Rish Outfield's reviews
Well-done adaptation of Ray Bradbury's book, capturing both the magic and the everyday familiarity of small town childhood. Briefly put, in Something Wicked This Way Comes, a spooky carnival comes to a small New England town one fall, bringing with it mystery, temptation, and otherworldly evil.
One of only a couple of horror films made by Disney, this is one you can watch with your childhood best friend (as I did), and maybe one day with a son of your own (as tyranist's sure to do). It probably won't date much–the special effects are mostly animation or opticals and the period setting didn't remind me at all that it was actually the Eighties. Jason Robards is good and so is Pryce as the ominous Mister Dark. More importantly, however, are the performances of the two lead child actors. Say what you will about Disney films, but no one got better performances from kids. There were some scares (the spider scene always creeps me out), but it seems more a tale of fathers and sons, of friends and regrets, than a horror movie.
Childhood is a magical time. Literally. It's when we believe in the light (the Tooth Fairy really does come in your room at night to reward you for tearing out a dead part of yourself and presenting it to her) and the dark (if you love your mother, you'll step over that crack), and when there is mystery in everything. The draw of Dark's circus works on many levels, including light-hearted fun, morbid curiosity, unexplainable feats, and the mysteries of adulthood. I don't know about you, but I miss my childhood and would give just about anything to get it back. Little things like movies about childhood can do that, if only for a moment.
I liked the film a lot as a boy, but I like it more now.

The tyranist's thoughts
It was this movie that first turned me on to Ray Bradbury 18 years ago and since then I've enjoyed many hours in his care. This particular movie is faithfully based on one of his best (but not the best as that distinction has long been held by Dandelion Wine) novels and evokes all of the atmosphere, wonder, and horror of the print version.
My childhood was relatively sheltered and occurred in a small town not completely unlike the one this story occurs in, we even had a carnival come at least once a year and although my relationship with it was not as magical as Rish's, there was always something there. So to be taken back to that is wonderful for me. The magic of this movie lies in its ability to play on the audience's childhood and the dark mysteries that confronted us all as we grew up.
Jonathan Pryce makes a marvellous villain. I haven't seen a movie that featured him as a villain that I didn't like. In this particular case, he brings that air of almost unrepentant confidence that is so necessary to the plot. And then there are the boys. Child actors aren't usually favourites of mine, but these two did marvellously.
See this movie. Way back in the beginning of the HFC (when we still called it "The Horror . . . the Horror") I made a rule that Rish and I lived by for a time. No PG movies. I am so glad that we have repented of it since this movie surpasses much of the R rated crap we have seen since the rule was made. See it. Believe it. Mr. Dark is real and someday he may visit your town.