September 30, 2022
Hocus Pocus 2 is a 2022 American fantasy comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher, written by Jen D'Angelo and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the second in the Hocus Pocus film series, and features Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, and Doug Jones reprising their roles from the first film. Sam Richardson, Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, Tony Hale, and Hannah Waddingham join the cast.
Filming took place from October 2021 to January 2022 at Chase Farm in Lincoln, Rhode Island. It was released on Disney+ on September 30, 2022. The film received mixed reviews from critics, and earned three nominations at the 75th Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Television Movie. A third film is in development.
Storyline
In 1653 Salem, Massachusetts, Reverend Traske banishes 16-year-old Winifred Sanderson after she 'defied church authority' by refusing to marry John Pritchett. Rather than be away from her sisters, Mary and Sarah, Winnie takes them to a forest. There, they meet with Mother Witch, who gives Winifred a magic book for her birthday; she also warns the trio against ever casting the Magicae Maxima spell, which makes the user 'all-powerful'. Mother Witch teaches the trio how to keep their youth, using children. The sisters get revenge on the Reverend by cursing his home, which is engulfed in flames.
In 2022, 29 years after the sisters were resurrected by the Black Flame Candle, Salem teenagers Becca and Izzy prepare to celebrate Halloween and Becca's 16th birthday but turn down a party invite from their former friend, Cassie Traske. Becca and Izzy visit a magic shop, housed in the Sandersons' former cottage; the owner, Gilbert, gives Becca a candle for an annual birthday that is another Black Flame Candle. As there is a full moon, and the girls are virgins, the candle resurrects the Sanderson sisters. The girls outwit the sisters in a Walgreens and flee to the magic shop, where they find that Gilbert tricked them into reviving the witches, having seen them on Halloween in 1993 and having read how to make the candle in the spell book.
The sisters catch up to the girls and see a campaign flyer belonging to Mayor Jefry Traske, Cassie's father and Reverend Traske's direct descendant. Winifred decides they will cast the Magicae Maxima spell to eliminate him and take revenge on modern Salem. The sisters trap Izzy and Becca in the basement and leave to hunt down the mayor, whose blood is needed to complete the spell. They force Gilbert to collect the other ingredients.
The girls escape and head to the Traske house to warn the mayor while the sisters find their way to the town's Halloween carnival and enchant the citizens to help them find the mayor. Meanwhile, Gilbert digs up Billy Butcherson, who has been entombed since 1993. He needs Billy's head for the spell but tricks him into helping him collect the other ingredients first. The girls reunite with Cassie and trap the sisters in a salt circle in Cassie's garage before Mayor Traske returns home. The three girls make up, but their reunion is interrupted when the sisters escape the circle and kidnap Cassie to use her blood instead. Becca and Izzy follow them to the forbidden forest where Gilbert has assembled the ingredients and discover that Becca, like the sisters, is a natural witch.
The sisters partially cast the spell and increase their power, but Becca distracts them while Izzy rescues Cassie. Becca convinces Book that it does not have to answer to Winifred, and she and Book flee into the forest. Book shows them the warning against the Magicae Maxima spell, stating that whoever casts it must give up what they cherish most as the price for the power. The girls agree to warn Winifred of the price of the spell but are too late, and she becomes all-powerful as Mary and Sarah fade to dust. Winifred begs the girls to use their newfound powers to save her sisters. While they cannot save them, Becca, Cassie, and Izzy join in a coven and cast a reuniting spell, so Winifred happily fades away to be with her sisters.
Gilbert and Billy rejoin the girls, and Billy starts to fade away, realizing that Winifred's spells have been undone. The girls decide to give Book a new home and continue practicing magic as they walk into the night. As they leave, a crow, identical to one that the Mother Witch shapeshifted into, flies overhead. In a post-credit scene, it is revealed that inside Gilbert's shop there is another Black Flame Candle.
Also See
- Hocus Pocus (1993)
- Hocus Pocus 2 (2022) (TV Spots)
Movie Trailer
- Hocus Pocus 2 (2022) (Trailers)
Sound Effects Used
- Hollywoodedge, Bicycle Bell Rings Sm PE190701
- Hollywoodedge, Cat Purring Very Clos PE022701
- Hollywoodedge, Crowd Med Shock PE961301/Crowd Reaction Shock PE142501
- Hollywoodedge, Fart 4 Very Short High PE139201 (Heard once when Mary farts while entering a Walgreens store.)
- Hollywoodedge, Forest Ambience Bird PE010101
- Hollywoodedge, Lightning 08 CloseG SIG012601
- Hollywoodedge, Swish 11 Double Swish PE117001 (2nd swish)
- Hollywoodedge, Whistling Wind Mediu PE032901/Wind Cold Whistle BT022801
- IOS Camera Sound
- Sound Ideas, BELL, SCHOOL - SCHOOL BELL: INTERNAL: SHORT RING
- Sound Ideas, BIRD, CROW - COMMON CROW: CALLS, ANIMAL
- Sound Ideas, BIRD, TAWNY OWL - TAWNY OWL, STRIX ALUCO, BIRD, DIGIFFECTS
- Sound Ideas, CAT - DOMESTIC: SINGLE MEOW, ANIMAL 02 (Used for Cobweb when he meows.)
- Sound Ideas, RICOCHET - CARTOON RICCO 07
- Sound Ideas, WIND - MAGIC WHIRLWIND, FANTASY