Something Wicked This Way Comes

Title: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Genre: Family

Director: Jack Clayton

Screenplay: Ray Bradbury, adapted from his novel

Starring: Jason Robards, Jonathan Price, Diane Ladd, Vidal Peterson, and Shawn Carson

Best friends Will and Jim are entranced by the new circus in town. The circus holds many wonders for children and adults alike. The boys soon discover that there is something sinister about the circus, and it seems that the circus needs more than just money for admission. The circus’s evil plans seem to be spreading throughout the town, and only Will, Jim, and Will’s grandfather can stop it.

Being that special effects were not exactly top notch in 1983, the film had to rely completely on creepy tale that Ray Bradbury had to offer. It relies completely on the theme, “be careful what you wish for.” Everyone has regrets or they think of the “what if.” The problem is that we can’t change who we are or what we turned out to be. The only thing we have some control over is our next step. The story twists your fantasies into your own personal horror. As for the old woman that obsessed over her youth and former beauty. The circus returned both to her, but at the cost of her sight, playing with the theme of “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” How can the woman be truly beautiful if she cannot see herself? The story forces you to find what you really truly need as opposed to what you want.

I think that the film aptly represented the novel, the main reason being that Ray Bradbury wrote the script himself. The acting from Jonathan Price is something that, at least as a child, severely gave me the creeps. I still think of his character when I see men wearing top hats. As much as it creeped me out as a kid, I love it now. It is possible to scare a child with this movie, but I think it is still family friendly. You really need to judge it by the child. If the child is easily frightened, I would encourage not having them watch this.

I give this film 4 Buttery Kernals.

Coming Soon: Idle Hands