SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES (1983)

 THIS IS A MOVIE I'VE SEEN QUITE A FEW TIMES OVER THE DECADES AND IT ALWAYS LEFT ME SOMEWHAT UNDERWHELMED. 

  I think I first saw it back in the 1980's either on HBO or rented from Erol's Video Store.  Either way, it's a film I always wanted to be better than it was.  It just never grabbed me, despite the awesome autumnal atmosphere, the script by Ray Bradbury himself and the absolutely magnificent cast of three of my absolute favourite actors:  the awe-inspiring Jonathan Pryce, the goddess Pam Grier and the unmatched Jason Robards!   On my rewatches over the years, it was always a movie I wanted to like more.  The last time I watched it was 12 years ago and I felt the same way.  This time I watched it again and my entire outlook has drastically changed.   Director Jack Clayton has disowned the film since it was taken away from him and reworked by the Disney studio. And yes, there are parts which seem not to flow together as if something has been removed.  However, this time watching SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES was entirely different for me and I absolutely loved it.  Perhaps because I have now become Jason Robards' character Halloway (and was only a teenager when I first saw the film) but it really REALLY had me glued to the screen this time. 

I can only imagine the original cut of the film which would probably be an all-out classic by the director of THE INNOCENTS.  However, what we DO have here is a fantastic non-horror movie which paradoxically is very scary and creepy.  I think that's why I never connected with the movie before because I was looking for a horror movie and this isn't what SOMETHING WICKED really is; it's more a fable by the legendary Ray Bradbury (who's screenplay rises to heavenly heights during the verbal duel between Halloway and Mr. Dark in the library).  The line reading by Jason Robards when he tells Jonathan Pryce that he knows who he is:  "You're the Autumn People!"  To me, that is now an iconic moment in Halloween movies.  Mr. Dark's autumn carnival does the devil's work by granting people's most desired wishes but, as in the motto "be careful what you wish for", it turns to misery for them.  Mr. Dark and his carnival denizens feed on those tears and misery and delight in the destruction of souls.  Pam Grier's performance is awesome in the true definition of the word; she radiates power and we're not quite sure what or who she is but she's an elemental force for evil. 

The performance of Jason Robards is one of his best (among a panoply of great performances) and conjures not only the sense of failure and exhaustion he feels as a father but also the heartbreaking pain and love for his son towards the end of the film.  And Jonathan Pryce, no matter what I thought of the film in past decades, has always been a magnificent, iconic performance as Mr. Dark.  Oh my god, is he great!  On letterboxd, Joe Lynch makes the comment that Jonathan Pryce is "sexy as f***" in the role of Mr. Dark and that's absolutely true.  Combined with that, Pryce projects a commanding evil which is genuinely unsettling and threatening.  One of the greatest performances in any Halloween film!  Sometimes it takes multiple viewing before you "get" a film and that's certainly the case with me and this one!  I absolutely love this film now!  Boy, now I really wanna read the book!