Thursday, October 11, 2012

RIP VII Read #5: Something Wicked This Way Comes (Book v. Movie)


Well, I kept my promise that I would finally read some Ray Bradbury after enjoying Shadow Show in July. And I didn't just read any old Bradbury work but I chose the story that spawned the movie that terrified me the most in my admittedly sheltered childhood -- Something Wicked This Way Comes. I had a lingering fear of carousels for years after seeing that film. But, for some reason, while looking through my many RIP reads, I had a strong desire to get this one from the library. Before I chickened out, I put in my request and set out on this literary adventure.

Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway are boys on the cusp of becoming men, with Jim more enthusiastic about it than Will. When a strange storm blows into Green Town just before Halloween, bringing Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show with it, the boys soon find that living a quiet, normal life isn't as overrated as it seemed just the day before. But once events are set in motion, it's a race against time and the forces of evil for Jim and Will.

With somewhat strange language and cadence, this is a difficult book to get into at first. But once you get used to it, the story sweeps you away into the clutches of the supernatural carnival and its devilish inhabitants. At first I found the story to be atmospheric but not scary but that soon changed and I was quite tense by the end of the tale. I can't explain exactly why this story works but it does. It never won any awards but its influence on other modern authors is undeniable.


And, since I overcame some of my SWTWC fears, I decided it was finally time to rewatch the 1983 film. In fact, Z sat down to watch it with me. And? It was pretty bad. Though the casting of Jonathan Pryce as Mr. Dark was inspired and Jason Robards as Will's dad was pretty good, the boys were terrible actors. There's one scene where they sneak onto the closed carousel and hop on some horses and do this weird maniacal fake laughing. It was awful. There were unnecessary changes in the story and much of the mystery was taken out. It was too obvious in most parts and had bizarre orchestration and cheap special effects. I'm surprised that I paid attention enough to the movie when I was a kid to be scared by it. Z was bored pretty much from the start. He ended up reading books instead of watching and kept asking when it was going to be over.

Verdict: Read the book and skip the movie. Bradbury should never have been Disney-fied.

Happy to age at a normal pace,
K

18 comments:

  1. I'm so glad to hear this, because that movie scared the crap out of me too! Or...less scared, more disturbed? I think I was 11 or 12 when I saw it, and I think they showed it to us in school!!! I just remember something about spiders, maybe in a bed? The rest is lost in creepy disturbed nightmarish memory. :D I'm finally getting myself reading to read the book, after 20 years. I have it on my RAT pile. Not sure it's a good RAT book, but if not, I'll just save it for afterwards.

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    1. Yes, disturbing is a good word. And I didn't even remember the tarantulas in the bed (which are not in the book, btw) ... it was the carousel that creeped me out. You'll like the book a lot more anyway!

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  2. Oh thank you. I am so glad to see I'm not the only won who thought this book was slow to get into. I loved Bradbury's way with words, and whoa nelly, was it creepy, but at times it just dddrrraaaggggggeeeddd so much. I did enjoy it very much though. And thanks for the warning about the movie! lol

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    1. It took a long time to really settle into the rhythm of his words and even then I didn't totally get into it ever. It got easier to read but never fully comfortable.

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  3. Isn't it funny to see a movie that tortured you in the fast and realize it is awful!!????

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    1. Seriously. Luckily I still have The Lady in White which I have seen recently and it's still completely frightening!

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  4. "I can't explain exactly why this story works but it does." Yes, same here! It took me a while to get into it too, but by the end I was completely won over and more frightened than I could have imagined.

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    1. Exactly. It's definitely one that will stay with me and I know I will be seeing its influence in other reads.

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  5. You can never read too much Ray Bradbury :) This is one I haven't read yet, but now I know that I can skip the movie!

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    1. I'm certainly not going to stop after this one! I just need to choose which of his works to read next. :) (And yes, you should definitely skip the movie unless you're curious about how bad it is!)

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  6. I haven't read SWTHC either, which is odd because I have read quite a bit of Bradbury.
    I will take your advice and go for the book.

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    1. Good choice! And I plan to read a lot more Bradbury.

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  7. Not read the book or seen the movie, but I've been wanting to read Bradbury for a long time. I really need to do that!

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    1. I'm glad I've finally started but now I've got a lot to get through!

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  8. Took me ages to read the book *and* watch the movie although Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite authors.

    When taken within the context of 80s' movies, SWTWC isn't bad; it's just what it is. But it's funny the things that freak us out as kids. Disney's animated Legend of Sleepy Hallow left me in terror of the Headless Horseman for years...

    As for the book, I like Bradbury best when he's being creepy. He's subtle and sly and suddenly you're looking at shadows in a totally different way.

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    1. Well, it IS a Disney movie and a children's movie ... that's true. But as an adaptation of the book, it's not very good. The Sleepy Hollow one is a lifelong favorite though! I don't know why I was never scared of the Horseman.

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  9. I think I've only read Fahrenheit 451 but I've heard so much about this one. Can't believe I still haven't read it so I'll be putting it on my list, hopefully for next year!

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    1. It's definitely worth reading if just to recognize it as an influencer of so many other authors' works!

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