Directed by:
Tim BurtonCinematography:
Bruno DelbonnelComposer:
Danny ElfmanCast:
Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Chloë Grace Moretz, Bella Heathcote (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
In the year 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. But even an ocean was not enough to escape the mysterious curse that has plagued their family. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet-or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy...until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better... (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (14)
Congratulations to Tim Burton for once again managing to make a bad film. And this time he tried really hard. Not a bit of darkness. Under the surface, another annoying wannabe stylish crap with a heavily made-up Johnny in the main role and an elite cast that has nothing to do under Burton’s direction. Awful, the only good thing is the soundtrack.
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Burton’s stylization is beginning to bother me a bit. He’s a good director, but everything looks just a bit distant. Depp acting is excellent, Eva Green is demonically beautiful and the rest of the family maintains a good standard. The atmosphere is extremely good, but Dark Shadows doesn’t exploit its full potential, where it should step on the gas, it puts on the brakes for the good of family fun. 70s music great, but it doesn’t come near to Elfman who was on great form again here. "Love means never having to say you're sorry..." However, it is with sincere regret that I must now kill all of you.
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Tim Burton's dumbest and most boring film, and I say that as a great admirer of his. So, let's summarize. Typical Burton goofy humour? There’s none of it. Burton's famous bizarre visual styling? Non-existent. The always so distinctive music of Elfman? I didn’t catch it. Immersive plot? Plot? What plot? So what the hell, at least some minor tidbits, like Barnabas's confrontation with modern times? Criminally underused. I'll let Barnabas's fangs bite me if I'm making this up, but these were my two longest hours at the movies in years.
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Dark Shadows, the 2012 version, is an absolute delight. The natural evolution of the Burton/Elfman/Depp collaboration rides on the wave of popular fandom that began in 1966 and continued as a daytime soap for five years, followed by two films. There were several failed comebacks over the next few years, with only the 1991 revival series actually succeeding. And now Barnabas is back and can once again connect a new generation of viewers to his story. The short prologue from the second half of the 18th century is wonderfully straightforward and decadent, and I love the setting and atmosphere. But Barnabas back in 1972 is better than ever. There’s a great clash with the post-flower generation, perfect clashes with Angelique (both hateful and loving) who has so far gone from witch to respected citizen of the city in a few generations. Johnny Depp makes the most of his vampire, Eva Green is the ultimate hedonist in every way, Michelle Pfeiffer is still very sexy, combining the best of her Selina Kyle and Lamia, and Helena Bonham Carter has the chops to showcase the vampire again next time. So far, it's been a perfect study of the titular vampire and the Bathory Syndrome. Among the others, we have Christopher Lee in a tiny role and Alice Cooper fans will definitely be pleased. The cameos of the original actors from the series also hold a special place. The 1970s are exactly as they deserve to be recorded here. The combination of gothic comedy is a genre I've been missing and it came just in time.
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I remember times when Tim Burton managed to capture my heart and enchant me with a film that had only a fraction of the budget of Dark Shadows. Something is simply wrong and that is despite the fact that an American studio provided exclusive conditions to the well-known director and that a number of top stars, including Burton's favorites Johnny Depp and his ex-partner Helena Bonham Carter, appear on the screen. The potential is there, but except for the sex appeal-loaded Eva Green, nothing works as I would imagine. By the way, I am one of those men who would without hesitation prefer the demonic witch over the boring Bella as the main hero. Overall impression: 55%.
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Gallery (120)
Photo © Warner Bros. Pictures
![Dark Shadows - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/164/187/164187074_1c6694.jpg)
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