Hone in on Hocus Pocus this Halloween

With Halloween right around the corner, people have traditions they like to do every year to get in the spooky spirit. One prominent tradition is having a marathon of Halloween movies throughout the fall season. However, what is the best movie to watch? A popular pick is The Nightmare Before Christmas, but that can be a controversial option since many claim itʼs a Christmas movie. Others make a frightening selection with 1978ʼs Halloween but that feels a little too on the nose doesnʼt it? Every Halloween, the perfect movie for me is the 1993 cult classic: Hocus Pocus.

Hocus Pocus is the perfect middle ground between a cute Snoopy holiday special and watching Scream in the middle of the night. The movie follows the storyline of three witches: Winifred, Mary and Sarah, also known as the Sanderson Sisters. In addition to the trio of sisters, the film also follows the people who are responsible for the rebirth of these witches. The characters include Max (who is the main cause), his little sister Dani (who is the target for the sisters), and Allison (who is both a love interest and overall helpful person in this story).

This movie carries such key Halloween themes. Namely, it is set in a very well-known town Salem, Massachusetts. Salem is known for their haunted environment due to the Salem Witch Trials, which occurred in the seventeenth-century. In addition, the movie takes place on Halloween night, so the festive costumes are apparent (which also allow for the witches blend in due to their own unique witchy style).

What might be most entertaining about Hocus Pocus is the myriad of classic witch stereotypes you might hear from childhood stories. The three Snaderson sisters are the witches of old: burning in the sun and flying on broomsticks...or actually vacuum cleaners since it was the twentieth-century. Another key element to the film is their cauldrons and potion making (keeping the witches young), while they use children as their elixir for extended life.

Personally, one of my favorite reasons why this movie is so great is the aesthetic and overall visual appeal. Between the classic look of the camera, and the color scheme of the film, Hocus Pocus is quintessentially nineties! The setting holds good contrast between the warm oranges and yellows of falls, along with the richly dark purples and greens of Halloween and the mischievous witches.

Overall, this movie is perfect to sit down and watch with the entire family (so as to not scare the little siblings with true holiday horror) or to watch in the background while you laugh and bake cookies with friends. With an easy-to-follow pace and its classic Halloween themes, Hocus Pocus makes the perfect movie to get into the spirit of All Hallowʼs Eve; put it on your short list of movies to watch this Halloween!