History YMMV / SomethingWickedThisWayComes

* FairForItsDay: The only major black character in the film is a villain, and TheDragon at that (not to mention she's the most prominent woman in the story). But Creator/PamGrier pointed out that the Dust Witch was white in the book, and she was offered the role because the filmmakers were fans, meaning they made a conscious decision to cast a black actress - and it meant a lot to see a black person in a Disney film at all. The Dust Witch is also quite powerful and gets a NearVillainVictory (in fact coming closer to tricking Charles than Mr Dark).

* EvilIsSexy: The Dust Witch is given a significant heaping of AdaptationalAttractiveness to be played by the beautiful Creator/PamGrier, and although this is a PG film, she does have a subtle FemmeFatale personality.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Despite turning the idea of a student being without a team into a deconstruction, readers still weren't thrilled by the decision of Shizu attending Beacon and without a team of her own. ''Volume 2: EPILOGUE'' undoes this by having Shizu become part of a team consisting of Arslan Altan, Reese Chloris and May Zedong.

* CriticalResearchFailure: The author themselves has acknowledged this was the case when readers pointed out to them that the ending to ''Volume 1: Chapter 3'' was highly unlikely. To explain, Momonga used [The Goal of All Life is Death] -- a skill that nullifies any and all resistances and immunities to instant death. It's one of Momonga's trump cards, but it also has a ridiculously long cooldown that lasts for days. Momonga used this to test if Raven was capable of resisting it when she somehow nullified his attempt to paralyze her and somehow survive [Grasp Heart], a tier nine instant death spell. This has since been revised, with Momonga instead using [Despair Aura V] to kill off the Branwen Tribe while Albedo restrains Raven.

* FridgeHorror:
** [[spoiler:In the film the old school teacher Miss Foley wishes to be a beautiful young woman again, as she was once regarded as the most beautiful woman in the entire town. She gets her wish and is restored to a lovely young blonde woman, but she is made blind and thus unable to appreciate her own restored beauty among other obvious handicaps, and becomes a prisoner of Mr. Dark and his minions, who lead her around town as part of their stock company, and she is completely unable to escape. When you think about it, being led around for the amusement of your new evil masters is nowhere near as bad as some of the other things they could do to take advantage of a beautiful but helpless woman... assuming they didn't have their way with her off camera.]]
** It's not really any better in the book. [[spoiler:Miss Foley isn't blinded, but she's made ''too'' young-- instead of being the beautiful young woman she was in her prime, she's an adorable little girl... alone, scared, and helpless.]]
** More Fridge Horror: [[spoiler: She's implied to have been collected by the circus shortly after the boys meet her, likely for purposes of interrogation. ''[[InferredHolocaust She's never seen again, and the boys can only guess at what happened to her thereafter.]]'']]

* NightmareFuel: This is among Disney's most frightening movies for various reasons!
** Specifically, arachnophobes should ''definitely'' stay away from this film. And even people who aren't terrified of spiders will certainly not like the sight of hundreds of them swarming a room.
** Ms Foley's transformation into her beautiful self is immediately followed by her losing her sight and stumbling around her living room in terror.
** The sheer concerns involved in Jim and Will having to hide from Mr Dark in the middle of the day.
** Jonathan Pryce can be quite scary when he wants to; especially the scene where he's trying to compel Charles to sacrifice his own son to become young again, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RWb9nRCpI4 or interrogating him on their location]].

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoment:
** Charles confesses to Will that he was unable to save Will from drowning many years ago; Jim's father was the one that pulled Will up out of the water. When Charles says, "You have to stop blaming, sometimes," he seems to be trying to tell himself that as much as Will. Will's response: "I wish you could be happy." One suspects Will figured out long ago that his father wasn't able to help him, and he feels no ill will whatsoever. Charles doesn't realize it -- yet -- but Will accepts his father's flaws and regrets, and loves him no less for them.
** In the film, Will is able to [[spoiler: break Mr Dark's thrall over his father by calling out "I love you!" (no easy feat for a preteen boy). Jason Robarts's face lights up with a hopeful smile, and this compels Charles to smash through the mirror and embrace his son]].

* CompleteMonster: [[DarkIsEvil Mr. G.M. Dark]], lord of the [[EmotionEater Autumn People]] and [[RepulsiveRingmaster master]] of the [[CircusOfFear carnival]], is a devilish figure who tempts his victims into ruin and damnation. Sweeping from town to town, Dark makes [[DealWithTheDevil bargains]] with those he encounters, but cruelly exploits them to destroy the victims' lives and force them into the carnival where he and the rest of the Autumn People feast upon their life force, Dark filled with the victims he tattoos upon himself as trophies. Seeking to cause pain and discord wherever he goes, Dark intends to force Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade to his carnival in his never-ending quest to glut himself upon agony and nightmare.

** More Fridge Horror: [[spoiler: She's implied to have been collected by the circus shortly after the boys meet her, likely for purposes of interrogation. ''[[InferredHolocaust She's never seen again, and the boys can only guess at what happened to her thereafter]]''.]]

* SpecialEffectsFailure: Averted. Two scenes of special effects (one of the steam from the train turning into carnival attractions and the other of a giant hand) were cut from the film because they were deemed to be too unrealistic.

* ItsTheSameSoItSucks:
** While ''Volume 1: PROLOGUE'' was met with overwhelming praise as it showed Raven becoming a BrokenBird, not unlike Overlord's Brain Unglaus, the events covering the first volume of the fanfic have been criticized for following the novel too closely. [[WordOfGod The author admits to having done this because it gives Momonga's introduction to Remnant more impact]].

** The sheer AdultFear involved in Jim and Will having to hide from Mr Dark in the middle of the day.

* CompleteMonster: [[RepulsiveRingmaster Mr. Dark]] is the leader of the Autumn People and owner of [[CircusOfFear Dark's Pandemonium Carnival]] who [[EmotionEater feasts on the emotions]] of those who he [[DealWithTheDevil bargains with]] and transforms them into Autumn People themselves. Arriving in Green Town, Illinois, Dark grants the desires of several of the townsfolk, [[JackassGenie only to have it go wrong]] and result in their [[TheCorrupter corruption]], such as giving Miss Foley her former beauty, only to blind her afterwards. Wanting to know when the storm that will destroy them will approach, he [[ElectricTorture electrically tortures Tom Fury]] and, when discovered by Will Holloway and Jim Nightshade, has the Dust Witch send out a swarm of spiders in an attempt to kill them. Meeting Will's father, Charles, Dark tries to coerce him by offering him his youth in exchange for the kids and, when Charles refuses, attacks him, has the Dust Witch try and kill him and kidnaps his kids while gloating how he'll die failing to save them. When Charles goes out to save them, Dark tries to break him by making him think Will hates him, and tries to corrupt both kids, [[WeCanRuleTogether offering to make Jim his co-owner]] in order to feast on his emotions.

** Jonathan Pryce can be quite scary when he wants to; especially the scene where he's trying to compel Charles to sacrifice his own son to become young again!

* FridgeHorror: [[spoiler:In the film the old school teacher Miss Foley wishes to be a beautiful young woman again, as she was once regarded as the most beautiful woman in the entire town. She gets her wish and is restored to a lovely young blonde woman, but she is made blind and thus unable to appreciate her own restored beauty among other obvious handicaps, and becomes a prisoner of Mr. Dark and his minions, who lead her around town as part of their stock company, and she is completely unable to escape. When you think about it, being led around for the amusement of your new evil masters is nowhere near as bad as some of the other things they could do to take advantage of a beautiful but helpless woman... assuming they didn't have their way with her off camera.]]

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoment: Charles confesses to Will that he was unable to save Will from drowning many years ago; Jim's father was the one that pulled Will up out of the water. When Charles says, "You have to stop blaming, sometimes," he seems to be trying to tell himself that as much as Will. Will's response: "I wish you could be happy." One suspects Will figured out long ago that his father wasn't able to help him, and he feels no ill will whatsoever. Charles doesn't realize it -- yet -- but Will accepts his father's flaws and regrets, and loves him no less for them.

** Specifically, arachnophobes should ''definitely'' stay away from this film.