The ’80s Horror Movie Disney Wants You To Forget And Could Go Away Forever

Based on Ray Bradbury’s 1962 novel of the same name, Something Wicked This Way Comes is the story of Will Holloway and Jim Nightshade, two pre-teen boys in small-town Illinois who witness the supernatural effects of a carnival that mysteriously sets up overnight outside of their town. The carnival, operating under the name of Cooger and Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show, seems to be granting the most heartfelt desires of the unsuspecting townsfolk, but at an unspeakable price. Will and Jim are lured into the madness of the carnival by its ringleader, Mr. Dark.

Something Wicked This Way Comes wasn’t a box office success by any means, only earning about half of its production budget back by way of box office receipts. The critical response was mixed at the time, with the detractors noting that Bradbury’s original vision was too skewed and that the special effects were lackluster at best. However, those who grew up with the film certainly feel differently and are hopeful that Disney will not let this film die.

Something Wicked This Way Comes was released on VHS in 1983, with a laserdisc version produced in 1990. Two DVD versions were available beginning in 2000, along with a Blu-ray edition several years ago. Those who have seen the latter version have many reasons for their disappointment.

The Something Wicked This Way Comes Blu-ray is merely a film on a disc, with virtually no features except a widescreen option and English subtitles. No theatrical trailer, no behind-the-scenes footage, no interviews. And the fact that the film wasn’t remastered for the release feels almost criminal.

The frustration felt by many fans of the film is understandable. Something Wicked This Way Comes might not have had the smashing box office successes of other notable films from Disney, but the screen adaptation from Bradbury’s novel of the same name brought an eeriness to a film that was equally enshrouded by tightly wound blankets of suspense and fear. To be able to revisit the film with a digital upgrade to 4K, along with the ability to share the work with a new generation of viewers, has been a call that’s fallen on deaf ears at Disney.

What makes Bradbury’s vision of a sinister carnival even greater is the fact that it has influenced so much in pop culture. Something Wicked This Way Comes established a trope that set the standard for creepy carnivals, as seen in the HBO’s hit series Carnivale and the third season’s plotline of the Netflix series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Mr. Dark was even parodied as a character on an episode of Rick and Morty and arguably served as an influence for the Stephen King character Leland Gaunt in the novel Needful Things.

Something Wicked This Way Comes stars Academy-Award-winning actor Jason Robards as Charles Holloway, Vidal Peterson as Will, Shawn Carson as Jim Nightshade, and Bruce M. Fischer as Mr. Cooger. Jonathan Pryce (who you might know as Game of Thrones High Sparrow) gives the performance of a lifetime as the charming and evil Mr. Dark, with an onscreen presence so sinister that it still resonates with fans years later. The film also features Pam Grier, Mary Grace Canfield, and Jack Dodson.