Tag Archives: halloween

Radio/Movie Combo: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

6 Aug

Ray Bradbury’s 1962 novel about a sinister carnival rolling into a small Illinois town one week before Halloween is one of his most iconic and thought-inducing tales. I’m a sucker for a classic Devil vs. Good tale.

Cover for Something Wicked This Way Comes, produced by The Colonial Radio Theatre. A dark silhouette of a figure in a top hat stands centered against a moody blue twilight sky, with a large Ferris wheel framing the figure from behind. The title "Something Wicked This Way Comes" appears in white hand-written script. "Ray Bradbury" is printed in large white letters at the top, with "The Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air Presents" above the figure and "With Jerry Robbins and the Colonial Radio Players" along the bottom.

For those unfamiliar, Something Wicked This Way Comes is Bradbury’s 1962 dark fantasy horror novel about two teenage boys, Will and Jim, who confront a supernaturally sinister carnival led by Mr. Dark. The carnival preys on secret desires, offering wishes at a terrible price. The boys and Will’s father fight the carnival and Mr. Dark to save themselves and the town. I’d also consider it a coming-of-age story that pokes at the fear of growing old.

​The Radio Production.
I admit, I haven’t read the book, and while searching for it I found a gem – the live radio production, dramatized by Bradbury himself, from the Colonial Radio Theatre complete with a full cast, sound effects and original music.

This is Bradbury’s work, and not just a regurgitated word-for-word reading, which makes it a lot of fun to, frankly, close your eyes and watch the imagery flow.

The key sense, obviously, to tap into here is hearing – you hear the carnival arrive, Mr. Dark get defeated, the boys run for their lives, and even in the hesitation of the dialogue.

The Film (1983)

Movie poster for Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983). Two boys' faces emerge from swirling red and blue smoke at the top. Below, a man in a top hat and suit stands in front of a carnival featuring a Ferris wheel and tents. The title reads, "Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes" in white lettering, with the Disney logo at the top.

Directed by Jack Clayton with the screenplay by Bradbury, this film stars Jason Robards as Charles Halloway, a middle-aged, worn-down librarian, and Jonathan Pryce as Mr. Dark, the carnival owner who collects human souls.

This is early Disney storytelling, so the dialogue is a little cringy and the structure a bit wobbly, but overall it is an endearingly satisfying heroic-arc tale that honors Bradbury’s manuscript well.

Bradbury reportedly had issues with some production changes, but, in the end, the film was a general success, and Bradbury accepted the retelling.

My assessment. It’s imperfect, but it’s innocent in how the boys see the world. I also loved James Horner’s score.

If you haven’t read the book, start with the movie first, so you can better imagine the radio production.

Find the radio production in Hoopla here.

Reserve the movie in the BCCLS system here.

Comment below your thoughts once you’ve had a watch and listen.

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Written by:
Sean Willey
Information and Digital Services Assistant

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Recommended Halloween Read: Empire of the Vampire

26 Oct

The vampire genre has had quite the rise and fall since its inception, undergoing various changes and rises in popularity throughout the decades. The popularity of this genre faded after hype around Twilight died down, but now vampire books are slowly making a resurgence back into the mainstream and one of the books leading the way is Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff.

Set inside the French inspired Elidaen, a world dominated by vampires and eternal night, we begin with a prisoner, Gabriel de Leon, the Last Silver Saint, telling the history of his life from childhood to his times serving as a Silver Saint. The narrative changes through multiple different time periods, Gabriel’s early life, his life years later after the fall of the Silver Order, and in the present day while Gabriel is imprisoned. While all three narratives move at a different pace, they do not distract from each other or the story as a whole and only serve the overarching plot in the long term.

Kristoff’s writing is vivid and flows with a vicious grace that sets the tone of this dark fantasy that many fans of the vampire will find refreshing and more aligned with the more classical monster side of vampire lore while still bringing just a dash of the sexy vampire aesthetic that many also crave. The pace of the novel starts slow, but quickly picks up speed and dives into the bloody action. The characters, as with all of Kristoff’s characters, are a delight to read as they carve their way through the plot and don’t give a care while doing it.

The faint of heart beware, besides the promise of blood and gore, you will be in for a hefty read, as the book is close in thickness to an average Sanderson novel (an impressive 734 pages in length) however it is a journey well worth the travel if you are willing to tread the path forward. So for those seeking vampires of a more gothic, bloodthirsty nature, with a tone of dark fantasy, this is one that comes highly recommended! You can also read my previous blogs about Kristoff’s novel, Nevernight and Illuminae.

Written by:
Lauren Lapinski
Information and Digital Services Library Assistant

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