Something Wicked This Way Comes

source: Something Wicked This Way Comes

It was almost too much to hope that someone would make a movie version of Ray Bradbury's outstanding fantasy novel 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' that did justice to it, but director Jack Clayton did. He and his cohorts managed to capture all the dark, ominous portents and mysterious, mystical happenings that fill Bradbury's book. Set earlier in this century, a carnival comes to a small town at a strange time of year, October. But then it's a mighty strange carnival, one that fulfills the fantasies--and fears--of the town's residents. Two young boys, Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade (Vidal Peterson and Shawn Carson) find out the foreboding and forbidden secrets of the carnival, as does the tired, prematurely old man (Jason Robards) who is Will's father. As has been noted, there probably isn't another film with the Walt Disney name on it that is as dark as this one. It may be too frightening in parts for very young children and too disturbing at times for slightly older ones. A person's enjoyment of the film would be helped considerably by reading the book beforehand, much like Kubrick's '2001...' Besides those already mentioned, some of the good performances in the movie come from Royal Dano, James Stacy, and Jonathan Pryce as Mr. Dark.

I try not to watch Disney movies as they invariably are very schmaltzy, preachy and basic for my taste. This film as others have noted is about as dark as Disney has ever got. But most importantly, its entertaining, this is an old-fashioned good versus evil tale set in pre-war small town America. Carnivals were always big deals in the pre-TV era and Disney spent some good money on production to bring it all to life. Johnathon Pryce has always played the part of the villain well and he doesn't disappoint here. The special effects by 80's standards were good enough, veteran director jack clayton made this very watchable, keeping up a level of suspense throughout and while not terrifying, there were some very creepy scenes that made this a bona fide horror movie.

This is an old fashioned horror story in every sense of the word. Based on Ray Bradbury's classic story of the same name, "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is the story of Jim and Will and the small town in the Midwest which is their home in the early half of the 20th century. Will is a quiet, thoughtful boy, son of the town librarian, an obedient child who is very uncomfortable with the subject of his fathers failing health and the limitations it brings. Jim, on the other hand, is a bit of a wild child; his father ran off some time ago and his mother, a sweet but not terribly bright woman, has become something of a town tramp. Into this quiet and rather stereotypical small town comes a carnival, arriving at midnight on an abandoned train with a whistle like tortured souls screaming. This is Dark's Pandemonium Carnival, owned and operated by Mr. Dark (Jonathan Price, recently of "Pirates of the Caribbean" fame) and his odd assortment of eerie employees. From the beginning, Will senses that something is terribly wrong with this carnival; a carnival which erects itself within seconds. So too Will's father has a sense of foreboding. But stubborn Jim is determined to explore every shadowy corner no matter what the cost. By the time they all realize how truly ancient and evil the carnival is, it is almost too late. Can Will and his father save Jim? More importantly, can any of them save themselves? Modern horror fans may find this boring and talky, which is a shame as most of the action is within the words spoken here; revelations of guilt and unspoken desires that will come back to haunt each and every character weighed down by both. The atmosphere of the film is a character all its own; a cold, pumpkin- colored autumn filled with wind and dead leaves and frost which seems almost to aid and abet the carnival as Mr. Dark scatters flyers in the town square at twilight, or leads his mournful parade through the streets, the band playing a funeral dirge. The visual effects are quite nice considering that this was made before the days of CGI; there's a nasty horde of tarantulas, a bright white mirror maze, an evil green fog chasing the boys through the woods, creepy tattoos of the boys' faces imprinted upon the hands of Mr. Dark, which bleed when he clenches his fists...and lets not forget the cursed carousel, which can turn you into a child or into a shriveled corpse depending upon if you ride it backwards or forwards. Everyone in the cast does a flawless job with their given roles; Jonathan Price is indeed wicked as Mr. Dark and Jason Robards is strong and sympathetic as Will's father. Pam Grier, in a role quite unlike any other she has played, is smoky and seductive and very dangerous in her role as the Dust Witch, who wears the mask of the Most Beautiful Woman in the World. Royal Dano is here too as the strange Cassandra-like seller of lightening rods, who seems always to be one step ahead of the carnival, warning everyone in it's path of its arrival. The boys too are quite convincing and likable and their mothers very believable as kind and caring mothers. This is a classic story come to life, both innocent and horrifying all at once. Watching it is like watching a fairy tale come to life. They just don't make 'em like this anymore, which is truly a shame. 10 stars.

First off: As usual, the book is better than the film. That aside, the film is quite good on its own. When Walt Disney developed the first Disneyland, he had a section called "Hometown, USA." It was the main street of a 1930s era small town, with shops, etc., common of the era. The film is set in the same time period, in a "home town" of the sort found in that first theme park. From the evocative opening scene with the film titles, a dark shadow is cast upon that innocent town. With the coming of Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Carnival and Circus, some of the town's citizens undergo changes. Maleficent ones. The two protagonists, Will and Jim, are perfect ages to enjoy the glittering lure of a carnival, and they explore it. In the process, they come to a realization that there is more to the carnival than one sees on the surface, and that Mr. Dark is dark indeed. Will's father, a librarian, pieces it out further, and as an older adult, sees even more clearly what Mr. Dark is up to. Yet he has a weakness that Mr. Dark tries to exploit. The confrontation between the two, in the library is a high point in the film. But the film is a Disney film, limiting its imagery. The book has some clearly more disturbing scenes that couldn't go into the film. However, within those constraints, the film works well. A good Hallowe'en film, if you're in the mood.

First and foremost, I loved the novel by Ray Bradbury. It's the kind of horror that gets under your skin and sticks with you later. It was one of his best books, with, you know, Fahrenheit 451 and Dandelion Wine. I as just hoping that this movie would be all right. It had lots of chances, with a great cast, like Jason Robards and Jonathn Pryce. And Bradbury even wrote the script himself. And on top of all that, it has PAM GRIER! How could it fail? There may be spoilers within. First of all, it was dumbed down. Much of the horror from the book was lost as Bradbury must have been forced to keep the violence to a minimum. All the visuals from the book...gone. Everything that made you squirm...gone. And then there's the acting. Like a lot of movies that Disney threw out in the 80s, the kids in this movie cannot act. And, this bugged me a lot, neither of them looked 13 but 9 or 10. Their strong friendship wasn't addressed. It was more like they were acquaintaces. You'd think Jason Robards and Jonathan Pryce could pull this off in their roles of Mr. Halloway and Mr. Dark. But here it's like they just don't care. All they want to do is somehow pay off some mortgage or something. This is far from being some of their best performances. Pam Grier was fine as the witch, but the charecter of the Dust Witch herself wasn't well pulled off. She's a lot less evil and doesn't have the presence as she did in the book. And everything that was left out of the book. The ballon night chase, the marking of Jim's house, the real death of Mr. Dark, what happened to Mr. Coogan on the merry-go-round, the fate of the lightening rod salesman, the real death of the witch, and oh so much more. And the special effects were bad, even for the 80s. The merry-go-round of doom for one thing with the superimposed horses going around wasn't really creepy, and that weird green mist that really had nothing to do with anything. I could keep going about how this movie ripped apart the original novel, but it makes blood boil. Don't see this movie but read the book. It's a classic of Bradbury.

I enjoyed this movie as a child, it was very interesting and it was nice to watch a horror movie that was rated PG as it would actually come on in the day rather than having to try to stay up late to watch it. Granted, it is not a pure horror movie, it has some other genres mixed in as well, but at its core I say horror is its main ingredient. The movie also features good characters in the form of Mr. Dark and Jason Robards character. The kid who is featured is also quite good here. The story has a carnival coming to town, however this carnival contains a dark secret and it is not just the fact the owner of this particular carnival is named Dark. No it seems he likes to offer those that are a bit weak the thing they desire most and then twist it in a way that makes it not so good. However, that is the price you must pay when dealing with this gentleman. The story moves at a good clip and while it never really gets gory or anything the story more than makes up for this and provides plenty of entertainment.

Iremember reading an article on this movie in the NME in the 80s. It told how some execs at Disney did not like the movie because it went against what the studio stood for. good family entertainment. I have heard that they didn't like Watcher In The Woods either for the same reasons.Soon after they formed Touchstone Pictures and made Splash which must have been in script development at the time and thats family entertainment?. This movie really deserves a reissue as it remains one of the best live action pieces that Disney have ever done. Jonathan Pryce was perfectly cast as Mr Dark and the two child actors are refreshingly mature for a Disney movie. it seems funny that a movie that is this scary should have been made by Disney and as the house of mouse never throws anything away there must be enough for a real good DVD release of it. i notice on the comment boards that there is demand for a remake. good idea but it would have to be Jonathan Pryce as Mr dark once again and Cauron or del Toro as directors as they are the only ones with a vision dark enough for it.

Bradburys book was a disappointing to me. I don't found it "more adult a terrifying" than the movie. Really the movie is much more polished (style, narrative, characters development, etc) suspenseful and less sappiness. I think that the movie was lucky to have a subtle, elegant and intelligent distant of ridiculous over-dramatic excess British director Jack Clayton (other claustrophobic dramas -with horror touches- involving (but non exactly for) kids from him: The masterpiece "The Innocents" and "Our Mother's House"). His mise-en-scene ideas are wonderful: an early happy camera movement around the square; a beautiful shot of fire reflecting in Wills glasses; the father-son conversations with (careful) culminating close-ups of their faces; the disquieting,sensitive captation of nightly, lonely streets; the filming and editing of Charles Halloway/Mr. Dark confrontation (genious Jason Robards & Jonathan Pryce) while the kids are hidden down the street; the famous library scene and a lot of other "little" moments (superb Stephen Burum cinematography). Clayton refuses much of the teletubbie metaphysics of the book in favour to lives up the symbolic cardboard characters with real more complex emotions: the "river incident" gives sense (inexistant in book) to father-son emotional paralysis and the weariness, downfall and fear to old age and death of the first one. Clayton also tighten much more the "Jim's wishes to be a mature man" with "his father absence". And in the movie we has more folk characters with emotional "faults": Crosetti desires women, Tetley wants money, Ed dreams with his missing arm & leg and Miss Foley dreams with her missing attractiveness. In book only appears Miss Foley (to cry and receive a more condescending treatment that in the film) and, during a moment, Crosetti (to cry, too …). SPOILER! Moreover the director repulse the pedestrian didactism of the novels climax ending changing (with the help of his friend screenwritter John -"The Innocents"- Mortimer) the Bad Guys deaths and reducing the Good characters fool dances & singings (Oh, Susanna!. Oh, don't you cry for me!". Come on Ray, please …) to a few Jason Robards movements. Being implicitly didactic can be a good thing (why not?) but trivializing a story with over-the-head messages so that the less intelligent kid reader understand the whole thing, is a very different (bad) one. END SPOILER! My only problems with the movie are the unnecessary fx imposed by the dumb Disney execs in post-production, above all the green mist. Those fx are a bit excessive but they don't attain to break the intimist tone of the movie. At least the train-carnival transformation was eliminated in last minute Movie: 9/10 Novel: 4/10

Frequently billed as kids fare, since it is a Disney Production, this movie is a beautifully crafted adaptation of the Ray Bradbury science fiction story. It is perhaps one of Disney's finest productions, a real movie with a real plot, excellent characterizations, and well acted. This from a company more known for mindless mush. This movie has something for everyone. For the kids there is a simple horror story, not too scary, one they can handle. Yet for the mature viewer there is lots of symbolism and allegory, deep imagery and lots to analyse. The cast is first rate. Jason Robards plays Dad, the town librarian. Arthur Hill is the narrator, or the voice of young Will Halloway, son of the librarian. Royal Dano has a role as the one legged, one armed town barkeep. And Johnathan Pryce plays the evil Mr. Dark. Diane Ladd plays his sidekick, the evil Mrs. Nightshade. The story is about young Will, acted by Vidal Peterson, and his best friend Jim, acted by Shawn Carson. Both are 12 years old, and the movie is really their coming of age. For a boy to become a man, he must realize the consequences of his choices in life. Everyone in this little town needs something, has a dream or wish. Will needs a dad who's healthy and can play with him. Poor dad needs a better heart. Jim's dad ran away, and his mom is loopy. The barkeep needs new limbs. The barber needs a girlfriend. The teacher needs her beauty returned. The evil Mr. Dark and his circus arrive in town. And promise to make everyone's dream come true. But only at a great price, of giving up their souls. A deal with the devil. This is temptation with a capital T. Greed overcomes prudence, and everyone will take on Mr. Dark's offer. Only Will can save his best pal Jim, and also the rest of the town. Love will conquer evil, good will triumph after a long fight. Temptation does go away if it is fought long enough. The boys act with great talent. Pity they did not go on to similar quality appearances. One is reminded of the twin boys Chris and Martin Udvanorsky in the movie The Other, which is also a horror thriller. Or the horror movie The Good Son with Mac Culkin and Elijah Wood.