As soon as the trio turn up, Hocus Pocus 2 immediately becomes compelling and enjoyable.

| Oct 7, 2022

Hocus Pocus 2 really is cute (enough). If you’re in the right mood, it’s maybe even good.

| Oct 4, 2022

The film wears its ridiculousness so proudly, it’s impossible to disdain. It is both a diverting watch and a sly commentary on its predecessor’s strengths.

| Oct 3, 2022

Long-time fans of Hocus Pocus will have a lot of expectations for a sequel, most of which are likely met here. The special effects are better, obviously, but the vibe remains. Hocus Pocus 2 will undeniably get you in the Halloween spirit.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 3, 2022

This is just as unevenly plotted as the original, lacks even the element of surprise, and is not by any reasonable standard “good”. Between gooey and ghoulish, there must be better options.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 2, 2022

Hocus Pocus 2 has more magic than its predecessor, but that does not mean it casts a memorable or lasting spell.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 2, 2022

... Just like in the first film, they will find time to perform an impromptu musical number that makes no narrative sense but allows Midler to, you know, do her thing.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 30, 2022

The Sandersons’ shtick... is no more clever or inspired than it was in the first movie, but Midler, Najimy and Parker remain such game performers, so adept at vampy antics and menacing facial contortions, that thou wilt not really care.

| Sep 30, 2022

The insistent life lessons about sisterly bonding will drive the most saintly among us to satanic practices. When shall we three meet again? With all due respect to Midler and company, how about never?

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 30, 2022

Anything for Halloween? You bet. Lock up the children—the Sanderson Sisters are back in a bewitching sequel that returns Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy to the roles they created in 1993 just in time to put a funny-scary spell on you.

| Sep 30, 2022

Like many fan favourite follow-ups, Hocus Pocus 2 is stuck, trapped somewhere between different times, audiences and tones, trying to do so much yet, in this instance, achieving so very little.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 30, 2022

Nearly three decades later, the Sanderson sisters still cast a magical spell, offering a warm hug of nostalgic callbacks with a modern take on sisterhood.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 29, 2022

This kind of movie hardly needs to reinvent the cauldron... To its credit, the film still manages to be clever about weaving in callbacks to the original, like the trio’s goofy synchronized walk, without overdoing them.

| Sep 29, 2022

It’s less menacing. It lacks the exquisite cuteness exuded by a middle-grade Thora Birch. There are zero talking cats. But that’s unlikely to matter much to most audiences.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 29, 2022

It is not a spoiler to say that smart, brave, and loyal teenagers get more comic treats than tricks. So does the audience.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Sep 29, 2022

Director Anne Fletcher’s movie is shtick atop shtick. Putting a pointy hat on a pointy hat. Like witches clinging to life, it gets old.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Sep 29, 2022

We’ve seen sharper nostalgic revivals, but this is honourable twaddle: a diverting mishmash of high-fructose tricks and treats.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 29, 2022

It manages to capture the same hokey magic of the original while creatively updating its humor.

| Sep 29, 2022

The banshees are more brilliantly bonkers than ever in this rollicking sequel.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Sep 29, 2022

The movie delivers on nostalgia through its attention to detail and maintaining the “Hocus Pocus” campiness. However, it doesn’t have the legs to stand on its own.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 29, 2022