Hocus Pocus 2, the sequel to Hocus Pocus, came out September 30^th, 2022. Directed by Anne Fletcher, the sequel stars the original witches, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy. It is set in the witchy town of Salem, Massachusetts.

The movie focuses on a friend group of 3 teen girls, Becca, Izzy, and Cassie. Together, Becca and Izzy accidentally bring back the Sanderson Sisters to modern day Salem and must figure out how to stop the witches from causing trouble around town by coming together and overlooking conflicts. It details the troubles between Cassie and the other two and displays how they are forced to work together to fight against evil and take their town back.

The acting was mediocre, however, Lilia Buckingham, who plays Cassie, gave a notably better performance compared to the rest of the cast. Even though she got the least amount of screentime out of the group of young girls, her performance was the most memorable. She portrayed Cassie’s internal struggles well and made it easy to empathize with her as a young girl.

Hocus Pocus 2 was boring when compared to the original. Although it was exciting to learn about there being a second Hocus Pocus, especially since the first one is such a well-known classic, it was disappointing to watch the movie be weirdly modernized. I would recommend it to a younger audience, but it will never replace the original.