Hocus Pocus

1993
PG
1h 36m

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

163K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer1:57

Dark Fantasy Fairy Tale Supernatural Horror Teen Comedy Teen Fantasy Witch Horror Comedy Family Fantasy Horror

A teenage boy named Max and his little sister move to Salem, where he struggles to fit in before awakening a trio of diabolical witches that were executed in the 17th century.A teenage boy named Max and his little sister move to Salem, where he struggles to fit in before awakening a trio of diabolical witches that were executed in the 17th century.A teenage boy named Max and his little sister move to Salem, where he struggles to fit in before awakening a trio of diabolical witches that were executed in the 17th century.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

163K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

1,785

834

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 wins & 11 nominations

Videos8

Trailer 1:57

Hocus Pocus: 25th Anniversary

Clip 1:06

5 Halloween Movies Kids Will Love

Clip 1:06

5 Halloween Movies Kids Will Love

Clip 1:37

All About 'Hocus Pocus 2'

Which Movie Scarred Charlize Theron for Life?

Photos270

+ 263

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
During a 20th anniversary screening of this film, Doug Jones revealed the moths that come out of his mouth at the end are real, not CGI. In a 2018 interview with Bloody Disgusting, makeup and special-effects designer Tony Gardner said that the actor wore a "mouth rig" a latex pocket attached to dentures that blocked off Jones' throat to make the moths come out "There was a small hole in the very back of the pocket so that Doug could cough some air through it ... An animal wrangler would place several moths in the pocket with tweezers, Then the stitches would be glued shut, and we'd run out of frame so that they could get to the shot as fast as possible," Gardner said.

Goofs
After Winifred dies all of her spells were undone including the spell that transformed Thackeray. It can be assumed that when he transformed his body was killed and it was only his spirit or soul that took the form of a cat. When Winifred dies his soul was released and was allowed to pass on.

Quotes
Winifred Sanderson: Oh, look. Another glorious morning. Makes me sick!

Crazy credits
During the end credits, the parents finally stop dancing and leave the building, exhausted; Jay and Ernie have been forgotten about and are still dangling in their cages, singing Row Row Row Your Boat, then the camera pans over to the spell book as the eye opens once more.

Alternate versions
When shown on UK television in 2005, all instances of Billy losing his head and stumbling around headless were cut (rendering the credit in the cast to 'Headless Billy' meaningless). Thus, the scene when Billy loses his head and Dani steps out of the protective salt circle to retrieve it for him (giving Winnie the opportunity to grab her) no longer makes sense. It just cuts to a scene of Dani suddenly outside the protective circle and screaming as Winnie swoops down on her from above. Without knowing about Dani retrieving Billy's head the viewer is left puzzled as to why Dani left the circle.

Connections
Edited into Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)

Soundtracks
I Put a Spell on You
Written by Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Produced and Arranged by Marc Shaiman

User reviews323

Review

Featured review

7/10

"Oh, look. Another glorious morning. Makes me sick!"

Saw this during the Halloween season on the big screen it was the second time I have seen it and did not grow up watching it. I must say I enjoyed it even more on my second viewing.

Written by Mick Garris and Neil Cuthbert, based on story by Garris and David Kirschner. It is the story of a young teen named Max (Omri Katz, who I always remember as the kid from EERIE, INDIANA) mistakenly wakes up the Sanderson sisters (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy). Along with his sister Dani (Thora Birch) and classmate Allison (Vinessa Shaw) try to stop the sisters from draining the lifeforce out of the children so that they could live forever.

While certainly not scary it does have nice atmosphere and some laughs to be had. I had a smile on my face through much of the film. One problem I did have though was with some of the effects. The effects with Thackery (Sean Murray) being turned into a cat and him running around the rest of the film as a cat just screams 1993 and is no longer effective, but I easily forgave the effects due to other things going on screen. Also starring Kathleen Freeman as the teacher Miss Olin and Garry and Penny Marshall in a funny scene. Supposedly a sequel is on its way.