In the days leading up to Halloween, I was in the mood to watch
something a little spooky, but not so creepy that it would give me
nightmares. I recalled having seen this movie years ago while
babysitting, and I had a hunch that it would fit the bill perfectly, so I
put it at the top of my Netflix queue. Something Wicked This Way Comes,
the 1983 Disney movie that introduced me to Jason Robards, is set in a
small New England town in the mid-1900s. The countryside is aflame with
autumn leaves as the story begins, and cinematographer Stephen H. Burum
is to be commended for so effectively capturing the beauty of that
landscape. Before long, however, the visuals take a much darker turn...
Based on a story by Ray Bradbury, who also adapted it for the screen, Something Wicked This Way Comes
is an eerie tale whose focus is the old adage, “Be careful what you
wish for.” There are many stories in this vein; I found myself most
reminded of Bill Brittain’s Newbery Honor-winning The Wish Giver,
in which an insidious carnival owner offers three children a wish, only
to grant each one in a cruelly twisted manner. I also thought of
Stephen King’s Needful Things, in which a demonic entity in a
gentlemanly guise uses his knowledge of townspeople’s deepest desires
and fears to turn them against each other.
The main character is
Will Halloway (Vidal Peterson), a scrawny, bespectacled boy who, along
with his best buddy, Jim Nightshade (Shawn Carson), stumbles upon an
ominous secret regarding the carnival that has just pulled in for the
weekend. Arthur Hill narrates the movie as an adult Will, who speaks of
his small-town childhood with affection. Robards plays Will’s aged
father, who is feeling the pinch of mortality and is wracked with guilt
because of an occasion several years ago upon which he was unable to
rescue Will from a life-threatening situation. A librarian and scholar,
Mr. Halloway is a potent ally to the boys once they realize that they
have a demon on their tail, but his own insecurities threaten to
incapacitate him.
This is a PG-rated Disney movie from the
1980s, so there’s nothing too terribly intense here. Nonetheless, I
would definitely classify it as creepy. Most of the images that we see
in association with the carnival itself are quite unnerving, from the
delirious laughter of the robust local barber whose lust is satisfied by
an eerie troupe of exotic dancers to the mysterious disappearance of a
jittery lifelong lottery player overjoyed to finally win a significant
monetary prize. One by one, the townspeople receive the fulfillment of
their fondest wishes but then are forced to pay a steep penalty.
Jonathan
Pryce is suavely malicious as the debonair Mr. Dark, whose seductive
charms are matched by his even creepier female associate. His
performance is the more compelling, however, as it is more deeply
menacing and simultaneously charming. He looks a fair bit like Doc
Terminus from Pete’s Dragon, with his snazzy suit and top hat and
facial hair, but he has none of his bluster. No, this is a man who has
the uncanny ability to gaze into someone’s soul and expose his most
intimate thoughts, and Pryce is mesmerizing.
Of the boys,
Peterson is the better actor by far, filling his role with sensitivity
and courage. Carson, by contrast, gives a pretty flat performance.
Meanwhile, Robards brings gravitas and compassion to his part, and of
all the characters, Mr. Halloway undergoes the deepest psychological
turmoil. While there are a few grotesque images in the movie - including
a moment to rival the one in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
when it comes to terrifying arachnophobes - this inner turmoil is
really what the movie is all about, and ultimately, though it
prominently features two children and is pretty tame as thrillers go, I
would classify it as more suited to adult viewers, who will better
appreciate that profound connection between desire and fear.
Will’s
story draws to a rather quiet and open-ended conclusion, leaving
viewers to guess at the fates of several major characters. While I like
the way the ending comes about, it feels a bit abrupt, and I would have
preferred a better sense of the carnival’s lasting impact upon the town
as a whole rather than just the narrator, his father and his best
friend. Nonetheless, Something Wicked This Way Come is an intriguing film ideal for a scary-but-not-too-scary movie night.
No comments:
Post a Comment