dual personalities

This weekend I started watching some October movies. I am way behind! I watched Lady in the Water (2009) from the M. Night Shyamalan oeuvre, which I enjoyed. It is not a great movie, but it builds to a good ending which is quite moving.

I also watched Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) which is a Disney movie and is streaming on Disney+. I had never seen it and I have to say I was rather shocked by how creepy it is! It is surprising that the Disney Company made it. I would definitely not recommend it for any children under the age of 12!

Adapted by Ray Bradbury from his novel of the same name, it is the story of two young boys and their interaction with the diabolical carnival that comes to town in the autumn. I couldn’t help wondering if Bradbury was raised a Calvinist because his take on sin and its hold over people is familiar. Mr. Dark (the devil) even says at one point, “I give men what they want and it destroys them.” Sex, Money, Vanity, the desire for fame–it all has its price. The man who knows his failure and owns it, wins in the end, and love ultimately defeats the forces of Mr. Dark. Of course, there is no overt reference to God and how grace saves us, so one is left with a bad feeling about our chances in this world.

I liked it, but it truly creeped me out.

I think I will move on to more palatable fare like The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)!