This is an old fashioned horror story in every sense of the word. Based on Ray Bradbury's classic story of the same name, "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is the story of Jim and Will and the small town in the Midwest which is their home in the early half of the 20th century. Will is a quiet, thoughtful boy, son of the town librarian, an obedient child who is very uncomfortable with the subject of his fathers failing health and the limitations it brings. Jim, on the other hand, is a bit of a wild child; his father ran off some time ago and his mother, a sweet but not terribly bright woman, has become something of a town tramp.
Into this quiet and rather stereotypical small town comes a carnival, arriving at midnight on an abandoned train with a whistle like tortured souls screaming. This is Dark's Pandemonium Carnival, owned and operated by Mr. Dark (Jonathan Price, recently of "Pirates of the Caribbean" fame) and his odd assortment of eerie employees. From the beginning, Will senses that something is terribly wrong with this carnival; a carnival which erects itself within seconds. So too Will's father has a sense of foreboding. But stubborn Jim is determined to explore every shadowy corner no matter what the cost. By the time they all realize how truly ancient and evil the carnival is, it is almost too late. Can Will and his father save Jim? More importantly, can any of them save themselves?
Modern horror fans may find this boring and talky, which is a shame as most of the action is within the words spoken here; revelations of guilt and unspoken desires that will come back to haunt each and every character weighed down by both. The atmosphere of the film is a character all its own; a cold, pumpkin- colored autumn filled with wind and dead leaves and frost which seems almost to aid and abet the carnival as Mr. Dark scatters flyers in the town square at twilight, or leads his mournful parade through the streets, the band playing a funeral dirge. The visual effects are quite nice considering that this was made before the days of CGI; there's a nasty horde of tarantulas, a bright white mirror maze, an evil green fog chasing the boys through the woods, creepy tattoos of the boys' faces imprinted upon the hands of Mr. Dark, which bleed when he clenches his fists...and lets not forget the cursed carousel, which can turn you into a child or into a shriveled corpse depending upon if you ride it backwards or forwards. Everyone in the cast does a flawless job with their given roles; Jonathan Price is indeed wicked as Mr. Dark and Jason Robards is strong and sympathetic as Will's father. Pam Grier, in a role quite unlike any other she has played, is smoky and seductive and very dangerous in her role as the Dust Witch, who wears the mask of the Most Beautiful Woman in the World. Royal Dano is here too as the strange Cassandra-like seller of lightening rods, who seems always to be one step ahead of the carnival, warning everyone in it's path of its arrival. The boys too are quite convincing and likable and their mothers very believable as kind and caring mothers.
This is a classic story come to life, both innocent and horrifying all at once. Watching it is like watching a fairy tale come to life. They just don't make 'em like this anymore, which is truly a shame. 10 stars.
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