Something Wicked This Way Comes

A surprisingly dark and well made fantasy movie with a slight taste of horror. A nice production, a good cast and a fine story based on the same titled novel written by Ray Bradbury make Something Wicked This Way Comes an entertaining piece. For sure maestro Stephen King got some inspiration from that novel (first published 1962) for such works as It and Needful Things comes to mind. Last statement: today's Disney Inc, would never make such a movie again, and that's a very sad fact.

There was a time in cinematic history where making a perceived "kids" film had one core question at heart. Do we want to entertain the kids or do we want to traumatize the kids? I kid you not, this era existed in the late 70s and the early to mid 80s. Filmmakers still made kid friendly films which we see today, but they also wanted to fill kids with a sense of existential dread. Ironically, the studio that started this was Disney.

Ray Bradbury was still something of a household name in the 70s and 80s, so having him adapt a screenplay of his own work was a no brainer. However, that popularity was largely on its last legs in 1983, but he at least made one last mark with Something Wicked This Way Comes. It's starts innocently enough, as the small sleepy town of Green Town, Illinois (a frequently used town in Bradbury's oeuvre) begins yet another day. However, that quiet is brought to an end when Mr. Dark's Pandemonium Carnival hits town. It looks fairly innocuous, but there is a dark and sinister force controlling and manipulating this carnival.

Jonathan Price is by no means scary or intimidating, and this is why his turn as Mr. Dark (or G. M. Dark for us Bradbury fans) is so damn chilling. His slight accent, his all knowing knowledge of people's hidden desires and the outright disregard for the very bargains he makes. His Faustian turn as the leader of The Autumn People makes him one of the most bone chilling antagonists of the 80s. I will gladly fight anyone for that statement. His first run-in with Charles Halloway is the stuff of nightmares.

And speaking of nightmares, this film intentionally played on the many assorted nightmares of children. While Return to Oz would be the primer for scaring and traumatizing kids, this one was pretty close. The worst aspect it did bring up was two fold...the death of a parent and disappointment in yourself and your children's eyes. I would venture to say this film would slightly agitate a decent swath of viewers.

In spite of all the implied danger and darkness, this film does have its weaknesses. The special effects just weren't good enough to match the event of the story at the time and the two boys were rather wooden in acting. But on the other hand, the rest of the movie is so beautiful to look at you just kinda wish Disney would finally remake this film (along with Condorman!). However, I don't know if they could replace Jonathan Price and Jason Robards. The scenes they had together are show stoppers, and the simple body effects and implied horror would be replaced with boring CGI.

I won't pretend this is an amazing movie. It has flaws for sure, but it kinda makes you long for more of this kind of output from Disney rather than the never ending stream of comic books and endless franchises.

While this production is strictly fantasy, it lacks all of the bells and whistles of modern day films of this genre. Ray Bradbury, like Spielberg, has an affinity for telling stories from a child's point of view. Without CGI technology, this movie still is compelling in its own right. Pam Grier puts in a good performance as the truly menacing temptress, a little creepy but alluring at the same time. The film is about regrets and unreliazed dreams. It also manages to work in several of the Seven Deadly Sins-greed, vanity, lust, and anger. The character most burdened by events from his past is the Jason Robards part. He regrets being held back by his upbringing from acting during a crisis, something not learned during childhood that most normnal children take for granted. This film would be a nice change of pace during Halloween, a little dated, but still worth a couple hours.

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.

In the collection of 80's sci-fi/fantasy films that garner much recognition, no one ever seems to mention "Something Wicked This Way Comes". But they should. The film is a very well done film, from a technical aspect, blending moody cinematography with good f/x (for 1983,anyways) to make some truly memorable moments. Clayton's directing focuses on grand imagery and atmosphere, and it creates a very fine tone for the film. Bradbury's writing adds a lot to the story, his expertly sculpted dialogue bringing life to some good characters. He, and the film, do struggle with the coming of age stuff between the two boys, as it is mostly run of the mill material, but still effective in places. The father-son talks are also not too amazing. But, the were some great moments, most notably the library scene with Mr. Dark and Mr. Halloway. Great writing and directing accented by Jonathan Pryce's pitch-perfect performance. A few of the "scary" scenes were rather hokey, but for the most part provided decent enough suspense. The cast was very good, the two young boys definitely worked well with each other. Jason Robards kind of walked through his role, but Robards can do that and still make it look good. And of course, as mentioned before, Jonathan Pryce is just uber-creepy as the bad guy, Mr. Dark. It's a shame Hollywood never really caught on to him.

All in all, the film provides some tense (for a kid's film) moments with a lot of visual flair, but also provides some more heavier (once again, for a kid's film) material about father & sons and what's it's like to grow up.

7/10

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