The sequel’s plot follows the Sanderson sisters as they are summoned to present-day Salem on Halloween night via the aforementioned candle, and they’re out for revenge – and in search of eternal youth, which they can only obtain by inhaling the essence of children. (Nobody said this had to make sense.) Bizarre storyline aside, the film is ultimately about friendship – and is allegedly a little bit sappier than the original.

But is it worth watching? Well…to each his own. Users on the platform Letterboxd.com certainly have some strong opinions about the movie, many of them just as laughable as the silly, spooky sequel itself.

Without further ado, here are the best honest movie reviews for Hocus Pocus 2.