Hocus Pocus With a Horror Focus: Original Script Was Way Darker
It looks like we've lost a solid horror movie to a Halloween comedy!
In her interview with Entertainment Weekly Hocus Pocus actress Vinessa Shaw, who played Allison, said the original script was a way scarier.
"I remember reading an original draft that was much scarier, and that was the draft we auditioned with. It wasn't them fumbling around and bumping into each other, it was straightforward. It was more like the Wicked Witch of the West in 'The Wizard of Oz'; it had a darker, 'I'll get you, my pretty' quality," Shaw recalled.
Indeed, it looks like the script is nowhere near the Halloween classic we know, which is about the children-eating Sanderson sisters played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy. Hocus Pocus did not do well at the box office and received mixed reviews but has built a solid fanbase in the 3 decades since its release in 1993. It has also turned into one of the best family-friendly movies ever. Shaw said once the production started it became obvious for everyone that the movie has a strong comedy element.
"When we started shooting, it became a funny version, much lighter. It had the female 'Three Stooges' element in it, and all the choreography that was added lent itself to a much more comedic movie bringing out the strengths of the actresses," she said.
Shaw believes this is the reason why the film is so popular, although the witches sucking the lives out of kids is still kind of frightening. The key here is that they do it in a comedic fashion.
Sequel Hocus Pocus 2 directed by Anne Fletcher premiered this September on Disney+ and became the most streamed movie on the platform. The sequel saw the reunion of Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as the witches trio.
It follows teenage girls who summon the child-hungry witches by lighting the Black Flame Candle and have to fight the Sanderson sisters with the witches' own book of spells. Reviews on Reddit agree that the original film is somewhat better and the sequel wouldn't have stood up well on its own, even with the sisters being almost just as good as in the first movie. With the original film as a starting point, Hocus Pocus 2 is perfectly fine.
So if it slips in the October rotation every 2 or 3 years it can become a classy Halloween time family film.