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.

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.

In Green Town, Illinois, the twelve year-old boys Will Halloway (Vidal Peterson) and Jim Nightshade (Shawn Carson) are neighbors and best friends. Will's father Charles Halloway (Jason Robards) is an old man and the local librarian while Jim and his mother wait for the return of their father and husband that will never occur. The boys know everyone in town, including their school teacher Miss Foley (Mary Grace Canfield) that misses her beauty and youth; the lonely barber Mr. Crosetti (Richard Davalos) that has no girlfriend or wife; the greedy owner of a cigar store Mr. Tetley (Jake Dengel) that is obsessed with money; and the bartender Ed (James Stacy) that has severed arm and leg and dreams on being a football hero. One day of Autumn, Jim buys a lightning rod from the salesman Tom Fury (Royal Dano) that tels that a storm is coming. During the night, the boys overhear a mysterious train and they run through the woods to see the arrival but they do not see a living soul. However, they find the Mr. Dark's Pandemonium Carnival ready to be enjoyed and they snoop around. Soon they realize that frustrated and greedy people are vanishing in town and the evil Mr. Dark (Jonathan Pryce) and the Dust Witch (Pam Grier) from the carnival make their dreams come true. In return, Mr. Dark seizes their souls. Now Mr. Dark is seeking the boys out but Charles Halloway has a journal from his father about the autumn carnival that might be their last chance to defeat the evil.

"Something Wicked This Way Comes" is an impressive movie with many layers with a story by Ray Bradbury. It is amazing how a story about greedy, vanity and shattered dreams can be seen and understood in different levels, depending on your age and life experience. The dialogs and lines are mature, but children will have a different understanding. Unfortunately this little gem is underrated and not well- known. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): Not available on VHS, DVD or Blu-Ray

Ray Bradbury and the makers of this film ventured into foreign territory for the Disney Studios, they went to explore the dark side of humanity and came back with the honest truth that much of humanity is plagued and there are shiny bright spots within. This film explores the petty desires of everyday people, their eagerness to give what is really important in life up for things like vanity, lust, money, etc... The story centers around two small boys, Will and Jim, and how their lives change and the townfolk around them when a carnival comes to town. The atmosphere is chilling to say the least. It is easily the darkest of any Disney film(even considering the outstanding The Hunchback of Notre Dame). It uses dark landscapes, eerie haunting music, and bleak characterizations to perfection. The acting is good all around with two standouts. Jason Robards plays Will's father, and is the epitome of flawed goodness. He suffers for his goodness but has strength of heart. Robards is wonderful, and I felt myself wishing this man had been my father(or my father more like him). For an actor to be able to create that appeal is a true feat of integrity of performance. On the other side, in a simply sinister portrayal of evil incarnate is the performance of Jonathan Pryce, an overlooked and underappreciated English actor. His performance is scary, and he chews up every and each scene he is in. The script by Bradbury himself, based on his novel, is full of rich texture and subtlety. As with just about every film adaptation, the film is not the book...but then if you wanted that you only have to sit down and read...one page at a time.

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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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 Greenwood, 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.

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.

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.

After reading some of the previous comments made about this film, I feel compelled to add my own.

I've never read the Ray Bradbury novel, though this movie did make me want to read more of his work. So what if it's not entirely true to the book? How many supernatural-themed stories adapted for film actually were true to the story in pre-CGI days? At any rate, I love this movie because it was spooky without being scary, and for a kid's movie, that was perfect for me. I'll never forget how creepy Jonathan Price was in this film. I loved the effects and the moody art direction.

It's dark without being too dark for kids, which I'm pretty sure is what Disney and most parents would want.

The Disney corporation deserve some credit for their attempts in the late 1970s and early 1980s to expand their repertoire a bit and dabble in genre offerings - "The Black Hole" and "The Watcher in the Woods" as well as this Ray Bradbury adaptation, scripted by the author himself. They also go to some rather dark places with this tale, another risky move, but the film is reasonably absorbing, touching on the subject of dealing with regrets in life. We have a timeless good vs. evil theme, a number of compelling characters, and some very literate dialogue. Purists, however, may take exception to Disney's meddling, as they added new sequences and special effects in order to make this venture a more blatantly commercial, conventional one.

Not to say that the film is really bad. It's just not that satisfying in the end. It does have some delicious atmosphere, a superb autumn feel (it takes place in October), and Jonathan Pryce as Mr. Dark is a dapper, highly theatrical villain.

The endearing Jason Robards stars as small town librarian Charles Halloway, whose small town is visited by Mr. Darks' traveling Pandemonium Carnival. What we learn is that citizens who visit the carnival can see their fondest wishes come true - but at a heavy price. With the lives of his young son Will (Vidal Peterson) and Wills' best friend Jim Nightshade (Shawn Carson of Tobe Hoopers' "The Funhouse") on the line, Charles must do battle with the fiendish Mr. Dark.

It's not exactly hard to guess what Mr. Darks' big secret is, but getting there is still a fair bit of fun. Some children may be put off or disturbed by some sequences (such as the bit with the onslaught of tarantulas), but it is nice to see a somewhat mature offering from Disney. James Horners' score is very spooky, and Jack Clayton ("The Innocents") does a decent job with the direction. The very fine cast includes Diane Ladd as Jims' mom, Royal Dano as the prophetic lightning rod salesman Tom Fury, Ellen Geer as Wills' mother, a highly enticing Pam Grier as the beautiful but eerie Dust Witch, James Stacy as football player turned bartender Ed, and Angelo Rossitto as one of the little people. Peterson and Carson are appealing as the kids.

Had this been done with a little more subtlety and less cheese, this could have been something pretty good and interesting. Still, it remains watchable.

Seven out of 10.

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.

It might not be as great as it could've been, but I did enjoy watching 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'.

Jonathan Pryce definitely carries events as Mr. Dark, who is a character that suits him very nicely. I'm a fan of Pryce from other films, so it's little surprise that I like him here. Jason Robards is good too, if a little muttered throughout. The child actors, meanwhile, are passable.

The premise is filled with intrigue, it doesn't quite deliver on a grand scale and yet I still felt suitably entertained. The film is shot quite neatly, the main town in particular looks pleasant.

Good, admittedly mostly thanks to Pryce.

In 1932, a mysterious carnival comes to an Illinois town where weird things start happening and people strangely go missing. Jason Robards plays a librarian while Jonathan Pryce is on hand as the shadowy head of the carnival

"Something Wicked This Way Comes" (1983) is spooky fantasy written by Ray Bradbury (based on his book). The studio, Disney, wasn't happy with director Jack Clayton's original cut and so took it out of his hands and undertook expensive reshoots, reediting and rescoring, plus adding a narration.

I was expecting to love this movie since I favor flicks set in carnivals or circuses, like "Water for Elephants" (2011), "Berserk!" (1967), "Circus of Horrors" (1960) and "Funhouse" (1981) - even films like "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952) and "Roustabout" (1964). Unfortunately, I was let down.

Everything is here for a magical picture, but I guess too many cooks spoil the broth. The pace is overly slow and the film never recovers. It doesn't help that the bulk of it was shot on Disney's town set in Burbank, which elicits a low-rent vibe.

Sure, the concept is great, Mr. Dark is an intriguing character, the Dust Witch is darkly beautiful (Pam Grier) and some of the weird happenings are well done, yet they don't add up to a compelling story. Even the last act drops the ball with a talky sequence in the library, followed by an equally boring sequence in a mirror maze. The explosive close is impressive, but it's too little too late.

"Needful Things" (1993) wasn't exactly great, yet it took similar material and made a more entertaining movie. For a superior spooky Disney flick from the early 80s check out the original version of "The Watcher in the Woods" (1980), I'm talking about the version that includes the titular skeletal-insectoid entity at the end (available on Youtube as a "fan edit").

The film runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot at Disney's Golden Oak Ranch (the carnival scenes), which is a 20-minute drive north of Hollywood, as well as the Disney back lot in Burbank (the town set), with establishing shots done in Vermont (Morrisville and Waterville).

GRADE: C.

This film is well made in all regards; the cast is top-notch, the cinematography and direction drive the tone of the movie, the effects inventive and wonderful (even by late-90's standards) and best of all, the storyline superb.

That said, this is arguably the best film made from any of Ray Bradbury's works. I first read the book years ago as a 13-year-old and remember the images the tale concocted, and the questions about myself that the storyline propose ring as true today from the film as they did then from the page.

Owing much to the casting of the film, the director marvelously weaves the story around the principal leads by allowing a score of tertiary characters to guide the plot's tone, mood and motion. Each person, whether major or minor, is an intriguing part of the tale with their own tale to tell. With great efficiency we understand what drives each of the townspeople, and grow more curious and suspicious as to the background of the carnival folk.

Sympathy -- or contempt -- for each of the characters is developed throughout, and best the film's two supporting actors, Jason Robards and Jonathan Pryce. While neither is exactly cast against type here, both provide a driving stability for the film. The two boys that serve as the film's protagonists do an admirable job in portraying both the fear and delight that is part of youth, and inherent to coming of age.

This movie is a fine example of how an effective thriller can be made without resorting to language, blood, sex, or violence. While I am not all opposed to films that use any or all of those conventions, it is a refreshing change from what is otherwise the norm.

One of the greatest benefits is that the resulting film is one that you can watch with your children, a film that will provide them a healthy scare and stimulate their mind as well. As the film does contain some dark and frightening imagery, it could certainly serve as a source of nightmares for younger children.

It's so tiring to hear people say you should just read the book, so I'll try not to, although I've done that for more movies than I can remember. In this case, Disney took many of Ray Bradbury's intentions for the movie and destroyed them in post-production. This is, of course, all in the IMDb's trivia page for the movie (which also mentions that Stephen King wrote a screen adaptation of the novel which was rejected), so I don't feel bad about telling how insignificant this movie is compared to Bradbury's novel, which is nothing less than magnificent.

It's amazing to me how this movie turned out, given that not only did Bradbury write the novel, but I'm pretty sure he was involved in the screen writing as well. As I read the book I was curious as to how they would put a lot of the scenes on the screen, and then I watched the movie and was disappointed to learn that the way they would put them on screen was to gloss over them like they were never there. The ending of the film, for example, completely leaves out what could have been a brilliant climax, and not very hard to film, where Charles Halloway has the showdown with the witch onstage in front of a crowd of apprehensive fans.

The movie is shot on a series of cheap and unconvincing sets, cleverly made but clearly artificial, and is miscast almost from top to bottom and completely devoid of a single performance that deserves to be in an adaptation of Bradbury's work. I can tell that both of the boys who played Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway were competent actors, but they were never asked to really capture the emotion and fear that their characters displayed in the novel. They can't have been asked very often to put more into their performances, otherwise something better would have shown up on screen, although it's interesting that Vidal Peterson, who played Will, took three more roles after this film, the last one a full 15 years ago, and Shawn Carson, who played Jim Nightshade, never acted again after this movie. But I digress.

Of more importance involving the casting, 61 year old Jason Robards was signed on to play 54 year old Charles Halloway, the aging father of 12 year old Jim Halloway, and no effort at all was made to make him look younger than his 61 years in order to more closely resemble his 54 year old character, which I only mention because a 54 year old father of a 12 year old boy is already a stretch. Of more importance to the story, however, are the characters of Mr. Dark and the Dust Witch.

Mr. Dark (also known as The Illustrated Man), the sinister proprietor of the sinister carnival, is played by the startlingly non-threatening Jonathan Pryce, who doesn't display a single tattoo in the film, except for one shot in the film where he lifts his shirt sleeve for the boys to show a moving tattoo which is projected on his clear skin. If you knew how many brilliant ways this man's tattoos were described in the novel (something like a civilization of souls trapped in Dark's flesh, Mr. Dark himself is described as a crowd of frightening people because of all of the people tattooed onto himself). Then, of course, we have the Dust Witch, who is transformed from a brittle, blind, decrepit and extremely dangerous old hag in the novel and into Pam Grier in the movie. PLEASE.

I hate going on and on about stupid things that are wrong with movies, especially ones that are based on books that I've read because I could go on for pages and pages, but there is so much here that needs to be said that I can hardly help myself.

I guess the most important thing that I need to say is that there is a massive chasm between the novel and the movie, not only in subject matter that was left out, but in overall quality. The novel is so brilliantly written and such an experience to read that it deserves a better movie than this. There were some interesting parts of the film, but for the most part, my thoughts can be summarized as follows – Something Wicked This Way Comes is a film that absolutely itches to be remade.

When I was a little kid this movie was terrifying. As an adult I have just watched it with my teens and it certainly wasn't as scary as I remembered and they also didn't find it very scary more eerie. I wish I had shown it to them when they were younger but it had been such a hard movie to find. I really feel this movie makes it's best impact an aged 7-10.

A great tale by Ray Bradbury does have some plot holes and you can tell the mirror maze and spiders were added when the boys were older.

I wish they would add this to Disney+ so more could enjoy this.

Great performances by all and special effects were also decent for the time period made.

This is always touted as a movie for children but not much is mentioned of the way it is also aimed at adults. The narration is skillfully done by Arthur Hill. In the beginning he speaks of his "first look into the fearful needs of the human heart." Maybe it's just me, but that sounds fairly mature. And the theme of the movie, selling ones' soul to the devil is both scary and grown up. And the final theme, the one of love overcoming regret is very adult. Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451 and Martian Chronicle fame) adapted his own story for the screen and did a wonderful job. This movie has a lot of mood and atmosphere too. This is a movie both children and adults can enjoy.

As long as I've read books, I've loved Ray Bradbury. No author has influenced me more. When news of his passing reached me two years ago, I was crestfallen. If anyone could have lived forever, it would have been him. "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is the first novel I ever read cover to cover. It's a rare book where you can put your thumb down on any sentence on any page and find something poetic and beautiful. Bradbury's preferred format was the short story and he never adapted as well to the novel or the screenplay. He happen to write both for the 1983 feature adaptation of "Something Wicked This Way Comes." It's not a great film but is one that has moments of greatness inside of it.

The film follows Bradbury's novel quite closely. During a bleak October, the ideal town of Green Town, Illinois is visited by a carnival. Led by the enigmatic Mr. Dark, the carnival seems to grants the most heart-felt wishes of the lonely, sad, scared towns people but at a terrible price. Two young boys, Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade, are swept up by the mystery of the carnival, at first intrigued and then frightened. Will's father becomes an unlikely hero to both, forced to overcome his own regrets and fears into order to protect the boys from the dark dreams of the carnival.

The book, "Something Wicked This Way Comes," is something of an allegory, a dark fantasy struggle of good and evil painted across an American small town. I love the book very much but found Bradbury's themes overly simplistic sometimes. Perhaps the only way the film is superior is that Mr. Halloway, frequently long-winded on the page, is a more flawed, more human character on-screen. James Robards is excellent in the part, every regret and bad memory on his face. He is a warm, loving father but one wrecked by guilt for the things he didn't and should have done. If Mr. Halloway is a more realized character in the film, then Mr. Dark is perfectly captured from the page. Bradbury wanted Christopher Lee to play the part, which probably would have been incredible. Yet Jonathan Pryce might be perfect in the role. There is such a real, deep sinister intent behind his every word and action. Mr. Dark isn't quite the Devil himself but something very close. Pryce gives a star-making performance.

Both actors and characters are placed against each other in two scenes that stand out over the rest of the film. The first is when the carnival marches down the town's streets. Their trumpets play out a funeral dirge. Will and Jim hide under the sidewalk. Mr. Dark confronts Will's father, searching out the boy. The father tries to mislead the man, the boys' faces tattooed on his palms. In rage at being lied at, Mr. Dark digs his fingers into his own hands, drawling blood. Blood that drips down on Will's face under the street. That's an awfully good scene.

However, the second confrontation between father and devil is incredible. The boys hide in the library. Mr. Halloway lifts his head up, taking his glasses off. Suddenly, as swift as a shadow moving into the room, Mr. Dark appears behind him. The two trade barbs, Bradbury's lyrical dialogue dripping off their lips. Mr. Dark snatches Halloway's book away from him. With every page torn away, another year lifts off of the man's life, a glowing page falling to the floor. The scene builds an incredible intensity. Pryce doesn't overdo it. Instead, he spits the words with vigor, rage quivering out of him. The book and film's themes are summed in this scene, undoubtedly one of the darkest ever in a Disney film. If the rest of "Something Wicked This Way Comes" had been as good as this one moment, it would have been a classic for all time.

It's a shame the film around those two incredible performances and two fantastic moments is so frequently a drag. The opening and closing narrations, though expressed with Bradbury's lyrical verse, paint the film's themes out too neatly. The subplot concerning Mr. Cooger is unresolved. Royal Dano is delightful as Tom Fury, the lightening rod salesman. Fury's overall importance to the plot is somewhat murky. His sudden reappearance at the end reeks of sloppy writing. A long scene where Will and Jim are attacked by spiders and a hand made of mist in their bedroom is awkwardly executed and goes on much too long. The film's climax is muddled and lacks satisfaction. Charles Halloway escaping the Mirror Maze through the power of love comes off as helplessly hokey. Mr. Dark dragged to his doom by the carousel comes off as grim and mean-spirited. Considering the book ended with Will and Dad pushing Dark with laughter and happiness, the film's ending seems murky and inconclusive. "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is haphazardly paced. The film is only 97 minutes long but feels much longer.

Changing the Dust Witch from an old crone to a siren-like embodiment of male desire was a smart decision. Pam Grier is sensual and enchanting in the part. Jack Clayton's direction is occasionally quite striking, such as a single shot of Will and Jim running down the darkened town street. Sometimes, Clayton's direction is a bit flat. The film had a troubled post-production, with rewrites, a completely new ending shot, and a new score recorded. Georges Delerue's original score is appropriately sinister at times but drones too much. James Horner's new score works for the film a little better but it's too light at times. "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is a troubled adaptation of a wonderful book. It's honorable in some ways and worth checking out for Bradbury fans, despite maudlin and uneven elements.

Ten years old I was when I first saw "Something Wicked This Way Comes"… It was a movie that I loved and got fascinated with from the very first moment and long afterwards. Today I re-watched it for the first time in more than twenty years and, although I still definitely loved it a lot, it also brought me to draw another additional conclusion: this film is far too disturbing for 10-year-olds! Okay it's a Disney production and the story qualifies as a fantasy, but there are a few petrifying characters as well as a handful of sequences that are downright nightmare-inducing, like the giant spider invasion in the bedroom or the climax on the merry-go-round. Scenes like these, as well as several others, apparently got unconsciously burned on my retina because I immediately experienced flashbacks to childhood nightmares when I saw them again. I've always been intrigued by the "darker" kids' movies (other favorites include "Dark Crystal", "Island at the Top of the World", "Return to Oz" and "Escape from Witch Mountain"), but "Something Wicked etc…" is inarguably the darkest of them all.

The story sprung from the versatile mind of the widely acclaimed and immensely popular author Ray Bradbury. He loved this story so much (or maybe didn't trust anyone else?) that he himself adapted his own novel into a movie script and, for the direction, opted for the reliable and highly professional Jack Clayton. The result became a, as mentioned already, pitch-black fantasy movie that is perhaps flawed and definitely comes across as dated in the year 2012, but it still ranks as the creepiest and less sentimental Disney movie ever released. The arrival of the ominous Dark's Pandemonium Carnival is an all but joyous event in a sleepy little town during autumn. The eerie Mr. Dark and his crew particularly target the nostalgic and phantasmagoric adults in town, who are all too willing to sacrifice whatever it takes make their dreams come true, whether it's richness, lust or eternal youth. The most rational person in town is actually a young boy, Will Halloway, and he has more than his hands full with helping his friend Jim and even his own father Charles to resist the carnival's Temple of Temptation. "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is a masterfully narrated story, with a terrific gloomy atmosphere and wonderfully imaginative decors & set pieces. The merry-go-round, the mirror palace, the exotic show … They're all very uncanny! My main complaint is actually that, after a rather slow-paced and patient introduction of the film, the middle-section and especially the finale, seem overly rushed and incomplete. I think I would have much rather seen "SWTWC" as a mini-series, perhaps in three or four episodes of one hour running time each, but further elaborating on all the hinted sub plots like Jim Nightshade's father, Tom Fury the lightening expert and the background of the townspeople. Stellar performances all around, most notably Jason Robards as the wise father and Jonathan Pryce as the wayward Mr. Dark, but also from the young actors and B-movie queen Pam Grier as the seductive but dangerous circus wench. I'm not sure if I'll let my own kids watch it when they're still too young and easily petrified, but it forever remains an all-time favorite childhood classic.

Based on a novel, with an all-star cast, and music by James Horner, I immediately set my expectations high. With it being a Walt Disney movie, though, I wasn't sure how terrifying this horror would be. As it turns out, this was pretty darn good. I was pleasantly surprised how the film developed.

Will and Jim are best friends and live in the small town of Green Town. One night - well after midnight - a train comes into town, and seemingly minutes later a carnival is set up on the outskirts of town. Will and Jim witnesses this, and suspecting something weird going on - and just being curious - they stay after closing time one night.

Carnival master, Mr Dark (Jonathan Pryce) notices the boys and sets out to find them because they have seen too much. Sinister things start happening in town, allowing for many creepy moments. Gosh, that spider scene was intense!! Definitely not for Arachnophobes!

The visual effects are very good for its time - quite remarkable, actually. Jonathan Pryce delivers an incredible performance as Mr Dark. The film simply would not have been as effective without him.

The film has a similar theme to the more well-known 1993 Stephen King film 'Needful Things'. 'Something wicked this way comes' was first, though...

This movie is based on Ray Bradburys novel Something Wicked This Way Comes. From what I hear the movie is very very different from the book, which by the way, I haven't read. So I want be comparing this movie to the book. The book is said to be more frightening then the film, but I guess thats understandable considering that this was a film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Still, I found many good things in this movie.

Its story is about two young boys who are the best of friends. Will and Jim. One day a strange Carnival roles into town. This carnival seems to grant peoples most ardent wishes, but at a price. When Will and Jim discover whats really going on with this carnival they decide to try and stop it.

This movie was a bit uneven. There were some good things and there were some bad. First lets start with the good. The movie managed to evoke the feeling of a spooky, old town in the 1930s. Little shops all around, everyone knows each other, they are all friends. It kind of reminded me of that little town in that 80s TV show Little House on the Prairie. Remember that one? So anyways, the sets were very well achieved, so Kudos to the art department. There's also some very very good atmosphere on this film. I loved how the wind was constantly blowing and there were dried leaves all over the place. You get this kind of autumn feel, where winter is right around the corner, but not here yet. Anyhows, all the atmosphere adds to a very spooky town and that helps the film since this is after all horror/fantasy film.

Yeah its horror, but its not too horrifying. Its a Disney movie after all so you will never see anything too horrifying. Though Ill admit some of the images towards the ending of the movie scratched on too scary for kids. So what we have here is a light horror movie thats perfect for kids on the 7 to 10 year old range.

I loved what the movie has to say. There's many good themes that are touched upon in this film. So in essence, even though its a dark horror tale, its a good film that will teach kids important things about life .So I applaud it for that. I can see what Bradbury was trying to transmit with this movie. Unfortunately, I inferred most of these themes on my own. The movie doesn't exactly do a good job of explaining it all and here comes my first negative point about this film.

The story can sometimes become a muddled mess. For example we know that the carnival is evil. And we know that people get in trouble whenever they give in to what Mr Dark is offering. But its never really clear what it is that the Carnival people want with the towns people. Is Mr. Dark the devil himself in search of human souls? I don't know because its never fully explained. Whos this Dust Witch and why does she help Mr. Dark? Why is it wrong for the towns people to wish for what they wish for? I mean I don't understand why the movie is trying to give this message like its wrong to desire these things when in fact, I see nothing wrong in the football player wanting his leg and arm back. Or the old teacher wanting to be young again and so forth. So, the true intentions of the Carnival and Mr. Dark are not clearly explained and we are left to come to our own conclusions as to who Mr. Dark is and what he wants. So I'm going to have to say that the script was a bit weak and could have done a better job at explaining things instead of generalizing so much.

The special effects are as good as can be expected for 1983 and they sometimes amazed me. All in all the effects were pretty decent for those days. But I honestly think that this movie could benefit from a remake. In fact Id go as far as to say that this movie is screaming for a remake, with better effects and a more fleshed out script.

Jonathan Pryce does a good job at portraying Mr. Dark. My only beef with him was that even though he spoke a sinister sounding dialog, he himself didn't come off as pure concentrated evil. I think they could have cast someone slightly more evil looking. Slightly more menacing. But I can chalk that up to Disney not wanting this movie to be too scary. Jason Robards does the best job as Wills father. A man tormented by a mistake from his past and a man fearing death and getting old. He is a tormented soul and it shows in Robards performance. Pamela Griers role as the Dust Witch was short and I think she was wasted in this role. Honestly anyone could have done it.

All in all, this film had its faults like the ones I mentioned above, but still managed to be rather good. Yeah, it was uneven; yeah it wasn't to clear in explaining certain plot points. But it still managed to evoke that sense of wonderment you have when your at that young age as the kids in this movie. If only Disney hadn't held back in showing this stories full potential. Oh well, who knows, maybe someone out there in movie land will take this movie in and remake it following more closely Bradburys story. From what I hear, its a chilling read that I will no doubt be doing sometime soon.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Film focuses on a picture perfect American town in the 1920s and the friendship between two young boys--Will Halloway (Vidal Petersen) and Jim Nightshade (Shawn Carson). The town is visited by Mr. Dark (Jonathan Pryce) and his carnival. The carnival brings darkness and evil to the little town. Will and Jim find out the secret to the carnival (which I won't give away) and Mr. Dark sets out to kill them along with his carnival...

Another bad attempt by Disney to break into PG movies in the early 80s. This was doomed from the very start--the book by Ray Bradbury has some very strong cinematic images but it's also VERY dark and extreme. Bradbury wrote the screenplay and was forced to cut down on the darkness and violence. For instance, the Dust Witch marking Will and Jim's house is a horrific highlight in the book--in the movie it becomes an excuse to use lame special effects. Also Will and Jim are just about tortured in the book--here they're merely scared a few times. Disney was NOT the studio to do this. There was also a lot of arguments among the director, writer and studio heads. A big special effects sequence involving Dark's carnival was totally cut out (because a preview audience didn't like it) and other pre-release cuts muddled the story completely (the fate of at least 5 characters is left hanging).

Petersen and Carson are just lousy in their roles but everybody else is pretty good. Jason Robards is pretty good as Will's father; Pryce is just excellent (and very scary) as Mr. Dark and Pam Grier throws in some very effective moments as the Dust Witch. The film LOOKS good too. But all the back stage arguing shows, the special effects are lame (but were state of the art in 1983) and what was left was a very muddled, boring story with none of the power that the book had. Read the book--you'd be much better off.

A big budget bomb in 1983--it's easy to see why! I'm giving it a 5.