Overview
An eclectic foursome of aspiring teenage witches get more than they bargained for as they lean into their newfound powers.
Refreshingly doesn’t simply copy the plot of the original film, and serves as a sequel (albeit quite tenuously), but appears to try to put too many elements in play without actually having the slightest idea what to do with them. The feeling is that someone came up with a 10 part ‘Riverdale-esque’ mini-series, but got turned down, so condensed the whole thing into one film instead – forgetting to trim excess fat at the same time. Characters are introduced, given some mysterious history, then forgotten about, and the core story suffers as a result of lost screen time, with an anti-climatic finale which made me wonder if David Duchovney actually turned up for filming that day, or did they just use a waxwork model of him?
Not as clever as it thinks it is, the revelations are signposted in huge flashing lettering – but there are some positive moments. One character’s dramatic personality change as the result of a spell could have been used for a simple ‘revenge laugh’ moment, but instead becomes one of the most interesting parts of the film – adding a depth to the character that was otherwise unknown, and going some way to explain why they are how they are.
Editing is sloppy, and some scenes seem heavily trimmed down, whilst the story cuts from here to there with no sense of time passing at all – like I said, 10 part mini series chopped down.