Review: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Autumn in the small Illinois town of Green Town sees the arrival of a travelling carnival headed by the mysterious Mr. Dark (Jonathan Pryce). 12 year-olds Will and Jim (Vidal Peterson and Shawn Carlson) discover something sinister about the carnival, and when Mr. Dark becomes aware of this, he hunts the boys down. Jason Robards Jr. plays Will’s tired, aging librarian father Charles. Mary Grace Canfield plays the homely local schoolteacher Miss Foley, James Stacy is the double amputee bartender and former sportsman Ed, Richard Davalos is the local barber Mr. Crosetti, Diane Ladd plays Jim’s mother, Pam Grier turns up as the beguiling ‘Dust Witch’, and Royal Dano plays a lightning rod salesman.

 

Dark, atmospheric 1983 fantasy from Disney and director Jack Clayton (whose output was minimal in number but he did direct the excellent chiller “The Innocents”) may or may not appeal to the kiddies (there’s a decapitation scene!), but I certainly enjoyed this “7 Faces of Dr. Lao” meets “Needful Things” precursor (Seriously, Stephen King has a lot to answer for. That story was a total rip off of “Something Wicked”. Also, according to IMDb, King wrote a rejected adaptation of “Something Wicked”. Yep, total rip-off). Based on the novel by the film’s screenwriter Ray Bradbury (author of “Fahrenheit 451”), it has one of the best titles to a movie ever (a quote from Macbeth), and for me it doesn’t disappoint.

 

It boasts an excellent music score by the late James Horner (“Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”, “Cocoon”, “Aliens”, “Braveheart”), and particularly early on it has a great, autumnal atmosphere hinting towards a shitload of impending doom. Honestly, it’s creepy as hell, and if you were a kid at the time I guarantee you get chills down your spine at the sound of carnival music. If that’s the film’s aim, mission accomplished no doubt. You’ll see elements of “7 Faces of Dr. Lao” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, but ultimately it manages to be its own thing.

 

I can’t deny that the casting isn’t always on target, but it’s certainly an unusual and eclectic cast. I can’t say I was especially impressed with Jonathan Pryce’s casting as the sinister Mr. Dark, though it’s not exactly a flaw. It’s just that the character practically screams Terence Stamp (he was born for the role if you ask me, so it was a missed opportunity), or at least Tim Curry, Christopher Lee, or Malcolm McDowell. Pryce is OK, just not quite as sinister or intimidating as one would like. Similarly, Jason Robards gives a really solid performance in a role he isn’t immediately the right choice for. As a well-meaning but reticent father and librarian, he’s about a decade too old, for one thing. He’s much more grandfatherly than fatherly. I also don’t see Robards as the weak-willed, meek type. He does well with it, because he’s a good actor and convincingly paternal for sure, but he’s not perfect casting. At least it’s a change of pace for him, I suppose. I have no idea why the very recognisable Pam Grier goes unbilled in the opening credits here in quite a sizeable part. She’s really good, and certainly alluring. Hollywood treated her like shit in the 80s, and not crediting her here is pretty insulting. It’s a fairly large and memorable role. Western movie treasure Royal Dano has a plum cameo as a salesman of lightning rods. He’s perfect. The ever-so slightly skewed depiction of a small, Americana town is well-done (it’s very Ray Bradbury), I must say and both child actors are quite solid too.

 

Like “The Watcher in the Woods”, I have no idea who Disney thought the audience for this was (and it did indeed flop), but this is clearly the better film. Creepy, atmospheric, and very unusual for a kids movie, but really good stuff as far as I’m concerned. 

 

Rating: B-