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
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