FROM "SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES"
WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!
I never grew-up watching "Something Wicked This Way Comes", I actually discovered it through Doug Walker when he reviewed it for Disneycember in 2014, as I then decided to watch it the following year after taking an interest in the premise, atmosphere, and villain. I overall enjoyed the film, and found it to be one of Disney's most underrated live action films for how legitimately frightening it was. And the villain who causes all the scares and dark imagery that happens in the film is just as frightful.
I've always taken been interested in stories about carnivals, especially when being carried out through the horror genre, and a haunted carnival is exactly what he uses to carry out all of his dark deeds. We at first get some nice build-up leading up to the arrival of Mr. Dark and his carnival such as the weather changing for the worst, mysterious music playing from nowhere, one of the characters seeing something paranormal through a window of a shop, and flyers promoting the carnival being blown in the wind. Through this build-up we see the back of Mr. Dark tossing the flyers around in a far distance, and see his ghostly carnival train arriving to the town. And when the leading characters Will and Jim arrive to the spot of where the carnival is being held, everything is put up and ready in no time at all. The sequence building-up to the arrival of the carnival gives you the chills that there is "something wicked coming" from the acting from our leads, the dark nightmare like visuals, and the unpleasant music playing in the background.
But when we see the carnival at broad daylight, at first glance it doesn't look as sinister or magical as it did when we and the characters first saw it at night time. But as we explore the carnival we begin to notice that it's making the people's in the town's wishes come true. An old and frail woman and an ex-football player who lost an arm and leg on one side of his body, see what they wish to be again by taking a walk through a bright and empty mirror maze. A barber who wishes to be with sexy women from around the world is given the chance to full-fill that dream by being felt up by exotic Arabian dancers that take off his clothes (in a Disney film mind you). And an owner of a smoke shop, who wants to win a thousand dollars, finally gets his wish by winning the "Wheel Of Fortune", as he's then given a fancy cigar and a free Ferris wheel ride with a lovely elegant woman. However, as magical as this carnival appears to be at making your wishes come true where you almost forget that it's evil, every wish comes with a price that's too high to pay. When an old lady wishes to be young and beautiful again, she gets her wish, but she's now blind so she won't even get to admire her own beauty and look at the people who are enchanted by it. The football player gets his arm and leg back, but he's back to being a kid again. And the barber who had his shot with sexy foreign women, now has become the bearded lady as he wears similar clothing that the women who touched him wore. The worst part is the people can't even live their normal lives outside of the carnival after being affected by it since Mr. Dark has taken their souls. They are now mindlessly enslaved by Mr. Dark to be part of it by acting as one of the freaks, clowns, and carneys’ that work there, where they'll do anything he tells them too. The freakiest scene that involves both Mr. Dark and the people he has working in his magical carnival is hands-down the scene when they search the town for the two boys who know too much about the carnival, by posing as a festive parade with clowns, acrobats, a marching band, freaks and elephants, as they push wagons with kid-sized coffins underneath the bright yellow tarp. This whole scene always keeps me unease from how unfriendly and lifeless these colorful characters look, and how determined Mr. Dark is to find them as he walks slowly with that sinister glare on his face.
Even though Mr. Dark has many freaks working for him, we mostly spend time with just two of them. And I'll admit that it would have been cool to see one or two more of the demons and slaves that serve him, but in the long run the stories focus is where it should be, so that doesn't bother me in the least. The first one is the Dust Witch played by Pam Grier who is just as scary and powerful as her master, only difference is she is seductive with her beauty, and is always changing her appearance to reflect the mood of a situation instead of wearing the same outfit all through-out the movie (with the exception of her red diamond ring). Her voice isn't always the same either. When she reads a person's fortune she sounds just like how a normal fortune teller would sound, but when you see her casting a spell, her voice becomes unworldly and hypnotic. But no matter what she wears, or how she sounds, her presence on-screen is always spine-chilling. Her scariest moments is when she goes from being a beautiful bride, to a ghost-like demon; and when she uses her magic to slow-down Charles’ (Will's Father) heart. The most horrible thing she does in the movie, that I'm sure has given many kids nightmares is when she sends green fog to track down the children, and begins to fill their house with tarantulas where they never seem to stop appearing out of nowhere and just keep on coming after them. Originally there was going to be a giant hand that attacked the kids, but it was cut for being too hokey looking, where they decided to do a scene with spiders instead. And while it is a tad bit distracting for how noticeably older the kids look in this scene since it was filmed a year later after the original shooting schedule, it's still a very intense scene that has you relieved for when its over.
Serving as Mr. Dark’s right hand man who co-runs the carnival is Mr. Cooger. He doesn't contain any magic, but he still comes-across as mischievous as his master and the Dust Witch. He helps lure people to Mr. Dark's temptations by giving them free tickets to certain attractions at the carnival; takes people hostage who trespasses with his brute strength; and does a few errands for him when he's magically turned into a kid to seem less suspicious. The strange thing about him is, when he's pretending to be nice, or is posing as an innocent kid, he never comes across as normal. There's just always something strange about him from the way he behaves. I know it's mainly because he's working for the villain, but there's still never a moment where his personality ever comes across as pleasant. Sometimes I wonder if he's actually one of the people that Mr. Dark has enslaved before the events of the movie, given the fact that he has no magic and is always doing things for him without question. The film never clearly addresses if he is or not, but it more than likely seems to be the case.
Now let's finally talk about the man who runs this wicked carnival himself, Mr. Dark. Jonathan Pryce plays the role of this devilish man, and the thing that I admire most about his performance is how subtle it is. He's not the type of villain who usually goes completely over the top with his evil, or gets angry and vicious when he's trying to get information out of people. He's actually a very laid back and elegant gentlemen who carries plenty of charm and grace that seems inviting. But as charming as he seems, every moment we spend with him never seizes to be intimidating as the tension surrounding this character just grows and grows. You never quite know what he's going to do when he's asking people for information, or when he's going to lose his cool as you gaze at his creepy eyes and sinister smile, while wearing a fancy outfit that is completely drenched with the colors black and white to make him seem like as if the devil took on the form of a ringmaster, which is what makes his presence so nerve-racking.
What helps make him across as so intimidating and manipulating are the dark powers that he possesses. Sure he uses most of his powers for the attractions at the carnival that he runs, but he does use them himself when he feels the need too when he's walking around the town, or alone with the characters. He'll sometimes use his magic to enchant such as showing the kids moving kaleidoscope like tattoos on his arm, and giving free tickets for one his rides that magically appear in his hand. But he'll mostly use his powers to scare and threaten others. Sometimes when he's present, like how he asks Charles where the two kids are, by showing tattoos of their faces on his hand, to later having the tattoos turn to blood as he's clenching his hands when he knows that the Father is lying, but yet still remains calm. And other times when he's not even present but not far away from them either, like when he traps Charles in his foggy mirror maze where he sees a bad part of his past that he doesn't wish to see, through the mirrors, as Mr. Dark's voice echoes; or that random and gruesome scene when Will see's himself getting his head decapitated by a guillotine and stares at his lifeless head with blood dripping out of his neck (a Disney film ladies and gentlemen). There would also be one or two occasions where he would use his magic to make an appearance, particularly when he enters the library where the wind blows the doors open, and he suddenly appears reading a book behind Charles’ back finishing a quote that he exclaimed after waiting a few seconds for his appearance.
But like any professional villain, he doesn't need to use his magic to persuade and frighten people; his words and mannerisms work just as well, mainly because he knows all about the people who live in the town, and can use their dreams and fears against them. His best scene of that talent, even though he doesn't necessarily succeed, is the scene in the library. He promises to make the Charles 30 years old again if he tells him where the boys are, as he carries a book of his life, and when the Father refuses his offer he rips a page out of the book, and promises to make him 31 if he tells him. And when he dismisses his offer again, he keeps tearing pages out of the book as each page he tears out is a year of his life that he could've given him, and will only increase the number of years he can turn back his age if he doesn't tell him sooner. And as he's doing all this, he taunts him about how age is slowly taking over his life and freedom, where his taunts go from quiet and subtle, to loud and crazy (one of the few moments in the film where Pryce gives an over the top performance). When he does stop at the age that Charles currently is, he tells him what a weak old man he is, and squeezes his hand so hard that it cracks and bleeds causing him to pass-out, which hurts him both physically and psychologically. And that's not the only scene when he uses violence and acts madder than he usually is to try to make someone talk. There's also the scene when he ties up a crazy peddler who claims to know about lightning to an electric chair, and will have him electrocuted if he doesn't tell him when the storm is. He of course uses his polite manners, and use of temptation through the Dust Witch disguised as a bride to make him talk, but when he seems to be getting nowhere, he'll start using physical force against him, which eventually turns him into one of his slaves.
For me, the most suspenseful scene with Mr. Dark is when he searches for the kids hiding at the library himself, before and after knocking out Charles. He walks around this dark and shadowy looking library that lost all of its color and cheer, as he calls out their names and tries to lure the children to him through their desires and fears. He promises Jim to give him a free-ride on his carousel that will make him age into an adult so that he can finally live the life as he dreams of living, and will treat him like a Father that he wished to have by running the carnival with him; and lies to Will that his Mother is going to ride the carousel. As the kids feel tempted by his claims, they still remain in their hiding spots. But when Mr. Dark figures out that they're hiding on top of one of the book shelves, he questions which letter they could be filed under by describing each letter of the alphabet to be part of their personality, gender, last name, and actions. He then begins to climb the shelf as he senses their presence, but instead of climbing up in front of them as we are lead to believe, he's actually right behind the kids, and takes them away.
Much like how I feel about the Nome King and Princess Mombi from “Return to OZ”, I feel like Mr. Dark (as well as the film itself) is criminally underrated as a Disney villain for how scary and powerful he is. How he takes people’s souls is imaginative and freaky. The people who are enslaved by him, or work for him willingly are just as frightful as he is. The powers he carries and how he demonstrates them look like something out of your nightmares. And Jonathan Pryce’s performance is so strange and classy that if Willy Wonka looked dark and mischievous and was actually written to be a bad guy, my guess is we’d pretty much get something like this! It’s true that not much is known about Mr. Dark’s past, and who or what exactly he is, but the ambiguity of it in my opinion is what makes him such a fascinating villain which indeed raises the fright factor surrounding him even higher!
"My name is Mr. Dark. I advise you to respect that."
-Mr. Dark
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