Hocus Pocus 2 Casts A Fun Spell Over Fans Of The Original Cult-Classic

      

      In the case of legacy sequels, the expectation is much higher than that of a standard one that comes out three to five years after their original predecessors. With long- awaited follow-ups, the desire is that the newest films deliver on the promised nostalgia that's demanded by fans while moving their respective stories forward into a new generation. That is exactly what Disney's Hocus Pocus 2 aspires to do with it succeeding for the most part in satisfying fans of the original 1993 cult-classic with original stars Better Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy reprising their iconic roles.

      Hocus Pocus 2 focuses on three young teenage girls accidentally bringing back the Sanderson Sisters to modern day Salem through the use of a black candle. Realizing the repercussions of performing such an act, the teenage trio rush to figure out how to stop the child-hungry witches from wrecking havoc on the world. Pocus 2's plot isn't one that screams originality and is structured to rely heavily on the originals outline, but its offerings are enough to overcome what sometimes feels like the writers struggling to find a plausible excuse to bring the original trio back. While Hocus Pocus 2 doesn't offer anything innovative for fans, it lives up to its promise of bringing the original trio back and placing them in today's world with funny moments that allow it to maintain the originals charm and make it a respectable follow-up.

      

      Much of the sequels charm comes from the fantastic performances its cast delivers with Milder, Parker, and Najimy appearing to slip back into their original roles their chemistry remaining intact. Milder reprises her role as the oldest Sanderson sister, Winnie with Milder maintaining her characters leadership of the trio. With Milder, Parker returns as the youngest Sanderson sister, Sarah, whose immaturity, and airheaded with Kathy Najimy rounding out the trio as the Sanderson's middle sister, Mary, who possesses the magical ability to track children with an enhanced sense of smell. The newer casting additions deliver impressive work with Sam Richardson shining as amateur magician and owner of the Olde Salem Magic Shoppe Gilbert, who seeks to facilitate the Sanderson sisters return. For the newer trio of young female characters, Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, and Lilia Buckingham all prove effective as high school friends with Peak as aspiring witch Becca who accidentally conjures the Sanderson Sisters on her 16th birthday along with Escobedo's Izzy assisting her and Buckingham as Cassie, Salem Mayor's daughter and estranged popular friend of Becca and Izzy. Other noteworthy mentions include Doug Jones reprising his role as Winnie's former love interest turned zombie Billy, Tony Hale as Cassie's father and the Mayor of Salem Jefry Traske, Hannah Waddingham the mysterious and sinister Mother Witch who gifts the spell book to the young Sanderson Sisters, and Froy Gutierrez as Cassie's inept and offensive boyfriend Mike. Hocus Pocus 2's cast brings a tremendous amount of energy and heart to the sequel, making it a fun-filled experience. 

      In terms of directing, Anne Fletcher stays true to the originals mood and style while recreating the same type of supernatural Halloween-themed family-friendly atmosphere. Though the sequel is more kid-friendly than the original in comparison, it stands out as being equally enchanting for young viewers though more visually appealing with the background sets and cinematography being draped with Halloween style scenery. The soundtrack for Pocus 2 does a clever job of calling upon the nostalgia of the originals work with moments which provide clever callbacks to the original films work, while providing a fresh batch of catchy musical numbers for the classic trio of witches to perform including the films signature song "The Witches Are Back". When it comes to the films directorial work, Fletcher does an admirable job of rekindling audiences love and nostalgia for the original while utilizing some decent CGI showing the witches supernatural powers.

      The first Hocus Pocus carried a profound message about appreciating ones other sibling because of the realization that they will not always be there. Hocus Pocus 2's message stays true to the original with the story conveying the cherishing of both family and friends. The sequel also maintains the originals themes pertaining to the eating of children as magic, and making fun of those who are different, while placing heavy emphasis on ones including love, friendship, acceptance, and hope. The old Salem church and witch trials are explored in the films opening with more backstory being given to the origin of the Sanderson sisters. Winnie's character is shown to defy the authority of the Salem church by refusing to marry John Pritchett. Where the script thrives is answering fan questions such as when and how did the Sanderson sisters become witches, and why do they kill other children in order to preserve their youthfulness. Fun twists are added to the story that channels the original films goofy nature such as the Sanderson sisters hitting up a local Walgreens and having no clue how a retail store works. The young female trio are given enough development to make their characters appealing with side ones like Gilbert, Mayor Traske, and Mother Witch adding extra layers to the script. If any criticism can be directed at Pocus 2's writing, it's that the overall story structure often feels a little too close to the originals for comfort despite doing an admirable job of further exploring the sisterhood of the Sanderson's.

      Although it isn't perfect and has moments where it finds itself leaning too much on the original for comfort, Hocus Pocus 2 offers more to appreciate than dislike with the overall effort providing fans with an honorable follow-up that's bathed in nostalgia. It may not be the kind of sequel that fans who waited years for envisioned, but it possesses all the necessary ingredients that's required for making a good sequel which isn't a bad feat given that it never could match years of people's nostalgia for revisiting the original each Halloween season. 

Final Verdict: For Hocus Pocus fans, Hocus Pocus 2 provides fans with an honorable sequel.

Images Courtesy Of Disney.

Beast Has Idris Elba Dominating An Entertaining By-The-Numbers Survival Thriller

      In the case of storylines feeling basic, sometimes it takes the charismatic performance of its main star to elevate it into being something that's both entertaining and engaging to watch. With Universal Pictures Beast, multi-talented megastar Idris Elba goes toe to toe with a killer Lion in a serviceably fun edge-of-your-seat adventure, despite its plot often feeling predictable. 

      Beast's plot focuses on recently widowed Dr. Nate Daniels (Idris Elba) and his two teenage daughters traveling to a South African game reserve that's managed by an old family friend (Sharlto Copley). However, when a bloodthirsty Lion begins stalking them, their journey of healing soon turns into a fearsome fight for survival. Beast feels like a fun throwback to classic man vs nature films like The Edge (1998) and The Grey with Liam Neeson. Like those films, the main character and his family are stuck in the wilderness and fighting to survive while being stalked by an apex predator. While Beast offers nothing new for the concept of man vs nature, it utilizes its concept fairly well while offering fast-paced thrills. If nothing else, audiences should get a kick out of seeing Idris Elba fighting a Lion.

     With any stranded in the wilderness film, the performances from its cast are key in terms of it working to maximum effect. Idris Elba delivers a compelling performance as widowed husband Dr. Nate Samuels, whose determined to protect his children at all costs against the beast. Elba is fantastic here and holds the audiences interest throughout the story. Iyana Halley greatly impresses as Nate's rebellious and argumentative daughter Meredith Samuels, who still carries anger and frustration over her father distancing himself from the family after her parents separation and mother's passing. Halley is strong here with her and Elba allowing the audience to sympathize with their dynamic. Along with Halley, Leah Sava Jeffries also impresses as Meredith's you get sister Norah Samuels, whose revealed to be more sensitive and Sharlto Copley giving a likable presence as gun-toting Wildlife biologist and Nate's old friend Martin. Though the cast is minimal, Beast's ensemble does a fantastic job with the roles given to them and deliver performances that feel real and display raw emotion.

      As far as directing goes, Baltasar Kormakur does a sufficient job of building up the suspense while establishing some fairly decent jump scares. The violence is presented as being extreme with intense sequences featuring severely injured bodies including blood and gore being shown with other deaths happening off camera. The cinematography makes effective usage of the films landscape while making sure to zoom in on the frightened faces of the main characters. The Lion is presented as being an enormously frightening figure that's not only calculated with his strikes, but is often shown with a bloody mouth that indicates his level of brutality. Some of the films most thrilling moments involve the humans interacting with the Lion whether its the latter hunting them down, or the main characters fending him off in order to survive. At 93 minutes, Beast is fast-moving with a pace that feels ideal as it keeps things consistently moving. Whereas the films opening scene is chilling and effectively establishes the tone of the film, the rest of the movie exercises restraint in presenting the intensity of the plot as it rightfully settles for steadily building up the suspense. Regardless of whether one feels that the plot for Beast falls within the category of being average, Kormakur makes the most of the script and creates an environment that generates some solid suspense while staying true to the belief that showing less leaves more of an impact with audiences. 

      In terms of scriptwriting, Beast's script places heavy emphasis on themes pertaining to teamwork and improving the communication with ones children as evidenced by the subplot involving Nate and his daughter. Along with their dynamic, the script places heavy emphasis on the concept of teamwork with Nate's family and his old friend Martin all working together to outsmart as well as survive against the Lion. Within all the films intense action, its heart lies within the surprisingly tender father and daughter moments with them grieving and reconciling over the death of their wife/mother. Nate's oldest daughter expresses visible frustration at her father for not being present enough during her passing, along with the latter blaming himself for not being able to help her during her illness. These moments, though brief, are significant because they not only establish the foundation for the family dynamic, but also gets the audience invested in their characters while fearing for their well-being when the Lion strikes. Other interesting subplots are introduced but are barely touched upon such as the adding of poachers into the story being used as a main reason as to why the Lion chooses to be so aggressive. The implication of Poachers being described as being extraordinarily cruel and deserving of the Lion's rage is never fully explored in addition to the latter just attacking everyone rather than having a distinct pattern. Despite this flaw with the script, the writers attempt to make up for this shortcoming by presenting the audience with numerous nail-biting moments in which they're led to believe that one of the main characters could actually fall prey to the Lion. Though a predictable tactic, it ultimately proves to be effective.

      While the screenplay does a fairly decent job of setting up the main characters and making them sympathetic to audiences, the rest of the film surrounding them can't help but feel rather bland as there isn't much else to it outside of the Lion doing battle with Idris Elba. Though with an incentive like that for audiences, not much else is needed. As a fast-paced form of entertainment, Beast lives up to its promise of delivering old-fashioned suspense while leaning on the strong presence of its main star to carry the story whenever it stalls. In that regard, it gets the job done, though nothing more should be expected from it.

Final Verdict: Worth A Watch Though Don't Expect It To Reinvent The Wheel.

Images Courtesy Of Universal Pictures.

Smile Cleverly Reinforces The Power Of Transmissible Curses

 WARNING: This review contains minimal Spoilers

     

    With modern horror films, it can be said that the best ones are those which are atmospheric in addition to their stories being carried by the compelling performances of their main leads. Combined with some genuinely creepy visuals and a clever plot, audiences are given a frightening horror experience that exceedingly beats expectations which is the case with Paramount Pictures Smile. The newest psychological horror thriller possesses all the right elements to make it work as being an effectively entertaining horror-filled experience with its main lead Sosie Bacon delivering a terrific breakthrough performance. 

      Based on a short story, Smile has therapist Rose Carter (Sosie Bacon) being tormented by a curse she inherited after witnessing the traumatic death of her patient. To beat the curse that's taken control of her life, she must confront her troubling past in order to overcome the evil force. Smile is a prime example of how to take something small and blow it up with the films concept being fully realized in such a thrilling fashion. From start to finish, the film grabs audiences and places them at the edge of their seat as they anxiously wait to see what unfolds next. Although it's not the most original of horror stories, Smile makes fantastic usage of it's source material and paints a unique portrait of trauma that serves as being one of 2022's better horror films. 

      A key component that makes Smile work so effectively is the brilliant performances of its cast. Sosie Bacon delivers a powerhouse performance as therapist Dr. Rose Carter with Bacon wonderfully conveying her characters paranoia, fear, and frustration with trying to convince others of the frightening occurrence that's happening around her while still coping with her troubled past. Bacon's performance is key here and she adds an extra layer to the story with her characters vulnerability. Kyle Gallner does solid as Rose's ex, Joel, a police detective who responds to her patients death and turns out to be the only one who believes Rose regarding her ordeal. Caitlin Stacey impresses with her brief role as Rose's dishelveled and paranoid patient Laura Weaver, who witnessed her professor die by suicide and becomes tormented by the evil entity. Jessie T. Usher does well as Rose's fiance Trevor, whose convinced that she's gone insane. Gillian Zinser is effective as Rose's sister Holly who also shares the same belief as the latter's fiance regarding her sister going crazy and their relationship being severely damaged as a result. The rest of the cast deliver noteworthy performances, including Kal Penn as Rose's friend and colleague Dr. Morgan Desai, Robin Weigert as Dr. Madeleine Northcott, Just Reyes as Victoria Northcott, and Rob Morgan as one of the curses previous victims, Robert Talley. Overall, Smiles cast is terrific with everyone bringing a sense of realism and excitement to the story while making everything feel terrifyingly creepy.

      Directed by Parker Finn in his feature film debut, he does a commendable job of building up some solid suspense and darkly chilling moments including the films shocking opening sequence involving Laura's character being possessed by the demonic spirit. The films moments of gore are presented in a fashion that makes them appear as being extremely explicit with examples including face-slicing, face-ripping, and one instance including a dead cat wrapped inside a child's birthday present. Although the story is one that's slow-burning, Finn keeps the tension steadily building with the audience witnessing Rose's slow descent into madness as everything that's connected to her life is cut loose. With the cinematography and choice of lighting, the film is given an atmospheric mood and look that makes it look like it would fit right at home with early 2000 Psychological horror thrillers like The Ring or The Grudge with a touch of M. Night Shyamalan. As far as directing goes, Finn does an admirable job with creating a terrifyingly creepy atmosphere that generated a great deal of mystery behind the plot while managing to get his actors to craft the perfectly creepy smiles that ultimately define the film. 

      Along with skillful directing, Smile's scriptwriting also finds itself on solid ground with the story placing trauma front and center as the films central theme. Rose's character is presented as being strong-willed yet vulnerable to fighting the evil entity surrounding her in addition to still struggling in dealing with her mother's suicide. The screenplay builds on this dynamic by presenting several flashbacks between young Rose and her mother to give insight into their relationship. The writers do a strong job of making Rose's character sympathetic to audiences with them wanting her to beat the curse. As far as evil entities go, Smile's manages to be fairly creative and effective, despite feeling a tad similar to previous ones seen before in other horror films like The Ring. The stories side characters are fairly well-fleshed out despite sometimes feeling like generic character tropes that generally accommodate horror stories pertaining to demonic forces. Despite other characters being fleshed out, the story remains primarily focused on Rose's arc with key subplots being ones involving her sister and their different responses to their mothers death, the relationship between Carter and her ex who ultimately becomes the only one that believes her claims, and the estranged relationship between Rose and her mother. With these multiple subplots added, the script finds a way of appropriately balancing them all out while creating enough mystery behind the evil force to make it work as being terrifying to audiences. 

      If there's any criticism that can be directed at Smile, it's that it's concept often feels derivative of other works within the genre with certain plot and character beats giving off a deja Vu feel for audiences. Despite that criticism, Smile offers a fresh face of terror for horror fans with the latter being bound to be genuinely creeped out by its concept. Though it does nothing to reinvent the wheel, Smile succeeds in both thrilling and terrifying audiences while giving grins a frightening new look. 

Final Verdict: A must see for horror fans

Barbarian Gives Horror Fans An Unconventional Yet Fun Descent Into Terror

       

NOTE: This review contains mild SPOILERS

      The best kind of horror films are those whose stories are unpredictable along with being extremely entertaining and genuinely creepy. In addition to terrifying audiences, these films aim to misdirect with random twists and turns which challenge their original perceptions of the story. That's certainly what 20th Century Studios aspires to do with Barbarian with the newest horror flick taking audiences on a bizarre thrill ride that keeps audiences guessing as to what's transpires next. The end result is an entertaining horror experience that'll surprise horror fans with its creativity along with its ambition in attempting something different. 

      Barbarian has a young woman (Georgina Campbell) discovering that the rental home she booked is already occupied by a stranger. Going against her better judgment, she decides to spend the night but soon discovers that there's something scarier occupying the rental than just an unexpected host. Barbarian's plot is one that's unpredictable and jaw-dropping as it takes major turns with the direction of its story. When audiences think that they know what to expect from things as they unfold, the filmmakers take a sharp turn while keeping things connected. Although it's unconventional form of storytelling may pose as being confusing and polarizing for audiences, Barbarian has much to offer as being a clever and darkly humorous ride that subverts expectations in the most interesting and unexpected way. 

      One of Barbarian's most powerful assets in making it so effective as a horror story is the performances from its cast which mostly rank as being impressive overall. Georgina Campbell shines as the films main female character Tess Marshall, whose staying in Detroit for an interview and ends up sharing the Airbnb with the stranger occupying it. Campbell makes for a likable and sympathetic character whom audiences want to see make it to the end of the film. Bill Skarsgard is terrific as stranger Kieth Toshko, who double books the Airbnb with Tess. Skarsgard does a fine job of building up mystery surrounding his character with audiences going back and forth on whether his character is sinister or just strange. Justin Long shines as cancelled sitcom actor AJ Gilbrid, who owns the Airbnb and finds himself becoming apart of the terror. Long excels in playing an unlikeable narcissist, who believes that he's done nothing wrong to anyone. The rest of Barbarian's cast deliver solid supporting roles with Matthew Patrick Davis giving an absolutely chilling performance as the films antagonist, The Mother. Richard Brake also proves effective as the houses original owner Frank, and Jaymes Butler as Andre. As a whole, the cast does a fantastic job with making audiences believe in the films brilliantly terrifying scenario. 

      Barbarian's directing by Zach Cregger is commendable with how he establishes an atmosphere, which falls within the category of being both tense and creepy. In addition to surrounding the films key characters with rooms consisting of dark shadows to emphasize the mystery surrounding the rental, the cinematography presents the daytime scenes as being almost dream like with its use of sunlight. Some of the films gruesome bits include a head being bashed against a wall until it becomes a bloody pulp, eye-gouging, and an arm being ripped off and being used as a club. The editing has the story flying by relatively quick for its 103 minute running time with the foreboding soundtrack propelling the suspense. As far as directorial work goes, Cregger skillfully crafts an extremely dark and creepy horror piece that'll undoubtedly keep audiences at the edge of their seat in terms of what happens next, though they may find the ultimate reveal of the sinister force that's occupying the rental to be disappointing.

      Along with Barbarian's skillful directing, the writing works as being fairly strong with the script building up the mystery behind the Airbnb with its ultimate reveal being shocking. The story is broken up into multiple chapters for the audience to unpack with the first half covering Tess and Keith's encounter before switching over to Long's character being introduced and revealed as the owner of the Airbnb with his character attempting to solve the mystery behind the previous occupiers (Tess) disappearance. The film also introduces a flashback to show the origins of the rentals previous owner who kidnapped and locked women in the basement. Although the numerous chapters and different character subplots may appear disorganized at first, they ultimately snap together and show that they're all connected with the events introduced in the films first half with the latter brilliantly establishing the characters as well as themes consisting of paranoia and mistrust, particularly in regards to the male and female dynamic in the films opening. The audience isn't sure what to make of Bill Skarsgard's character in terms of whether he's a trustworthy person or someone plotting something sinister given that Tess is sharing the rental. The audience is also kept in suspense in regards to whether Long's character is redeemable given the heinous accusations being leveled against him. The films third act consists of bizarre moments, which will both confuse and disturb audiences such as an intense horror sequence involving breastfeeding. Overall, Barbarian's writing carries a clever mixture of old-school suspense and buildup of tension that makes it a unique catch for horror fans, though the films third act will test whether they're appreciative of the films non-conformative style of filmmaking. 

      If one goes into Barbarian expecting a horror experience that's twisty, creepy, and ultimately fun to watch, they'll have a blast watching it because they have the right expectations set for it going in. However, if horror fans are expecting a straight-forward narrative that's easy to follow then they're in for a genuine surprise as Barbarian pulls no punches in its desire to take horror fans on a non-traditional horror-filled ride. There's no denying that Barbarian's concept is one that makes it both mysterious and intriguing with horror fans being given an experience that's undeniably smart, surprisingly funny, darkly terrifying, and ultimately worthwhile.

Final Verdict: A must see for horror fans, though ext the story to take a different path about midway through before returning to its original form.

Images Courtesy Of 20th Century Studios