Hocus Pocus (1993) review

In the 17th century, sister witches Winnie (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Mary (Kathy Najimy) - who catch little kids and absorb their life energy - were executed by the people of Salem; three hundred years later, high schooler Max (Omri Katz), his sister Dani (Thora Birch) and love interest Allison (Vinessa Shaw) accidentally "resurrect" them by lighting a magical Virgin Only Candle.  When it first came out it wasn't exactly critically applauded (Siskel and Ebert both hated it) but over time it's inexplicably gathered a cult following ... but I'm confident the original negative reviews were totally correct: this is an obnoxious and consistently irritating movie for children, with some of the worst acting you can imagine - it makes shows on Nickelodeon look like they were produced by RADA.  Midler once said it was her personal favorite, but I wonder if she forgot The Rose or Beaches existed.  Here's something fun to think about (or maybe not) in an cinematically intertextual way: Shaw would go on to be cast in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut and in the scene where Max visits her house while trick or treating, her parents are hosting ... a masquerade party.  Could be just a coincidence, or it might be ol' Stan the Man having a giggle....