Hocus Pocus

What’s it about?

In the town of Salem, the Halloween festivities are underway. A young boy, spiteful of the supernatural, ignorantly lights a cursed candle that resurrects a trio of diabolical witches. Together with his sister and high school crush, they seek to undo his mistake and save the town.

The facts

• Directed by Kenny Ortega (High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Michael Jackson’s This Is It)
• English language
• Runtime: 96 minutes

Why did it get this rating?

This film was cross-rated by the Film and Video Labelling Body. You can find out more about cross-rating here.

Horror

There are a few gross/horrifying details shown and mentioned in the film:

• A book is said to have been made from human flesh. It also has an eye that we see open. A candle is said to have been made from a hanged man’s fat.
• We see a dead man’s toes from afar thrown into a cauldron.
• A character mentions an urban legend that 100 children’s bones are buried around a haunted building.
• There is a zombie, and his mouth is sewn shut. Characters often hit him, and his head falls off, which he quickly reattaches.

Cruelty

A young girl’s life force is drained by the witches. We see her unresponsive in the background. It is later revealed she died.

It is mentioned that out of jealously, a witch had sewn a character’s mouth shut.

A duo of hoodlums bullies another character. They ask for smokes and money from him. They later steal his shoes and candy.

Violence

The trio of witches are hanged. We briefly see their legs dangling after the boxes underneath them are removed. The trio are later locked into a furnace and are set ablaze. We see them screaming in pain.

Some characters are electrocuted. In one scene, we see a character lifted in the air and continuously electrocuted.

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• Hocus Pocus 2 guide