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(How do YOU Halloween?): HOCUS POCUS, The Power of Community, & Resilience

 

By. Bee Delores

 

Headlines like “HOCUS POCUS is a Garbage Movie That Doesn’t Deserve Your Nostalgia” and “But what if HOCUS POCUS isn't a good movie?” make me rage. I can understand it not being your cup of tea, but the truth is it remains a foundational horror film for not only millennials but also new horror watchers. The youngest millennials turn 30 this year, and the oldest are now 44. Most of them have kids of their own, and HOCUS POCUS has become almost a rite of passage. You’re not a true horror fan until you’ve seen Winifred, Sarah, and Mary Sanderson suck the lives out of little children.

Kenny Ortega’s HOCUS POCUS conjures the folk horror tradition of witchcraft found in such films as Burn Witch Burn(1962) and pseudo-documentary Haxan (1922), while also relishing in beautiful exaggeration from camp classics such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The terrifying adornments propel the story about community, resilience in the face of tragedy, and how humans can perform even the simplest form of magic to manifest the life they deserve

 

Pure Teen Horror

It was a great time to be a teenager in the 90s, the best decade flooded with perfect Teen Horror. We were blessed with Halloweentown, The Faculty, Scream, The Craft, Urban Legend, The Halloween Tree, Casper, and the list goes on and on. There were also TV shows such as Are you Afraid of the Dark, Goosebumps, and Ahhhh! Real Monsters on Nickelodeon. During the month of October, you could guarantee a marathon of all of these and so much more. You could practically smell the aroma of fresh Halloween candy in the air.

Decades later, the crown jewel of 1990s Teen Horror is still HOCUS POCUS. Bette Midler (Winifred), Sarah Jessica Parker (Sarah), and Kathy Najimy (Mary) defined so many childhoods with its ridiculous accents (1600s era Thackery Binx, played by Sean Marsden, is so deliciously over-the-top) and charming theatricality (The Sanderson Sisters performing “I Put a Spell on You” will forever be the best rendition of that Halloween staple). A cozy, colorful flick, it not only captures the intoxicating freedom of going trick ‘r treating with your friends–we often went without parental supervision–but it’s also a cautionary tale about the dangers of the world, society’s sugar coating of folklore, and how boomers really are that clueless.

Its packaged messaging features very adult jokes, as well. Sarah’s obsession over “playing” with teenage boys, Dani’s (Thora Birch) mom’s Madonna bra costume, Dani’s yabos line (“Max loves your yabos; in fact, he loves them!” will never get old), and Jay’s (Tobias Jelinek) lust to “watch babes undress” balance against more family-friendly moments such as the dad (Charles Rocket) telling the lamest dad joke in history (“Dad-cula” is his costume, FYI) and Winifred learning French while being burned alive in a kiln. Physical gags run wild, too, and include Mary riding a vacuum cleaner, Sarah eating a live spider, Sarah dancing with “Satan” and angering his Medusa wife (Penny Marshall), and Billy Butcherson (Doug Jones) getting his head knocked and later kicked to the ground.

HOCUS POCUS is the best of both worlds. It’s perfectly appropriate for teenagers while it also bridges the gap between children and adults. It’s like a glass of champagne, tingling the nose and providing enough buzz for midnight revelry.

Of course, childhood Halloween favorites don't always need to be comforting. In Cobweb, Bee Delores finds a much nastier version of family horror, where the secrets hiding inside a seemingly ordinary home make the holiday considerably less inviting.

Fortitude Of Spirit

Fortitude of spirit lies with Dani and her older brother Max Dennison (Omri Katz) when they meet Allison (Vinessa Shaw), Max’s crush. While out trick ‘r treating, Max and Dani hit up her lavish mansion for the best candy when they realize it’s Allison’s family home. She has better things to do than attend her parents’ boring Victorian costume party, so when Max suggests heading to the old Sanderson house (now a museum), she glows with excitement. Together, Max, Dani, and Allison break into the dilapidated building, and well, you know what happens next: Max lights the Black Flame Candle and resurrects the three witches.

HOCUS POCUS becomes a playful reverence for the dead, a powerful demonstration of resilience, and how community support drives one’s understanding of self-worth. Against all odds, Dani, Allison, and Max fight against the occult, with Binx’s help, of course, with everything they have. When the tide eventually turns in their favor, they rose victorious not by chance but because they believed in each other and themselves enough to never give up. Such determination empowers them and drives them full-steam ahead for the eventual dawn when Thackery Binx reunites with his sister after waiting 300 years for a virgin to light a candle.

Want It, And Let Yourself Have It

Manifestation is key to any witch’s craft. You want it; you believe it; and then you let yourself have it. Whenever I perform a manifestation spell, I write my intention on a piece of paper, place it beneath a fresh candle, and light the candle. I meditate while it burns, allowing my wish for whatever it is to come true. When the flame meets its end, I light the paper on fire in my cauldron until only ash remains.

In HOCUS POCUS, Dani yearns for a closer relationship with her brother, and Max seeks a romantic connection with Allison. Both come true by the end of the film through trauma bonding and letting themselves actually have their deepest desires. It’s within their understanding of the precious nature of life itself that they come to appreciate the things right before their eyes. Max throws a tantrum about leaving behind L.A. for the more intimate community of Salem and missing his friends, adding fuel to the distance between him and his younger sister. Dani frequently reaches out and is met by coldness. Max is too cool for school; I mean, he literally dresses up as a “rap singer” for Halloween. He doesn’t have time to spend quality time with Dani and initially refuses to take her trick ‘r treating.

Conversely, Max strikes up a quick infatuation with Allison in class when discussing the roots of Halloween. He slips her his phone number, only for her to return it a few moments later after school. Allison’s cheekily flirting with him, but she’s also stating that she’s not so easy as to fall for such a stupid game. She’s in control, and it’s up to Max to try harder.

Through the film, Max proves himself for both Allison’s and Dani’s love. He’s a hero. It naturally wouldn’t work without help from his friend and sister, but he steps up into someone worth getting to know and spending time with. If that intention weren’t already haunting in the background, the pieces would never have come together. Max, Allison, and Dani manifested what their heart desired, and it came true. You can’t expect change if you don’t change. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s a subdued thread in HOCUS POCUS worth paying a little more attention to.

And if it wasn’t clear: HOCUS POCUS is good, actually.

Some Halloween traditions are best enjoyed with a crowd, especially one that knows when to shout at the screen. In THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW the audience is practically part of the cast. Pleatherface's How Do YOU Halloween? piece explores how midnight screenings transformed a box-office disappointment into a communal ritual that's still bringing people together fifty years later.