Line #6 NightmareFuel/TheWiz


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4	!!The musical
5	* [[BigBad Evillene]] is a nasty piece of work. An [[EvilIsHammy entertaining]] nasty piece of work, but a nasty one nonetheless. Her VillainSong highlights how she enslaved many Ozians to work in her sweatshop and how she'll snap at the slightest hint of bad news.
6	* Her sister, Evamean, wasn't much better; she's directly responsible for the Tin Man's transformation, having ''hacked off all his limbs'' [[DisproportionateRetribution in response to him falling in love with one of her slaves]].
7
8	!!The movie
9	* When Dorothy first arrives in Oz, and the Munchkins pop out of the walls and begin shambling towards her, hands outstretched, and repeating nothing other than "Toto" in high pitched voices. It's quite unnerving as a first impression of Oz.
10	* The subway scene, from the growing puppets, sharp-toothed sentient trash cans and moving pillars.
11	** The puppets are indubitably the scariest of the bunch. From their slinky noises slowing turning into a constant, [[HellIsThatNoise grinding growl-like sound]], to the uncanny way they jiggle and [[OminousWalk walk ominously without stopping]]. What makes them creepier is that at least we can tell that the trash cans wanted to eat the Scarecrow and the pillars closed in around Dorothy with the intent of crushing her... but [[NothingIsScarier WHAT]] were those giant living puppets going to do to them if the Lion didn't open the gate in time?!
12	*** Add insult to injury, at least the Lion [[CatharsisFactor kicks the asses]] of the trash cans and the pillars, on the other hand the puppets are an unbridled horror without payoff: they're last seen still roaming the subway, looking for prey...
13	** You'd expect a SinisterSubway to be dark, decaying and covered in cobwebs, but it's instead [[CreepyCleanliness clean and brightly lit]], on the walls there's posters with stylized grotesque faces and the fact that it's all tidy but completely void of life (sans the murderous [[AnimateInanimateObject living objects]]) makes the subway an eerie "liminal space" nightmare that wouldn't look too out of place in ''WebOriginal/TheBackrooms''.
14	* While not visually horrifying, the Poppy Girls' attempt to kill Dorothy, Toto and the Lion can get an unsettling light when you really think about it: the Poppies are represented as streetwalkers that begin their attack by throwing a venomous dust at Dorothy and the Lion before guiding them into an opium den-like tunnel that poisons them into passing out, almost lethally. In other words, we're watching prostitutes trying to kill our heroes by making them overdose. [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids And the movie was rated G]].
15	* Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, is depicted in this film as TheGrotesque, with UncannyValleyMakeup that makes her look like some sort of hideous human-sized porcelain doll. Another creepy factor comes in the moment when she tries to take Dorothy's slippers. In the [[Film/TheWizardOfOz 1939 film]] when the Wicked Witch tried to do that, she simply got her hands zapped by some cheesy looking yellow sparks added in post and that was it. Here, when Evillene tries to touch them... her fingers ''[[BodyHorror painfully roll backwards]]''.
16	* The Tin Man getting his body pressed thin can look [[NightmareRetardant cartoonish enough]] to avoid being traumatizing... but the Scarecrow getting sliced in half onscreen with a buzzsaw is a rather unsettling visual, regardless of him claiming that he can't feel it.
17	* Yes, Evillene's workers slaving at her sweatshop lair are very [[DarkIsNotEvil grotesque looking, but innocent people]] who celebrate the moment they're freed from her tyranny... but ''[[https://www.filmlinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/The-Wiz-1-1600x900-c-default.jpg just look]]'' at how grotesque they are!
18	* Oz itself, which is now a CrapsackWorld filled with colorful, often malicious characters and places no better than the real-life gangland of New York in the 1970s, with none of the bright colors and idyllic landscapes one normally expects of the place. ''The Wiz'' was easily the creepiest Oz movie at the time until ''Film/ReturnToOz'' claimed that title.
19
20	!!The TV special
21	* The Tornado Ballet has a frightened Dorothy get flung through the air while storm clouds, lightning, and funnels appear in the background. The dramatic score further increases the scare factor, especially when an unseen lady vocalizes a scream.
22	* The Scarecrow, described in one review as looking like he escaped from an especially creepy Creator/NeilGaiman story.

Context NightmareFuel / TheWiz