Hocus Pocus 2 is the long-awaited sequel to the first Hocus Pocus movie released in 1993. The original Sanderson sisters returned to reprise their roles for the second movie, which blessed us with the classic chemistry of Bette Midler as Winifred, Kathy Najimy as Mary, and Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah. Though a lot of the people and things we love from the first movie are in the sequel, it seems Hocus Pocus 2 has confused fans rather than tying up the story of the Sanderson sisters.
The Hocus: The Magic in the Movie
Hocus Pocus 2 was as magical as the first movie, but the laws and the lore of magic between the two movies were inconsistent. Take Winifred’s book, for example. In the first movie, it was clear that Satan made the book himself and gifted it to Winifred to help her perform more evil deeds, but in the second movie, it was The Witch Mother who gave the Sandersons the gift. The book also turned into a force for good in the sequel, but since it was originally made from pure evil, it shouldn’t have the ability to turn into good. Another inconsistent magical law is the ability of the salt. In the first movie, the characters used salt to protect themselves from the Sandersons, but in the sequel, the salt trapped the Sandersons. If we get technical about it, the salt can trap dark magic, and dark magic only, not the vessels. The witches were only vessels, so in theory, the salt shouldn’t have trapped the sisters.
The Pocus: The Characters Destinies
Some character stories (and existence) in Hocus Pocus 2 also don’t make sense. It doesn’t make any sense for Izzy and Cassie to have powers. We don’t know how they got their power, and the timing was too convenient when they discovered they had magical abilities. Another inconsistency was Mary and Sarah’s death. The sisters cast the Magicae Maxima, a ritual that grants a witch ultimate power at the cost of what they value most in life. Mary and Sarah were powerful witches, but apparently, Winnifred was more powerful because she gained more power from the spell, but she lost Mary and Sarah. Mary and Sarah also cast the spell, so it doesn’t make sense that they died when Winifred was alive. Why was Winifred the only one who gained power? And lastly, the Sandersons shouldn’t be alive. Winifred didn’t have the time to cast the spell that would revive them if a virgin lighted the Black Flame Candle during the full moon on a Halloween night by the end of the first movie. Unless the first reviving spell is meant to still work the second time around, the Sanderson sisters shouldn’t have been revived.
The inconsistencies bother a lot of fans, but Hocus Pocus 2 is a niche movie that you may still enjoy on cold Halloween nights.
