Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Jack Clayton

Writers:

Ray Bradbury (novel) and
Ray Bradbury (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 April 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

After he fulfills your deepest, lifelong dream...he'll tell you the price you have to pay.

Plot:

In a small American town, a diabolical circus and its demonic proprietor prey on the townsfolk.

Plot Keywords:

Carnival | Young Boy | Lightning | Circus | Devil

Awards:

2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Jason Robards	...	Charles Halloway
Jonathan Pryce	...	Mr. Dark
Diane Ladd	...	Mrs. Nightshade
Royal Dano	...	Tom Fury
Vidal Peterson	...	Will Halloway
Shawn Carson	...	Jim Nightshade
Mary Grace Canfield	...	Miss Foley
Richard Davalos	...	Mr. Crosetti
Jake Dengel	...	Mr. Tetley
Jack Dodson	...	Dr. Douglas
Bruce M. Fischer	...	Mr. Cooger
Ellen Geer	...	Mrs. Halloway
Pam Grier	...	Dust Witch
Brendan Klinger	...	Cooger as a Child
James Stacy	...	Ed, The Bartender

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:PG | France:-12 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Morrisville, Vermont, USA

Company:

Bryna Productions

Trivia:

Mechanical effects designer Isidoro Raponi built fake tarantulas to augment the 200 live ones used in the spider attack sequence.

Quotes:

Mr. Dark: Your torments call us like dogs in the night. And we do feed, and feed well. To stuff ourselves on other people's torments. And butter our plain bread with delicious pain... Funerals, marriages, lost loves, lonely beds " that is our diet. We suck that misery and find it sweet. We can smell the young ulcerating to be men a thousand miles off. And hear a middle-aged fool like yourself groaning with midnight despairs from halfway round the world.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Charmed: Something Wicca This Way Comes (#1.1)" (1998)

You May Disagree, But I Love This Movie

After reading some of the previous comments made about this film, I feel compelled to add my own.

I've never read the Ray Bradbury novel, though this movie did make me want to read more of his work. So what if it's not entirely true to the book? How many supernatural-themed stories adapted for film actually were true to the story in pre-CGI days? At any rate, I love this movie because it was spooky without being scary, and for a kid's movie, that was perfect for me. I'll never forget how creepy Jonathan Price was in this film. I loved the effects and the moody art direction.

It's dark without being too dark for kids, which I'm pretty sure is what Disney and most parents would want.