Hocus Pocus

Kenny Ortega’s film runs on a countdown more than a chase. Its rules are stated out loud early: the black flame candle must be lit by a virgin, the witches vanish at sunrise. The film keeps returning to both. The comedy belongs to the Sanderson sisters; Max and Dani react. The peak is not in the plot but in one musical number. No surprise: Ortega came to directing from choreography, staging the dancing in Xanadu, St. Elmo’s Fire, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Dirty Dancing; his first feature was Newsies in 1992. Some of it really was shot in Salem: the 1693 prologue at Pioneer Village, Bette Midler’s party number at Old Town Hall in Derby Square, Allison’s house at the Ropes Mansion. The daytime graveyard is in neighbouring Marblehead, at Old Burial Hill. Disney opened a Halloween picture on 16 July. Producer David Kirschner says he argued for October and was shut down without real discussion; the 28 million dollar production took under 45 million on its first run, and television repeats, not cinemas, made it a fixture. A good fit if you do not mind rules spelled out at the start and a stretch leaning on Midler’s stage turn. Not for anyone who wants the witches to stay threatening; the film keeps making them funny.