While everyone else has fallen asleep and there is not much left to do, there is nothing better than opening a bag of your favorite late-night snack, curling up under the blanket, and turning on a classic Disney movie in the fall. 

Hocus Pocus is a classic Disney movie that many love, and I couldn’t stay awake long enough to finish watching the first one. The parts of it that I had enough energy mustered up to watch were good but didn’t reach the hype level viewers had put it.

When the news came out on September 30th, 2022, that Disney had released the sequel to Hocus Pocus called Hocus Pocus 2 on Disney+, there wasn’t much excitement nor distaste from my side. But who would it hurt to see if the second one is good and lives up to its excitement?

Watching Hocus Pocus 2 was a good experience. It mixed humor and horror well. I’m not a horror fan and usually turn a movie off when a feeling of fear enters my stomach. Surprisingly Hocus Pocus 2 did place some fear in my stomach, but I mustered and finished watching. 

There is more comedy than horror, but a few times can cause uneasiness to non-thrill seekers. Most of the horror parts come when Izzy and Becca, played by Whitney Peak and Belissa Escobedo, go deep in the woods, and the witches come out as there is creepy singing and movement all around. 

The writer of Hocus Pocus 2, Jen D’Angelo, did a fantastic job adding subtle satire to the movie. Such as, when Becca, Izzy, and Cassie are in the woods fighting against the witches, Becca and Cassie start to play out the popular cliche of reconciling past grudges in the middle of a life-threatening situation. Fortunately, Izzy intervenes before getting to a now-expected point in horror movies of those types of characters getting surprised by the antagonist. 

More props are to be given to the creators of Hocus Pocus 2, such as the not-so-easily predictable basic plots seen in other movies. Surprisingly, the witches aren’t defeated in the end; instead, a lesson is learned that there are sacrifices in life to reach great powers. 

Even with the fantastic plot and life lessons, the best part of Hocus Pocus 2 was the Sanderson Sisters, better identifiable as the three witches. They show the importance of sticking together and being united with siblings, even though they are still technically evil. Even though, as previously mentioned, are scary at times, they are also the funniest out of the movie. 

There is nothing to say pessimistic about Disney’s creation of Hocus Pocus 2 other than they proved me wrong about my pre-perceived thoughts and notions. Hocus Pocus 2 will become another Halloween classic to cozy up to at night and watch.