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)
Burton fizzled out and there was nothing left but a bunch of make up, pretty sets and once emotive themes. More than anything else, the character of Barnabas is an unintentional authorial self-reflection by a filmmaker who, since Sweeney Todd, has been copying himself and chasing the ghosts of the past.
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Irresistible costumes, makeup and vivid colors create a cute floral seventies atmosphere (with great opening credits).
There are a few cute references and allusions, but you would expect more from Johnny Depp’s ancient vampire’s interactions
with the modern world. Dark Shadows is an eccentric film that attempts to pay homage to all kinds of things Burton likes,
but it’s surprisingly not very funny and the characters are just iconic figures in a story that won’t absorb you. It’s a stylish
farce that looks good but has no heart or emotion. Tim Burton seems to be drying up, which is a shame. It reminded me
of Death Becomes Her.
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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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What We Screw Up in the Shadows... Despite the vampire character, this Gothic pride, which suits death so well, is eager to see itself in the mirror. But behind it, there’s nothing left. This has been happening since Charlie’s factory for chubby kids, and some don’t want to admit it. With a bit more of a pointy bust, Eva Green was like Vampira in Ed Wood. It’s no wonder that the firefighters went to Tim Burton’s calves before they went to the Collins estate.
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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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Gallery (120)
Photo © Warner Bros. Pictures
![Dark Shadows - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/160/972/160972378_cd5713.jpg)
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