Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
Kathy Najimy as Mary Sanderson, Bette Midler as Winifred Sanderson, and Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah Sanderson in Disney\'s live-action HOCUS POCUS 2
Kathy Najimy as Mary Sanderson, Bette Midler as Winifred Sanderson, and Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah Sanderson in Disney\'s live-action HOCUS POCUS 2
Disney Enterprises, Inc
Culture

Hocus Pocus 2: Harmless or Unleashing Hell?

Megan Bright
The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Coastal Carolina chapter.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT FOR HOCUS POCUS 2 

Hocus Pocus 2 was clearly a projected hit, as its teaser trailer hit 43.6 million views on twitter on June 28th.  Releasing on September 28th, the movie broke Disney+ streaming records and was labeled their #1 movie of all time. Although millions of fans praised the movie for bribing back a long-loved classic, there were some who were not as bewitched.  

Jamie Gooch, a Texas mom took to Facebook to give some insight on her thoughts about the movie. Gooch describes the movie as anything but innocent, declaring it could “unleash hell on your kids and in your home.” Gooch also goes into depth about her beliefs as a Christian, and how her and her family have not celebrated Halloween in several years. The thought of “exposing her children to darkness” simply “grieves” her.  

I think it’s safe to say that there are no trick-or-treaters ringing her doorbell anytime soon.  

Although Gooch did have some support for her comments, there was some, however, that didn’t take her call of bringing movies to a “higher standard” as seriously.  

SNL recently reacted to the Texas mom, sharing their not so censored thoughts about the anti-Halloween rant. “Imagine! Your home… with hell in it!” Chloe Fineman exclaims, earning a nice chuckle from myself.  

Although that might be the only quotable profanity-free line I can provide, the message was clear. They were not on board with Gooch’s comments.  

Overall, everyone has their own opinions on the movie and on Halloween itself. Although, I think Gooch missed a very big message in both the original and sequel films; that goodness always prevails. 

As the ending of the original 1993 movie shows, the kids were able to trick the witches and caused their eventual demise, ridding the town of their evildoing. As the second one shows as well, the thought of losing her sisters forever broke Winnie’s heart, to the point she was willing to give up her powers, and eventually her life, to rejoin them.  

Say what you will, but to say there is no good in something? That’s just a bunch of Hocus Pocus! 

Megan Bright

Coastal Carolina '22

Megan is a senior psychology major at Coastal Carolina. She currently works as a zookeeper at Alligator Adventure in Myrtle Beach. She loves all things animals, fantasy, current events, and organization TikTok.