Boring, long, and too preachy.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Something Wicked This Way Comes, a terrifying story of envy, celebrates the invisible dark side of want. Unfortunately the story was not able to fully flesh out director Jack Clayton's darker intentions for the story, as it was taken and "doctored" by Disney. Unfortunately that meant Clayton collaborator's Georges Delerue's superior score and the most adult aspects of the story were butchered. But what is left is a superb, atmospheric period film. The director, Jack Clayton, is by far one of the best filmmakers of the 20th century. Having years earlier helmed the scariest film ever made, The Innocents, Clayton was thoroughly prepared for this.For one, the story shines where it exhibits the performance of Jason Robards. He plays a tired middle-aged man with the heart and soul of a child. The movie's brilliant trailer suggests the story follows him, but in the end the children are the true vehicles; which also brings me to another facet of the film: the children are great. One thing common in Clayton's films is great performances, which he believed, and I agree, to be the most important part of making a movie. No, I do not think it is the greatest film made by Clayton, but the 10/10 rating assignment is simply because what wasn't cut exposes a masterpiece of cinema. The film, through a looking glass, is about a proprietor for the devil who will grant your deepest dreams: with a price. Unfortunately that payment is one that is irreversible. Obviously I would not recommend this movie to most kids under 10. Its demonic undercurrents and often frightening scenes will most likely scar a little kid for life, especially if deeply religious. However, you must see it before you age out, so before 14.

Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes is a classic, and possibly his best work. This film should have been a great success, with a good cast, and especially with Bradbury himself writing the script from his own novel, but alas, it was not. Several reviewers have suggested that it should be remade with modern special effects. This may be a good idea, but the effects were generally pretty good for the early '80's, and in my opinion the major problem lies elsewhere.Ultimately, this is a suspense film with very little suspense. This is particularly obvious in the climactic scenes in the library, which should have dripped with suspense, but actually felt flat. Which presumably points to the director and perhaps the editors. This is surprising, as Jack Clayton had a fairly high reputation and made some very good movies, but perhaps he was just no good in the suspense genre. Whatever the reason, this was a reasonably good movie which should have been much better.

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.

This movie is a curiosity. It struggles to find a niche for itself, and although it has some interesting imagery and effects, the overall effect seems rushed and incomplete. In a nutshell, a town is menaced by a mysterious carnival that arrives suddenly and it's up to two young boys to uncover the truth. I found "Something Wicked This Way Comes" interesting, but I also found it quite unsatisfying. I came to the film with no knowledge of the plot and at the end of the film I wasn't much the wiser! As it stands, what we have is (slight spoilers just here): the arrival of the carnival, the two young friends generally exploring it and seeing too much, and the rest of the townsfolk somehow falling under some strange spell and/or disappearing.The two young leads are appealing but not capable of depicting enough emotion to carry the movie, as their acting range is limited to little more than blank staring and surprise. Little better is the Jason Robards as the blond moppet's father, and all scenes between these two are pretty wooden, even the crucial climactic rescue scene, which kind of dilutes any tension. The script doesn't help at all, in fact nobody ever seems to have anything important to say. Shame, because Jonathan Pryce is excellent as the carnival head honcho.The story would probably have benefited from being turned into a TV miniseries rather than this feature film. Something more along the lines of the original "Salem's Lot" series would have allowed the story and characters to develop better, and we could have gradually got involved in the little mini plots around each town-person who gets wrapped up in the carnival's power, as well as explaining all the bewildering elements like the fortune teller, the big ticket seller who gets younger, the spiders, etc, etc. What the carnival is actually doing and why (and how!) should have been the most intriguing part of the film but it's so vaguely depicted that it meant I hardly got involved in the mystery at all. I mean, I thought I got what was happening when they showed the frumpy teacher who gained her beauty but lost her sight, but what about the one armed football player who just got younger with no ill-effects? And why did some of the victims turn into exhibits? As I said, I thought there were some good ideas in here but they needed more room to grow so that we could have got the hang of it all properly.