Something Wicked This Way Comes

No wonder Disney executives went wild when they saw what Clayton had done to Ray Bradbury's novel, turning the tone several shades blacker and dampening down the sentimentality. With the arrival of Dark's Pandemonium Carnival in a small midwestern town, all hell breaks loose. Soon the locals are queueing up outside the Temple of Temptation where, for a quick moral sacrifice, everything your heart desires pops up in glorious array; children start to despise their parents, who in turn hanker after their children's youth. Clayton takes a distinctly unwholesome relish in stirring up this puritan nightmare, piling a heap of torments on the heads of his two boy heroes, and finally restoring cosy order with thoroughly forced conviction. Ultimately, though, it's an uneasy blend of horror and whimsy, with the allegory being hammered a little too hard for comfort. It's also marred by some dreadfully tacky special effects and set designs.