Something Wicked This Way Comes

This is one of those Disney creepfests that seemed to be all the rage back then. I love the idea of some producer thinking, "My money belongs in terrifying children." What frightened me was Jason Robards as the dad. Not because of my lasting impression of his freewheeling irresponsible role from A Thousand Clowns, but rather the fact that he looks like he's about eighty and his kid is twelve. That's just odd.

I have an irrational love of this film. It may have the Disney name attached to it, but this is a wonderful little gothic horror story. The book is better of course (I wouldn't mind a new film adaptation), but I never get tired of this movie. Despite the fairly lame performances of the lead boys, the other aspects of the film compensate. Jason Robards is wonderful as a man whose age has caught up with him, and Jonathan Pryce is intimidating. The library sequence is most righteous.

A bit of an oddity from the Disney stable. I think the source material would probably have been tough to bring to the screen, and it shows. While Robards and Pryce are very good value for money, especially when they share the screen, it all feels a bit rushed, and the underlying themes and ideas aren't really explored. That said, this has a few atmospheric moments and enough appeal to make it worth a look.

Nice little kids movie. And if the kids like this, put on HBOs Carnival. Then if they haven't run away yet, ask them why they keep crying.

I can't believe this came from the director of "The Innocents". It's a mess of a film. I didn't care for the characters as theye were undeveloped and badly directed (especially the boys). Pryce was excellent, though. It has its advantages but when a film doesn't click, everything else seems meaningless. Too bad, cause it had potential. Also, the Disney influence put me off even more.

Robards and Pryce are both excellent, this movie gave me nightmares as a kid.

CARNIVALE for Disney heads, and as messy and uneven as that description implies: a genuinely dark and menacing heartland nightmare one minute, giddy and simplistic kiddie fare the next. It’s a miracle this exists at all, doubly so given its unabashedly literary nature. I didn’t expect its most dazzling sequence to be the grown-up avatars of good and evil having an urgent moral debate inside a library.

Intriguing fantasy-horror from the 80s Disney stable seems hampered by possibly budgetary issues, and moreso restrictions on what “Disney horror” could be back then – this could have benefited from say Joe Dante’s hand in cranking up the horror a little more, because this seems a little too staid in its moodiness, especially after a foreboding and ominous opening act. Nicely performed, especially by Robards and Pryce, who seems to be walking so that Alan Rickman could pick up the torch and run!

Something Wicked This Way Comes has a 70's era production quality wherein the most terrifying aspect isn't the demonic carnies, but simply the adults' interactions with the children. I didn't really enjoy this film. Given the Disney production, I was expecting something along the lines of Return to Oz (1985), but this film pairs dark atmosphere with dull plot. I was also distracted by the unresolved subject of Robards revealing that he's actually Will's grandfather (as opposed to father).

For whatever reason, I never liked this Bradbury story (favorite? The Veldt, followed by F451). The movie does a pretty good job with the carnival scenes, and ramps it up during the library scene. It sets a creepy mood, as there's a lot that isn't really explained in this fantastical good vs evil battle. Ultimately, it's supposed to be a movie about growing up and making the right choices; sadly, that's the part that's most lacking here.

Passes the time.

The child actors are mediocre, but Jonathan Pryce as Mr. Dark is unforgettable. Particularly in the library scene.

Sempre acho o Jack Clayton incrivelmente subestimado, claro todo mundo considera The Innocents uma obra-prima, mas a filmografia dele é cheia de grandes obras e aqui não é diferente, só que é uma obra-prima de horror para crianças sob a chancela da Disney, o que torna a coisa ainda mais extraordinária se pensarmos o tipo de filme live-action que a mesma produzia. DVD-R.

Nowhere near as good as Bradbury's masterpiece but a really nice try.

The script sounds like a well written novel and that really suits this film. It's not the best kids movie I've ever seen but it was a great rainy day feature for my girlfriend and I.

Scary through and through. The crushing hand still sticks in my head.

Jason Robards and Jonathan Pryce give fine performances and James Horner's score is charming, but I just couldn't quite get into the story.

missing plot elements, things just didn't seem right. i wouldn't call it good, but it was at least enjoyable to watch.

Even though Bradbury wrote some great source material this one just bored me senseless. It's fairly dated and doesn't really translate well on screen, mostly due to the fact that the good parts take up so much of a minority of the screen time. So when watching the other ninety percent of the movie, it's just mediocre acting and writing.

Kind of meh to begin with and the milky bar kid lead was incredibly annoying but it really picks up once Jonathan Pryce and Jason Robards began sharing scenes (with some terrific dialogue).

What works against all the conceptual problems, and what largely though not thoroughly defeats them, is the stylistic assurance that director Clayton brings to the storytelling. What matters, finally, is the telling and not the story being told.

while it does have the Disney tag supergl;ued to it, Jonathon Pryce is so damned creepy he more than make ups for it in the adaptation of a Ray Bradbury story

This film's a Halloween tradition in my family since it's a creepy movie all ages can enjoy. Jonathan Pryce is wonderful in this.

Tres creepy.

Somewhat true to the story and pretty close to the mood and tone. Not a bad watch.

The book's not very good, either