Hocus Pocus Blu-ray offers decent video and great audio in this fan-pleasing Blu-ray release
After 300 years, three sister witches are resurrected in Salem Massachusetts on Halloween night, and it us up to two teenagers, a young girl, and an immortal cat to put an end to the witches reign of terror once and for all.
It's been surprising to watch "Hocus Pocus" develop a cult following since its release in 1993, amassing a passionate group of fans raised on VHS rentals and routine basic cable showings. It's a declaration of love that certainly wasn't there during its initial theatrical run, where the sharp minds at Disney released an exhaustively Halloween-centric story in mid-July, and then seemed surprised when the picture bombed. Any film that displays the ability to rise from the box office ashes and sustain popularity for nearly two decades is a minor cinematic miracle in my book, but I have to wonder, why has "Hocus Pocus" bewitched a vocal minority? A bland, unfunny oddity with overly manic execution and a few strange tonal detours, the feature desires to be a colorful, politely spooky creation, only to elicit blank stares. Perhaps I underestimate the power of its generational hold, yet considering the potential of a broad Disney witch romp, "Hocus Pocus" is an incredibly mediocre movie.
Long ago in the town of Salem, three witch sisters, eldest Winnie (Bette Midler), grotesque Mary (Kathy Najimy), and seductress Sarah Sanderson (Sarah Jessica Parker), were obsessed with retaining their youth, working to conjure up a spell that sucked the life force out of the local children. When their plans were thwarted by Thackery Binx (Sean Murray), who was turned into a cat for his troubles, the sisters retreated inside of a curse, hoping to rise again one day. 300 years later, Max (Omri Katz) and little sister Dani (Thora Birch) are adjusting to life in their new Salem home, ready to soak up local Halloween traditions, much to the embarrassment of the older brother. However, tempting classmate Allison (Vinessa Shaw) pulls Max out of his huff, with the three traveling to the Sanderson home, now an abandoned museum, to rifle through displays and knickknacks. When Max's virgin status accidentally breaks the Sanderson curse, the witches return to Salem to finish their work, looking to devour the souls of little kids on the prowl for candy. With help from feline Binx, the trio race off into the night, hoping to avoid the wrath of the Sandersons as they protect a special book of witchcraft that holds the key to a potent brew of youthfulness the sisters aim to cook up before dawn breaks.
There's darkness to "Hocus Pocus" that's initially appealing, introducing the Sandersons as broadly defined but committed storybook-style witches (making time for lucky rat tails and adding human parts to their cauldron creations), working toward a cure for the pitiless pains of aging, which has made these horrible women look, well, horrible. The opening act of "Hocus Pocus" is actually quite a shock to the system, with a script by Mick Garris and Nick Cuthbert bravely investigating the sisters' plan to murder children through witchcraft, only to be tossed into nooses and sentenced to death for their sadistic efforts. This is a Disney film? Director Kenny Ortega (who went on to mastermind the "High School Musical" franchise) shows surprising dedication to the macabre cause, keeping matters severe as he introduces the Sanderson threat, asking his actresses to chase cartoon daffiness with a noticeable bite, sharpened marvelously by Midler, who is clearly having the most fun out of the three leads, balancing camp and menace with veteran pop. "Hocus Pocus" is a full-blooded Halloween tale and commences with defined grimness that promises something wicked once the tale jumps forward to 1993.
Sadly, the 300 year divide doesn't encourage the creepy components of "Hocus Pocus," which takes on a decidedly more formulaic tale of a teen boy navigating unpopularity and girl troubles. While the Halloween theme continues with an evening of trick-or-treating to backdrop the witches' return to Salem, Ortega settles into a bland routine of whiny teen characters sprinting around town on the hunt for a way to get rid of the Sandersons for good. The human characters are thinly drawn and tepidly performed, while the director attempts to compensate for the non-Midler half of the picture with a breathless pace the screenplay doesn't support. "Hocus Pocus" develops into a noisy film without a pronounced funny bone, watching jokes and cameos (by Penny and Garry Marshall) land with a thud. While it begins with good handle on evil, the feature devolves into a vanilla family adventure, with the Disney influence growing in authority as the movie unfolds. "Hocus Pocus" often resembles a costume party where everyone forgot to bring booze, rendering the evening's activities painfully awkward and cruelly sober.
Holding to expectations, there's a musical number from Midler that doesn't fit into the flow of the film, but Ortega doesn't seem to care. Musically more interesting is a twisted moment where Sarah lures the children of Salem to their doom with her siren's song, adding a sinister pinch to a candied production, yet it's only onscreen for a moment before Ortega is back to his mundane set-bound shenanigans. "Hocus Pocus" could use more malevolence, keeping the viewer slightly unnerved around these aggressive "Scooby-Doo" antics.
Disney's Halloween extravaganza comes to Blu-ray boasting an AVC encoded image (1.84:1 aspect ratio) presentation. Although working with a varied color palette, the viewing experience is on the slightly softer side, with light filtering pulling out prominent grain, threatening the promise of deep textures during the picture. Detail is moderate, ranging during the run time, finding a few facial close-ups truly expressive, while artificially imagined neighborhood activities don't have a fully enrapturing feel of fabrics and foliage. The witch make-up work also leaves one expecting something more crisply defined, though tighter shots on Midler provide gruesome particulars. Hues look a little muted, only really coming alive during group costume sequences, while the rest of the feature doesn't have the natural snap of color Ortega aims for. Skintones are on the bloodless side. Black levels are satisfactory inside a difficult production that takes place at night, yet distances and interiors are easily read, with only a few moments of crush to contend with. The print looks clean, absent any overt damage.
The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix provides a consistent listening event, maintaining the fantasy mood of the feature with an unexpectedly immersive track. Scoring is prominent throughout, filling the surrounds with a hearty orchestral presence, which sounds full and broad, occasionally dwarfing dialogue exchanges to a minor degree. Performances are securely frontal, finding verbal activity on the thin side, but easily understood, finding competing comedic speeds and group activity adequately separated. Atmospherics are comfortable, with sounds of rushing wind and general witch lair occurrences showing some life, while directional activity is pronounced at times, finding Winnie's demonic voice carrying circular during a few scenes, including an empty high school showdown. Low-end is sparse, rarely engaged.
While the script pays attention to the prominent aspects of witchcraft, with living spell books, broomstick flight, black cats, and grotesque faces, there's no overwhelming commitment to a consistent attitude. The script zooms from zany to spooky without much control, keeping the feature winded and, on a few occasions, directionless. The attempt to make a Halloween movie with a dedication to the grim and celebratory elements of the holiday is laudable, yet this idea to monkey around with witches, kids, and Salem deserves a more concentrated approach, focusing on real jokes, bold colors, and a few genuine frights.
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