Are you tired of reading Halloween season movie recommendations for films that are not streaming anywhere, especially if they also aren’t available on physical media? Well, one of those often mentioned films is now available to stream.
Walt Disney Pictures’ Something Wicked This Way Comes was released in theaters in 1983, and at the time, Disney was trying to appeal to a broader audience. As a result, they chose Ray Bradbury’s novel, which was darker fare than audiences were used to from the studio.
It was not a financially successful movie, and eventually disappeared altogether. Although it was released on Blu-Ray in 2021, it was exclusive to Disney Movie Club, which later closed, rendering the film out of print again.
Bradbury had originally written the story as a screenplay, but when it wasn’t picked up, he released a novelization instead in 1962. When Disney acquired the rights, they asked for the author’s input regarding the cast and the director, and he suggested Jack Clayton.
The production of the film was fraught with problems. Disney and Clayton clashed over the tone of the film; despite their original plan to appeal to more adults, they also wanted to appeal to a family audience and felt Clayton’s vision of the project was too dark.
George Delerue wrote the original score, but was abruptly replaced by James Horner, who wrote an entirely different soundtrack for the film. And the studio ended up spending millions of dollars to reshoot, re-edit and re-score it, resulting in a five month release delay.
Still, it’s a film I absolutely adore, based on a book I also love.
The main characters are two boys named Will Holloway and Jim Nightshade, best friends despite the differences in their characters. Will is well-behaved and polite, while Jim is more rebellious. They are opposite sides of a coin, with Will being blonde and bespectacled, and Jim has dark hair. But their excitement at a carnival coming to town is something they definitely have in common.
As the boys and the rest of the town soon discover, this isn’t just any carnival, though. Operated by the mysterious Mr. Dark, this carnival has a lot of secrets, including a merry-go-round that can age you or make you younger, depending on which direction it moves. It’s also inhabited by the seductive Dust Witch.
Jason Robards appears as Will’s father Charles, who will do anything to rescue the boys when they are grabbed by Dark, Dark himself is played by Jonathan Pryce, Pam Grier is the Dust Witch, and the boys are played by Vidal Peterson (Will) and Shawn Carson (Jim). Each of these actors is perfectly cast.
Something Wicked This Way Comes is a fantastic, visually stunning choice for fall/Halloween viewing. Set during the autumn, it is creepy enough to satisfy adults and mild enough to serve as a “gateway” film for kids who enjoy scarier screen time.