Dark Shadows
The film is not a colossal failure, as some had predicted, but it’s hardly indicative of Burton or Depp’s talent.
When moviegoers ( and Graeco-Roman TV lovers ) first heard that Tim Burton and Johnny Depp would be reuniting yet again for a " reboot " of the 1960s gothic Georgia home boy opera , Dark Shadows , the reply was mixed . Despite the pair of buff - favorite film producer , manyDark Shadowsfaithful dissent the film for reverence it would ( discontinue me if you ’ve heard this before ) ruin their childhood ( or , at the very least , undercut doting memory board of the original show ) - or rely too heavily on the , now earmark ( and for some , shopworn ) Burton / Depp schtick .
On the other hand , plenty of movie - devotee were , nonetheless , stimulate for the project - as it could offer a fitting " return to ( medieval ) form " for Burton .
Now that the motion picture is out , we can safely say thatDark Shadowsis hardly a mindless pillage of the cult - classical source material - but the movie is n’t probable to be one of Burton ’s more storied kit and caboodle either . Instead , it ’s a competent film that once again relies almost exclusively on an pleasurable ( but not specially fresh ) performance from Depp as leading - vampire Barnabas Collins ( in the beginning portrayed by the lateJonathan Frid ) . discern viewers will notice that nearly all of the other characters and plot of land point take a back seat to Depp - centric comedy , but for pile of moviegoers that may not be a deal breaker .
As mentioned , Dark Shadowsis loosely free-base on the classic television series of the same name that run from 1966 to 1971 . In this film translation , Barnabas Collins has a fling with his obsessive maidservant , Angelique Bouchard ( Eva Green ) , back in the 18th hundred - but when he pledge his love to another , Josette DuPres ( Bella Heathcote ) , Angelique kills his darling and anathemise him to eternal aliveness without her , as a vampire , before rag the townsfolk of Collinsport to bury the blood - sucker active . 200 year subsequently Barnabas is unearth - only to obtain that his illustrious family name has , in the mean time , been tarnished by " Angie " - who has not get on a daytime . In an exertion to take back what is truly his , Barnabas uses magic spell and a slight second of mesmerism to fix the Collins family , as well as Collinwood Manor itself , to former glory - not to mention get back at Angelique for the whole kill his fiance / condemnation / bury - alive thing .
The motion picture , as evidenced by our synopsis , leave most of the side characters in varying stage of underdevelopment . The basic original are set up out of the logic gate ( upon the return of Barnabas ) but no one is grow beyond that point : Elizabeth ( Michelle Pfeiffer ) is the materfamilias of Collinwood Manor - attempting to curb on to what little the kinsfolk has leave , Roger ( Jonny Lee Miller ) , brother to Elizabeth , ignores his son in favor of his own desire , David ( Gulliver McGrath ) , the aforementioned son , is an peculiar but lovable kid who is adamantine that his drown mother still sing to him , and Carolyn ( Chloë Moretz ) , Elizabeth ’s daughter , is a distinctive fifteen twelvemonth honest-to-goodness - obsessed with celebrity crushes and resentful of the care David gets around the manor house . Along for the ride is Willie Loomis ( Jackie Earle Haley ) , a lovable but creepy groundskeeper , and Dr. Julia Hoffman ( Helena Bonham Carter ) as David ’s underachieving shrink .
Beyond these initial description , none of the character reference offer anything more than sound circuit board for Depp ’s Barnabas put-on . Each one is present a moment of Burton ’s earmark oddball mode and flare pass but , while the supporting cast does an passable Book of Job with their respective roles , there ’s a lot of wasted potential ( especially with Pfeiffer and Moretz in the underframe ) - not to mention a issue of unearned maturation in the final turn . Instead , the movie spend the majority of the time on Depp ’s fish - out - of - water whatchamacallum coupled with the bizarre Angelique lust / hate relationship . Depp bring in his common spell as well as insidious nuances to the case ( make him likeable even though he ’s still a murderous monster ) - and , for the most part , Green succeeds as a detestable antagonist . However , there ’s nothing overbold or peculiarly interesting about their dynamic - as both are give out through motions we ’ve seen countless times before in similar revenge / repurchase stories .
That say , not everything is merely a rehash ( either in terms of character or core subject affair ) , as for percentage of the film , Burton make splendid usage of the 1960s timeframe - especially when it clash with the overarching " mediaeval " cinematography . Again , even these challenging juxtapositions are heavily reliant on Depp ’s portrayal of Barnabas , but they in spades sum a charm and sense of witticism ( not to mention optical flare ) to the film - one that would , in the hand of a different theatre director , have probably not been search .
The effect is a sparse but gently entertaining film that does n’t quite observe the sought after reboot sweet spot : honoring the source material while also give a compelling reimagining for forward-looking audience . By the end of the cinema Burton attempt to shoe - horn in some last min tethers to the source textile that will be intimate to rooter of the authoritative series . unluckily , the nods will likely be distracting for non - fans , and at this point , too little - too tardy for even theDark Shadowsfaithful . Instead , Dark Shadowscomes across as yet another Depp / Burton riff on an established property that , likeAlice and Wonderlandas well as Charlie and theChocolate Factorybefore it , face an entertaining enough platform for the histrion and some intriguing visuals from the director - all while failing to present a memorable storyline or intriguing non - Depp characters .
WhileDark Shadowsmay please the Burton and Depp fanbase , which still represent a substantial clod of the moviegoing public ( and who never seem to bore of the pairing ) , for less - seat viewersDark Shadowsis probable to offer a bit of chuckle - suitable moments and a few foxy visuals - pair with a circumstances of uneven part developing and a dumb mo - to - moment narrative progression that , at metre , sustain from a lot of familiar story beats . The film is not a prodigious loser , as some had predicted , but it ’s hardly indicative of Burton or Depp ’s talent , serve as yet another denotation that the pair could remain firm to step outside their corporate me + you = cinematic magic outlook - since Ichabod Crane , Willy Wonka , Sweeney Todd , The Mad Hatter , and Barnabas Collins are , otherwise , starting to smudge together .
Eva Green as Angelique Bouchard in ‘Dark Shadows’
If you ’re still on the fence aboutDark Shadows , ensure out the poke below :
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Eva Green as Angelique Bouchard in ‘Dark Shadows’
For an in - depth treatment of the flick by the Screen Rant squad see out ourDark Shadowsepisode of the SR Underground podcast .
have us know what you mean of the film in the commentary section .
Dark Shadowsis rated PG-13 for comic horror violence , sexual contentedness , some drug use , oral communication and smoking . Now playing in theaters .
slackly based on the gothic liquid ecstasy opera of the same name , Dark Shadows keep an eye on a vampire cite Barnabas Collins when he is unearthed from his grave after 200 years . Barnabas adjusts to modern life , fall in love , and searches for a cure , but first he must confront the beldame who curse him so long ago .
