User reviews

I am a huge fan of the old Dark Shadows shows. I liked the old series, bloopers and all. I liked the films House of Dark Shadows and to a lesser degree Night of Dark Shadows. I liked the 1991 revival series of Dark Shadows. This new Tim Burton/Johnny Depp version has some good elements in it, like the costumes, soundtrack and special effects, but the problem here lies in the written word. The script relies too much on gags, some funny and some rather lame. The basic characters are mostly here with the exception of the melding of Maggie Evans into Victoria Winters, and the actor playing Willie Loomis does a better job with the character than did the one from the 1991 revival, who chose (or was directed) to play the role as a half-wit.(The one element I disliked about the revival). The 1970s music, cars, costumes and hairdos are spot-on and add to the comfy 1970s feel of the piece. The climax is all special effects and one "revelation" of the plot is so absurdly done here that it is (unintentionally) laughable. In all, I would say that this film may appeal more to those who never saw any of the original versions of this than the fans of them. I didn't hate this film, I just didn't love it either.

While it had a bit of a slow start, with technical limitations being obvious and the characters not being as interesting, from the moment it switched to colour and introduced its most iconic character Barnabas Collins (unforgettably played by Jonathan Frid) the 1966 'Dark Shadows' is a classic.

It is easy to see why it was so popular back in its day, and it is equally easy to see why it is remembered so fondly now. Despite its flaws (which were forgivable in a way), this reviewer spent many days and hours watching it with sheer joy, it really helping me get through many stressful and mentally straining times this year at music college (though there were many great times too, and saw a huge progression and several seemingly impossible achievements).

Sadly, this 2012 film version of 'Dark Shadows' was hugely disappointing. As an adaptation of the show, it just doesn't compare and understandably can (and has been) be seen as a travesty to die-hard fans. Tim Burton and Johnny Depp apparently claim to be fans of 'Dark Shadows', but to me that wasn't obvious at all. There was more of a sense that Burton hadn't even seen the show, seeing as the tone and spirit feels completely wrong, or he thought he could improve upon it.

On its own as a film, it has its good points but several major flaws that to be honest for this reviewer were more obvious. It is a shame as I am a fan of Burton's 80s and 90s stuff, especially 'Edward Scissorhands' and 'Ed Wood' which are two of my all-time favourites, but after his career low-point 'Planet of the Apes' he became hit-and-miss. While it is better than 'Planet of the Apes', along with 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and 'Alice in Wonderland' 'Dark Shadows' is very much a lesser effort from Burton.

There are good things. It does look great, with splendidly Gothic and vibrantly colourful sets, wonderful and atmospheric use of colours, effectively ghoulish make-up and appropriately kooky costumes that suited the characters very well, while it's beautifully and stylishly photographed as well. The music score is groovy, rousingly orchestrated, haunting and a long way from forgettable or generic, if not one of Danny Elfman's best or most inspired scores, with some clever song choices. There are some amusing, well-written lines in the script, loved the line about Alice Cooper and it is most successful when Barnabas is struggling to fit in, and a few of the cast acquit themselves well.

Johnny Depp is no Jonathan Frid and he has given better performances (though also much worse, it is one of his better performances in any of his later collaborations with Burton), but he is clearly having a lot of fun as Barnabas without overdoing it and is one of the most involved members of the cast, he also is very charismatic. Michelle Pfeiffer is one of the most successful at injecting a genuine and faithful personality, while Eva Green is both sexy and intense. Cameos by Christopher Lee and Alice Cooper are well-utilised.

Unfortunately, a number of the cast don't come off well. Jackie Earl Haley, who is very good at being menacing and sometimes low-key if he needs to be, looked bored in a role that is so much in the background that there was almost no need for him. Helena Bonham Carter overdoes it and comes over as out of place, while Chloe Grace Moretz is irritating in a negatively stereotypical role. Much of the acting is either over-compensated and bland, being able to do very little to nothing with their dull and often unrecognisable in personality characters, and while it was interesting to see Frid his appearance is far too short to leave a lasting impression. The chemistry between the characters, one of the show's biggest strengths, is barely there.

'Dark Shadows' script has its moments, but these moments are too sporadic. Tonally it is very unfocused and muddled too often, it rarely seems to know whether to be eccentric comedy or full-blown melodrama. It attempts to do both (amongst others) and never completely succeeds at either, the comedy is too sporadic and can be childish and overdone and the melodrama is unmoving and overwrought. Story-wise it's a mess, it never really comes to life, has twists that come out of nowhere and are completely misplaced (especially the werewolf subplot), parts that drag endlessly and contribute very little to the plot and parts that looked alright on paper but executed in a half-baked way.

As a result, the Gothic atmosphere is almost completely lost, with it only being obvious in the production values, while the sex scene choreographed to Barry White is too broad and overly-wild and the ending is overblown to ridiculous extremes. Burton's direction does well with the style is but severely lacking in the story and the substance, where there is a complete lack of heart and soul.

Overall, not awful but disappoints hugely both as a standalone and especially as an adaptation of a classic show. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Starts well with a lot of funny moments but never takes off from there. Depp offers a classic but good performance and the cast around is also solid. There's just an ingredient or two missing to make it a good movie.

With dark shadows by Tim Burton I think it's clear from the get-go that its just a campy remake, like Mel Brooks Young Frankenstein. It's not intended to reconnect fans of the original but rather to play off of a well-known old story. While many of the characters do use the original names from that 1960s soap opera, there are some new characters added here. Burton has taken much artistic leave with this version, displaying his brilliance with film and with directing Depp. It starts out with some very clever humor which kind of drops out in the second half of the film. Barnabas is no longer tripping over things he had never seen before and that loss of comedic value does affect the film. Although I appreciated the theme of the witch, those scenes were not the best part of the film by any stretch, and the daughter turned into a werewolf was poorly done as was much of the special effects in that second half of the film. David was very underutilized and, in fact, it seemed like there was a lot left out here. They could have added in some more communication between Victoria and David for instance. The house was a great character of its own and there were a lot of very interesting scenes but the whole thing relied too much on the scenery rather than the dialogue, other than from Johnny who played his part perfectly as the stiff and proper Englishman from the 1700s. There is enough humor in the beginning and campiness to keep you moving forward but unfortunately the second half of the film just fails to really deliver. Especially when Victoria disappears for a long period and then becomes Barnabas's twin at the very end. I feel like they could have done something much different because that didn't strike me as funny at all it just felt like a lack of consideration. That make up effect was perfect on Johnny Depp's character as Barnabas but as a transformation for Victoria it wasn't interesting or funny.

The decision to watch Dark Shadows was not based on the fact that it starred Johnny Depp, although this is a reason for some to go to the cinemas. Now the presence of Michelle Pfeiffer (Who played Catwoman and to me is the best portrayal till date) was as incentive but the main reason I actually opted to see this was because it was done by Tim Burton.

Tim Burton is known for his Gothic movies and this is no exception, one of my favourite Tim Burton movie is still The Nightmare Before Christmas. Other greats by Tim Burton are Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992) and my all time favourite Beetlejuice (I have a lot of Tim Burton favourites).

Well enough of Tim let's get talking about Dark Shadows, the movie is based on a soap opera of the same name that premiered on ABC between 1966 and 1971. Funny although Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) is the main character in this movie in the soap he was introduced in the second season and grew to become one of the main character.

I haven't seen any of the episodes in the series but if the movie is anything like the series then I wonder...

This is the Eight (if am not mistaken) movie that Johnny Depp and Tim Burton have made together and it is one of the worst I have seen from both.

The main issue about the movie isn't the theme, the theme is actually well crafted and I give kudos to the customer designer and the set manager, but the movie is so unevenly paced one time you are excited then next you are dragged into a long conversation.

The Vampire has some tricks up its sleeves other than the fact that he could make you his zombie (which he did enough times in the movie), he could also bore you to death (which he did throughout the movie).

The story goes thus: In the 18th century the Collins built a huge fortune in the fishing industry in Maine. A witch (Eva Green) falls in love with Barnabas (Johnny Depp) the son of Mr. Collins, but he turned her down after some…..

She out of anger and jealousy kills everything Barnabas loves, including his parents his wife and she did the one thing that witches have not been able to do for a while now, she transforms him into a vampire and had him buried alive. (Witches turning men into vampires, where have I heard that before? …Oh! yeah no where) We are now in the 70s and Barnabas is dug out. He reunites with his weird descendants and begins plotting his return to power. Also in these 196 years in the ground the witch still was alive.

Will I still watch another Tim Burton movie? Hell yeah! Alice in Wonderland (which he did with Johnny Depp) is still the eleventh highest grossing, movie in the world, so Tim has got it in him to make a masterpiece just that this movie is 3 stars from being one.

If we point our focus on Depp and rest of the crew, it was a share waste of talent. Having Pfeiffer and Eva Green and making no good use of them is amazing. Depp's movie before this was The Rum Diary a movie I still don't get.

All in all I won't waste a dime on this movie this I tell you.

Dark Shadows is one of those movies that you expect to be excellent with Johnny Depp vamping it up all comedic, with a cool 70's vibe, but somehow this still falls short. The story itself is good -interesting which sees Barnabas Collins (Depp) turned into a vampire by a witch, then buried alive. Two centuries later, he is freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. Returning to his ancestral home, he then aids his dysfunctional descendants.

There were lots of things I liked here; the special effects were kinda dazzling including Johnny playing dress up (again) and damn did I ever laugh at that violent love scene (up and down the walls). The fact that it took place in the 70's was fun, groovy baby, and Michelle Pfeiffer did a good job as the family matriarch.

Watching Barnabas struggle in this modern world was also initially amusing but truthfully most of the really good bits were shown with the trailers on TV. Ultimately I felt kinda meh about the whole movie, I can't put my finger on why this wasn't better though. 08.13

I don't know what to make of this movie. I really don't. It tries to do so many things and ends up doing nothing. The plot is all over the place. There's a lot going on so it's hard to find the important details.

I've been a fan of Tim Burton as long as I can remember. I grew up watching his two Batman films, Beetlejuice, and Edward Scissorhands. I've followed his work from Pee-wee's Big Adventure through Big Fish. His recent efforts (Planet of the Apes, Alice in Wonderland) have noticeably lacked his earlier charm. I've only been disappointed with two of his movies: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (which was more due to how good the original is) and now Dark Shadows.

The movie is based on a Gothic soap opera from the 60s and 70s. Johnny Depp plays a vampire who awakes to find his dysfunctional descendants plagued by the witch who made him. I have very vague memories of the show, mostly when I caught the last five minutes while waiting for The Incredible Hulk on Sci-Fi Channel. I know little about the series, and it seems the movie is made for fans of the show with little effort to create new ones. Besides Barnabas and Angelique, there's little development in the other characters. They all have the occasional scene but nothing memorable. These seem mostly to reference some event in the show and not really help the movie in any significant way. Worse yet, Angelique makes a horrible villain. She has no reason to act other than she loves a man who doesn't love her. The whole time I kept waiting for some dynamic motivation that never appeared.

The movie is trying to be a comedy, Gothic horror, and romantic drama but never really succeeding at any. The problem is, anytime the movie starts getting into one particular genre it changes gears. The separate elements never really blend together. I understand that the show has a certain camp factor to it, but I've read that this was mostly unintentional. Perhaps if they had simply made it a comedic Hammer films style film, or romantic comedy, or Gothic romance. But the three together never work as a cohesive whole.

The finale (not really spoiling anything here) is representative of all the problems of the movie. By the time the third act came out I had somewhat zoned out. I knew what was going on, but simply didn't care. It felt like the movie was just going through a series of checkpoints but without any feeling. There are revelations that mostly come out of nowhere, but apparently are based on the show. The whole thing screams of committee filmmaking, like the studio put too many demands on the film without letting Burton be Burton. Either that, or since Depp and Burton were such fans of the show they tried to hit too many major story points and forgetting to make it into a single film. It's okay to cut stuff out for a sequel. The first Terminator and Indiana Jones films cut out material that they ended up putting into the second. It's okay to not include every single idea.

Had the movie stuck with the fish out of water story, this would have been great. The best scenes are Barnabas encountering "modern" life like roads, television, and pot-smoking hippies. Depp makes these moments quite hilarious. I found the line confusing McDonalds with Satan to be very effective.

The only really good thing about the movie is that Burton certainly has his unique look. He is definitely one of the most visually distinct directors out there, if not the most. Every frame of the movie has his visual stamp on it.

Honestly, I can't really recommend this to anyone. It's not even an okay-at-best effort from Burton like Alice in Wonderland was. The movie won't win over any new fans for the show. And fans of the show will probably find this to be little more than a overly-silly CliffNotes version. It's too dark to be a comedy and too silly to be a drama. The series is fondly remembered. The movie won't be.

Tim Burton's reimagining of "Dark Shadows" is a mishmash. The original "Dark Shadows" TV series unfolded - sometimes leisurely, sometimes recklessly - from plot to plot, highlighting along the way a variety of characters including a warlock, a "phoenix," various ghosts, werewolves, psychics and spiritual mediums, witches, Frankensteins and mad doctors, professors of the occult, religious fanatics, and endless vampire victims. Time travel warped the chronological flow for months at a time. It was the pull of the overlapping narratives, improbable as they were, combined with the persuasiveness of the characters and the ever-present unifying element of creepy musical underscoring by Robert Cobert that kept audiences watching despite the tacky special effects, botched line readings and wobbly set pieces which, ridiculous as they were, transmitted an otherworldliness which was alien to anything else on the small screen at that time and which even today retains a singular character.

First, let it be said that Burton and his writing team, faced with winnowing out two hours of content from an ocean of possibilities, had to make hard choices. Unfortunately they chose silly camp as their overriding style.

The introductory scenes, set in the mid-1700's and narrated by Johnny Depp, straightforwardly and melodramatically explain how Barnabas Collins, the young heir to coastal Maine seafood canning fortune, is turned into a vampire by the spiteful witch Angelique as punishment for favoring another female. Being supernatural creatures, Barnabas and Angelique never die, so we meet them again 200 years later.

But when we are whisked to the year 1972 as a construction crew inadvertently digs up Barnabas's chain-wrapped coffin, the movie suddenly descends into broad CGI-assisted slapstick and ironic camp, with the most consistent theme being Barnabas as odd man out from another era mistaking electronic or mechanical devices such as automobiles, TVs or neon signs as satanic apparitions.

When we are introduced to the 20th century occupants of Collinwood, the family estate, the movie turns to the style of sometimes clever, sometimes over-obvious drawing room banter. Once the characters have been established the story galumphs along through a combination of montages (some with visual wit) accompanied by 70s pop music and outbursts of violence (fights, explosions, a wild seduction) until the dreary mess finally ends.

The trajectory of the plot - the struggle of Barnabas to save his family from Angelique's curse and reunite with the modern incarnation of his 18th century lover - brings us too often into the outside world of the nearby town with its noises, bright lights and bustle and corporate board meetings and high-lit factory assembly lines, which violates the stark and morbid Gothic atmosphere that made the original series unique. Simple face-to-face dialogues with perhaps a bit of fisticuffs or strangulation, a dash of poison or a bullet or two, are replaced by endless orgies of environment-shattering mayhem, drowning out the melancholia that was one of the hallmarks of the series. We are benumbed. Perhaps the lowest point is reached at a ball thrown by the Collins family to ingratiate themselves with the community which they have alienated over the decades. A remarkably well-preserved Alice Cooper plays himself as the "entertainment," complete with rock ensemble, while four cast members from the original series make a fleeting and utterly pointless cameo appearance as guests among the crowd. They seem insulted, degraded.

Johnny Depp emerges with dignity as the conflicted vampire Barnabas Collins. He makes the character his own while also channeling key aspects of the role's originator Jonathan Frid not only in his almost-British line readings, but also in the way he extends his consonants, particularly his s's, at the ends of words. He maintains a haunted dignity, aided by some beautifully written lines in the 18th century style. The other cast members range from excellent (Chloe Grace Moretz as bratty Collins daughter Caroline) to good (Johnny Lee Miller, as the decadent Roger Collins, who could have been even better if he had been given more of a chance) to sloppy (Helena Bonham Carter, as Dr. Julia Hoffman, who tries to cure Barnabas of vampirism; she too is undermined by the script which makes her sober, thoughtful character into a pill-popping, carrot-haired lush for no apparent reason).

It would be interesting if other directors took a crack at "Dark Shadows." There is much in this iconic artifact of popular culture to draw from and it's a shame to let it go to waste. How about it, Mr. Lynch?

My Wife and I were both HUGE fans of the original TV series. We actually own most of the original paperback copies of DS as well as the VHS(s) of the original show.

Depp was a perfect Barnabas, and I thought Phieffer was a pretty good Elizabeth. To my wife and I, Eva Green stole the movie as Angelique. Her overall vibe in the movie was great. But the reason why I only gave it a 5/10 is twofold;

1) - What little comedy there was was shown in the TV previews, and, 2) - I thought the overall pace of the movie was extremely boring.

While DS always had a dark, deadpan vibe to it, I thought Burton went so far in trying to capture that vibe that he ruined any chance at capturing the overall suspense of the old show. The casting was great, but the editing and pace was terrible. Burton missed on quite a few genuine opportunities to add a bit more humor and there was absolutely no real suspense to speak of. It was pretty obvious what would happen next; including the ending.

Unlike other reviewers, though, I will surely be on line to watch the (hopefully) next installment. Maybe there will be a bit more depth to the overall story.

I know that Dark Shadows was a rather campy TV series rather well known in the USA but almost unheard of outside of North America.

This was a concept Gothic film right up Tim Burton's and Johnny Depp's street.

It is a rather forgettable film which is disappointing for a Tim Burton movie.

It seems Burton had difficulty in getting the tone right and the script was half baked before the project was even green lit.

The film is set in 1972 with a revitalised Barnabas on the prowl again. As he acquaints himself with his descendants he tries to save the family business but old ghosts refuse to die.

I can see why this was a box office disappointment, it's visually very good, what else would you expect from Tim Burton. The humour is sporadic, it lacks focus, a developed plot and fully formed characters.

First things first: I have not seen any episodes of the original TV series this is based on. So no comparisons to that from me. This might have been a good thing from what I hear. But let's get back to this movie, that would've faired worse if Captain Jack ... I mean Johnny Depp wasn't in it. My niece who watched it with me, said she could spot Capt. Jack mannerisms. I hope that does not spoil the movie experience for you, but I guess this is the curse or the bad side of having created a great character.

Still that is not the weak point of the movie. Not even the weirdness, which I thought was nice mostly. But the movie itself is just not funny enough. It is pretty silly, but unfortunately not in a good sense. There is a scene where my niece went "That letter looks like ..." and while she was kidding I assume, I was still thinking "Kids" these days. But apparently Tim Burton thought the same thing ... He played right into that and it just doesn't work. Best scenes are in the trailer, the rest can be forgotten (including one very dark moment at a camp fire). Not as bad as his Planet of the Apes re-imagining, but still far away from his best efforts

I remember when Tim Burton used to be a respected filmmaker. Specially women seem to always be Crazy for his work. And I do agree that he has a unique style and he has made many good movies like: Beatlejuice, Batman, Nightmare before Christmas etc...

But when he made Alice in Wonderland things had changed. Everything was a mess and I just ended up not caring about any of the characters. This movie is exactly the same, first half was alright. At first when I met all the characters I thought that it could be really interesting. Sadly i was wrong.

Even with Johnny Depp in the main role and a lot of other good supporting actors things just fall flat. Pointless side stories, a boring love story and some really cheesy dialog. Like when Carolyn jumps down as a Werewolf and say something like "yeah I'm a Werewolf, big deal". At that moment I cringed in my seat and felt embarrassed that i was watching this. I also don't really understand who this movie is made for. Tim Burton is normally really popular among the women. But in many ways he made it more to please the men. I mean a large part of the movie seems to be about Women being eye candy for the camera. Even the 15 year old Carolyn poses as if she has somehow mixed up acting with modeling.

But lets name a few positive things: Well it's a Tim Burton movie so it has a kinda cool gothic/70s feel to it. Depp is alright and pull off some funny jokes. It has some good 70s music. The main reason I'm giving this movie a 5 is because of one person. Alice Cooper...The moment he started preforming i was having a blast. Sadly thats not enough to salvage rest of the movie.

Lets just hope Tim Burton has learned something from his latest mistakes.

There really once was a time that Tim Burton just could do no wrong by me. I loved his unique style and visions but his more recent movies have been nothing but disappointing. His style feels more like a gimmick now days and he doesn't seem to be interested in telling a good story, with intriguing enough characters in it.

And this movie ultimately is also a very shallow one. It does a poor job at handling its characters. Most never get developed properly enough, so you don't feel any involvement with any of them and it makes the movie vague and confusing about the motivations of the different characters.

Seemed like the movie had plenty of ideas in it. Too many perhaps. It occasionally picks up a plot line but then completely drops it for another one. It makes this movie feel like a underdeveloped one, that never sets up anything properly. Instead it makes the movie feel like it's being all over the place with its story. When you think that the movie will be heading into a certain direction with its story, it suddenly takes a completely different approach and abandons all of its initial ideas. Seemed at first that the movie would be about Barnabas Collins trying to reclaim his family position. It then seemed like it was going to be a love-story and finally the movie suddenly started to involve a villainous plot, that worked out as something far too forced. No, it really isn't a very natural feeling or flowing movie, which also truly prevents it from ever becoming anything fun because it's also so terribly uninvolved and shallow to watch all. This especially goes for the movie its final 30 minutes or so, which just was one big mess, in my opinion. I literally had no idea what was going on anymore, simply because I had also lost all interest at that point and stopped trying to like and understand the movie.

The movie does has its stronger points though. It remains a great looking movie, with all of its sets, costumes and makeup and I also liked the collaboration between director Tim Burton and composer Danny Elfman, which was something that seemed to be lacking the last couple of years but it seems like they have really found each other again with this movie, which is also one that feels a bit more into tone with Burton's earliest work, such as for instance "Beetlejuice".

I also really liked Johnny Depp, even though his character remained terribly shallow and not very interesting throughout the entire movie. He still manages to put a lot into his role and still give some life and fun to this movie. I also really liked Eva Green as the evil villain but everything else in this movie was interchangeable really. Most characters don't even seem to have a real purpose for the movie at all and actors such as Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller and Chloë Grace Moretz all remain terribly underused.

The first half of the movie remains pretty amusing, I give the movie that but I just can't forgive it for its second half and other weaknesses. It makes this far from a great or recommendable movie.

5/10

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In 1760 Liverpool (which we later learn reeked with the stench of un-dumped commodes), we meet the "cursed" Collins family. They move to Maine, successfully start a fishing business, and "found" the town of Collinsport. Grown up handsome son Johnny Depp (as Barnabas Collins) becomes a real lady killer. This irks sexy servant girl Eva Green (as Angelique "Angie" Bouchard), who yearned for Mr. Depp from their days in Liverpool. He soon finds "true love" with pretty blonde Bella Heathcote (as Josette DuPres). Jilted, Ms. Green turns out to be a witch. She turns Depp into a vampire and has him sealed in a chained coffin...

This set-up - all occurring before the opening credits - is fine, but offers some timing problems, especially when you consider later revelations. It seems like Depp had to be a vampire before he turns into one, and we aren't sure how it all went down. Possibly there is plot skimmed away, and this feeling continues throughout the film. After the prologue, credits roll and we are in the year 1972. The story shifts to Ms. Heathcote (as Maggie Evans) on a train. She's the mirror image of Depp's "Josette" from the past. Harboring a more modern mystery, Heathcote takes the name "Victoria (Vicki) Winters" from a train poster advertisement...

The story begins with the arrival of Heathcote to seek employment as governess, coupled with the unearthing and arrival of Depp. The film becomes mostly a situation comedy until the climax. Some of the jokes are funny - some are not. Two of the better characterizations are beautiful family matriarch Michelle Pfeiffer (as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard) and troubled young nephew Gulliver McGrath (as David Collins). Depp falls somewhere in the middle. Dead-panning with amusing sincerity, he nevertheless is victimized by a lack of romantic development; increasingly hidden behind elaborate make-up, Depp hits the comic notes well, but he fails to make "Barnabas" a passionate lead. Director Tim Burton's quirk looks something like a slip. But the art and set direction are good.

***** Dark Shadows (5/7/12) Tim Burton ~ Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Bella Heathcote

Although I was sucked in by the sheer, merry lunacy of this world, its characters and their wardrobe, there's really no excusing some of the faultlines that run through the heart of this confused little horror saga. It suffers from a severe case of subplot-itis, and tries in vain to cram four chapters' worth of back story into nearly every face. Even the less interesting minor players are obsessively over-inspected, which leads the more important characters to pull constant disappearing acts. Pseudo-protagonist Belle Heathcote is the most glaring example, vanishing without explanation for a full forty minutes during the second act, and then materializing right in the middle of a cramped romance. Johnny Depp's Barnabus is the one constant, happily sailing far over the top in yet another colorful, inexplicably successful leading turn. I caught myself laughing at the punchlines more often than I'd expected, but Dark Shadows often tests the boundaries of good taste, and in one case (an out-of-left-field comic love scene) ventures too close to the uncomfortably absurd. Kooky and silly, it's unforgivably (and thoroughly) lacking in the kind of panache Tim Burton was always known for.

What happened here? We have a great cast with a great director; however, the plot, the script, the direction, and even the acting were so lamentable that it made me think it was something deliberate. Honestly, I was completely surprised. Even knowing it had a bad rating, I couldn't imagine the reality would be even worse. Perhaps the best part of the movie was Burton's gloomy aesthetics, but I wouldn't dare say anything more since even the music seemed to make no sense. Undoubtedly, it is a movie I do not recommend under any circumstances. By the way, this may confirm the thesis that almost nothing good can come from vampire theme movies.

Dark Shadows is a fantasy horror comedy movie directed by Tim Burton and stars Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Bella Heathcote, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jonny Lee Miller, Helena Bonham Carter, Jackie Earle Haley, Chloe Grace Moretz and Gully McGrath.

The start of the movie is promising and it seems that we are ready for an entertaining joyride but the hope diminishes and vanishes.

It seems that the plot is written in a hurry and the characters aren't explained properly although the cast chosen for the movie is talented and they had performed well in their department and special praise should be given to Johnny Depp for his impeccable comic timing.

Screenplay is not that impressive and couldn't hold the half cooked plot. The direction also disappoints. Acting as I mentioned earlier is impressive and visual effects attracts appreciation. The movie could've been better provided they had developed the plot and character in a much better way.

Overall an average movie with a great comic timing but disappoints when it comes to the plot and it's execution.

was Barnabas good or bad? That is what I was trying to figure out after watching this. On one hand, he is supposed to be the protagonist who is going up against evil and on the other hand he is killing construction workers and spaced out campers.

Barnabas is a vampire that is released after being underground for 200 years. So there is a lot of campy jokes about how things have changed, from roads to cars to parties. He finds that some relatives are now living in his house and he conveniently has a room filled with hidden treasure, so that takes care of money issues. The witch that buried him is still running the town and she is still obsessed about him. Also, Barnabas's love has been resurrected in Victoria, a girl living with the family. So the film is about Barnabas trying to get rid of the with, Angie. And as it turns out half the family have some sort of supernatural powers.

FINAL VERDICT: Seemed like this was thrown together to take advantage of the popularity of vampires. It's not a comedy, but it's not to be taken serious. Don't go out of your way to see it.

Pretty average. OK for a random evening, but quite unmemorable too. Several plot lines are thrown out in the early stages of the movie, but then altogether left alone. There is an attempt at humor, it does work at points, but it also feels a little forced and the whole thing becomes too cheeky because of it.

I had low expectations about Johnny Depp after liking him less and less in recent movies, including Burton's movies. But Depp is OK here. Still, Depp, as well as Eva Green, Johnny Lee Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chloe Grace Moretz, Helena Bonham Carter, while turning in good performances, also are too caricatural. A little too much one-liners. Cheeky is the word. I do not blame the actors, it is the script.

Also, there is some unnecessary CGI/post-processing. For example, the docks and ships at the beginning of the movie look very unnatural.

So, Dark Shadows. I was waiting for this film for a long time as I am a big Tim Burton fan, and a huge Johnny Depp fan. But this venture was confused and really missed the mark for me.

With Tim Burton you know what you are getting, usually. Yet Dark Shadows seemed to be suffering from an identity crisis. What am I? A Gothic romance? A spoof? Have you ever looked at a magazine stall and wondered why each genre of magazine, be it womens, mens, gardening or whatever look exactly the same? It's because people en masse need that. And with Dark Shadows it lost it's direction from the very outset. I spent the first hour wondering if I should laugh or not. I was confused. But I think not as much as the guys who actually funded this movie.

I want to reiterate, I love Burton, Depp and Bonham-Carter. It was great to see Michelle Pfeiffer again (and she was great as it happens). But I felt let down by this movie. Something didn't quite work for any of them, like they had been miscast, or the script was lacking, or perhaps the idea was just not right. The chemistry was a little off and the intended jokes missed by a mile. I sincerely hope that this is just the one that Burton 'experimented' with and now we can all go back to the comfort of his genius. It would be awful to think that he has allowed his ego to take over.

I don't do spoilers. I think people should watch a film for themselves rather than read reviews, but I also know that people do read reviews and I don't want anyone to think this is rubbish. It's not. It bounces along with the usual Burton quirkiness, but somehow it just didn't gel. I paint, and I know that sometimes despite experience and best efforts not every painting is good. Some just annoy for no tangible reason.

Overall, it's nothing different, nothing of note. Bit boring, and sadly even Depp fails to impress (first time ever). I kinda feel sorry for Tim. He won't be happy with this one, but at least he got paid.

Dark Shadows is directed by Tim Burton and written by John August and Seth Grahame-Smith. It stars Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Chloe Moretz, Eva Green, Bella Heathcote, Jonny Lee Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jackie Earle Haley and Gulliver McGrath. Music is by Danny Elfman and cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel. Based on the TV series of the same name, plot finds Depp as Barnabas Collins, a 200 year old vampire returning to the family mansion in 1972 to find his dysfunctional descendants in residence. With his old nemesis still to deal with and the changing of the times complicating matters still further, it's clear Barnabas has much on his hands.

The Burton and Depp combination, coupled with an American fan base of the original TV series, ensured that Dark Shadows made a decent profit at the box office. However, this does in no way prove to be a guide to the quality of Dark Shadows. It is in truth a muddled mess of a picture, in fact it comes off as a selfish exercise, it's a film that Burton and Depp appear to have made purely for themselves. Self confessed fans of the original TV show, of which only a cult fan base existed any way, there's no denying that Burton pleases the eyes with his visuals and Depp engages in that kooky way from the corner of the market he has cornered, but even their hardiest of fans must be growing a little concerned about the lack of feeling for their audience.

The film actually starts off quite promising, prologue and lead characters in place, a whiff of comedic horror in the air, but once Barnabas is unearthed from his 200 year old grave, it all goes quickly down hill. Not sure if it wants to be funny or creepy, or what pace of scene or tone should follow each set-up, it's weird for all the wrong reasons. The fish out of water premise quickly grows tired and the support characters to Depp's Barnabas are merely making up the numbers. Only Eva Green, who is so delectable she is made for Blu-ray, is able to compete on equal terms with Depp's latest kook, but even she is hindered by the weak screenplay. It's a shame and a waste rolled into one, because as gorgeous as it is to look at, and as sure as there is loving intent, Burton has crafted a disappointing over long mess of a movie that is neither homage or reinvention. 5/10 for Miss Green, the visuals and a snazzy sound track.