Helena Bonham Carter, Chloë Grace Moretz, Eva Green, Gulliver McGrath, Bella Heathcote, Johnny Depp, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, and Michelle Pfeiffer star in Tim Burton’s imagining of Dark Shadows. Courtesy of Warner Bros.
1961 was the year the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows premiered, leading to a worldwide following. Tim Burton has taken it upon himself to turn the now cult-classic television show into a feature film. Unfortunately, he missed a few beats along the way.
This TV to film imagining tells the tale of cursed vampire, Barnabas Collins, waking up after an almost 200 year imprisonment in order to return his family’s name to its once respected stature.
For all of you who have seen the trailer and are loyal followers of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton’s projects, hold your horses before galloping off to the cinemas. The trailers for this movie have led you all to expect some new, enthralling, deep dark comedy. This could not be further from the truth.
What Burton and Co. have delivered is a drawn out melodrama with a few comedic moments, almost all of which can be found in the trailer.
Along with this deception, you’ll find the imaginings of the entire production disingenuous or missing entirely from the project. There isn’t a single acceptable performance among the cast of otherwise wonderful acting talent. Depp, whose recent cinematic outings have been an über disappointment, suggests he may have reached his limit and we shouldn’t expect anything more from him.
The only contributors worth their paycheque in this movie are the cinematographer and the special effects team, who provide the perfect accompaniment to this dark tale.
Bottom Line: Due to false advertising, your expectations are your greatest enemy. Unless you have an absolute need to revisit the show you once loved projected on a larger screen, save your mullah and rid your mind of this major disappointment.
Grade D
Runtime: 113 minutes
IMAX: Yes
3D: No
May 11th, 2012 at 6:47 am
I loved this film, thought it was great, and Johnny still has it. If your a Johnny and Tim Burton fan, you’ll love it too.
May 11th, 2012 at 7:44 am
Looks like there a quite a few people who like the movie. Personally, I’m a big fan of many Burton/Depp projects, including Edward Scissor Hands, Corpse Bride, and Alice in Wonderland. However, everything about this movie felt flat. You could here them reading their lines. That doesn’t fly for me when this kind of talent is stocked in a movie.