The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

In a small American town, a diabolical circus and its demonic proprietor (Jonathan Pryce) prey on the townsfolk.For some reason, I recall as a kid turning on the TV and this was on... and thinking it was pretty scary. Now, twenty years later, I am watching it and thinking I was a silly kid. I love horror movies and this would hardly even qualify. It has music very much like "Harry Potter", and is no scarier than anything from the series.Not to say it is a bad film. It is actually rather decent, and there is never a bad time to adapt a Ray Bradbury story. How faithful it is, I have no idea. I have not read nearly enough of his work. But it is interesting some of the parallels here with the work of Stephen King, primarily "It" or "Needful Things".

Will and Jim hear about a strange travelling carnival from a salesman, so they decide to see what it's all about. But Will is fearful, as most carnivals end their tours after Labour Day, and it's the middle of autumn. When Mr. Dark rides into town at midnight, setting up his massive carnival in a matter of seconds, the boys are both thrilled and terrified. It seems to be just another carnival at first, but it is not long before the forces of darkness are manifesting from the haunting melodies of the carousel, which can change your age. With his collection of freaks and oddities, Dark intends to take control of the town and seize more innocent souls to damn..........With Disney going dark in the eighties with their live action movies, they hit an undeserved slump, which is highly unfair, when material like this is the outcome.Sinister from the word go, the film is dark to its core, and it revels in the fact right until the last shot, and it never pulls its punches, which some may find difficult to digest, coming from the studio that loves fun, brightness, and laughter, as this is the other end of that spectrum.But as entertaining and genius as it is, it's easy to see why it failed, and journeyed into obscurity. It's way too dark for children, it's the stuff of nightmares, literally.And on the flip side of this is the fact that many would be deterred by the Disney moniker. Many would think it would have a saccharine edge to it, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Imagine a Disney film where a man has a spell cast on him where he feels what it's like to die, or children are covered in spiders, and a man is aged, explicitly on screen, and this is your movie.Pryce is wonderful as Mr. Dark, charming, suave, but just one scene changes all that when he discovers Robards is lying to him. That's when the film goes even darker.If you ever get a chance to see this wondrous film, do so, but do it on a cold winters night,with all the lights off.You'll think twice about the carnival for a long time after......

There are always things we will need in life, whether it's obtaining a certain object, going someplace, or achieving something we haven't yet achieved yet. But it's always a matter of which price your willing to pay to get it.This is another forgotten gem that is personally I feel one of Disney's best live action film but also one of my favorite fantasy film's based on a book by an author I really like the late great Ray Bradbury. This was another movie that took place when Disney was still taking chances and this film was another big chance due to how dark it is. Personally I love it if Disney tries again in chance taking, because it's a prime example that shows they can appeal to a wider audience.I really like the story it's a suttle fantasy, almost the kind from "The Brother's Grimm" where most of the stories are about the extraordinary circumstances would happen to the ordinary. I also feel in a way it's almost kinda a Christian story, since Mr. Dark's scheme is similar to The Devil's. Let alone a theme on Redemption.The production value is good I really like the locale they shot it in, not just capturing a small town but of a time of innocence long gone. I really like Mr. Dark's carnival, it has a aura of mystery as if their could be anything in it or anything could happen. The effects are solid though there aren't that many. My favorite is in the mirror maze sequence, which is kinda similar to the one in "Enter the Dragon" but I like how made to be a maze of the psyche. Music is also very good a few music tracks are memorable. I even like the suspense in the film, you really do care for the protagonists lives and are in their shoes trying to figure out what's going on before it's too late.I really like the characters and the dynamics they have. The two kids that play Will Holloway and Jim Nightshade are solid and capable actors, it's a shame they didn't do more. But both had a good back and forth, both felt like real kids not some stereotypical annoying ones. Will is a little more wiser and reserved and Jim is little more aggressive but not all the smarter.Even like the villain Mr. Dark played well by Johanthan Pryce whom does well at playing villains, to me this is my favorite one. He's is menacing, he seems at times kinda friendly but he can easily turn that around which is part of what makes him a little scary; kinda like anyone that has a violent mood swing. But I like how he's a devil like figure, like the devil he preys on the weak and wounded, tempts them with treasures to entice them only to make them his own.As the narrator Will says, this story is really about his father Charles Holloway (played well by Jason Robards)and in some ways it is. The story on him sort of similar with the movie "Bubba Ho Tep" just like the character Elvis, Charlies is a man that is in the twilight of his existence. Both him and his son are aware they may not have much time together left and worst of all isn't sure if he's lived life the way he wanted. I really like one movement which was suspenseful but I always feel a spiritual test, when Mr. Dark constantly tempts Charles to give him youth again and rips away pages of a book (which I thought was a good visual effect) as Charles doesn't comply. It was kinda a sad moment as well because it was like Mr. Dark was ripping away pages of Charlies life.There are multiple themes, for the kids it's sort of a coming of age tale, it's not so much about the journey to being an adult but journeying at the right pace. In a way there is sort of contrast parallel between some of the adult characters and the kids. Jim and even Will have a desire for things in his future to happen right now while the adults desire things lost from their past. In a way those adults didn't really grow up, people that pine too much for the past aren't really living in the present or for the future. Both the kids in a way from what they say and how they behave seem more mature, it shows that both of them are the ones that are growing up because despite their desires their not ready for them yet; as an old saying goes all good things come to those who wait.For the adults it's issues on the problem with old age and our constant struggle and desire for more time despite time running out. But also a positive theme on redemption, sure everyone of us might have a regret or two but it's not permanent it's not something we have to live with forever, do whatever it takes for as much time as you have in your life to destroy it. By trying and succeeding at atonement is what makes us truly grow but most importantly live.There truly is a time and place for everything, good and even evil.Rating: 4 stars

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.