Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows offers stunning visuals, a delightfully dark atmosphere, quirky humor, and a talented cast in spite of an inconsistent story and a lack of narrative focus

Few director-star collaborations have been as fruitful as that of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, or for that matter quite so deliciously eccentric, and their eighth time together proves no different.

Never mind if you haven't any inkling of the cult '70s daytime soap opera on which this is based- a swiftly told prologue recalls the setup by telling of the Collins' voyage to America, their instrumental role in the founding of the Maine seaside town called Collinsport by starting up a successful fishery business, and most importantly, of their heir Barnabas' unfortunate run-in with a jealous witch Angelique (Eva Green). Spurned by Barnabas for another named Josette (Bella Heathcote), Angelique hypnotises her to throw herself off a cliff while turning Barnabas into a vampire and imprisoning him in a coffin.

It will be nearly two centuries later by the time some construction workers inadvertently free him, awakening Barnabas to an unfamiliar era where he promptly mistakes the golden arches of a McDonald's for Mephistopheles. That's not the end of the fish-out-of-water jokes that passes as humour- other than the anachronistic values about women and childbirth that Barnabas still clings to, he is just as out of step in front of a TV playing a Karen Carpenter show or among a bunch of hippies.

Fans of the original series may object to the deliberately campy tone that Burton and his screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith (with an extra story credit to Burton's frequent writing partner John August) adopt for the movie, but those less bound by expectations will lap up Johnny Depp's delightfully quirky rendition of Barnabas. As always, Depp is a master at facial reactions, with every twitch and raised eyebrow perfectly calibrated to elicit maximum hilarity. Depp and Burton are fully aware of the campiness, but both embrace it so wholeheartedly that you can't quite help but be won by their fidelity.

There is also much more than just Barnabas' anachronism of course, with Smith giving the film its due weight in Barnabas' mission of restoring the former Collinwood empire to its former glory. Since locking Barnabas away, Angelique has spent her time building up her own booming fishing business. In the meantime, the Collins have been content to let their lives fall into decay like their sprawling mansion- among the dysfunctional members the matriarch Elizabeth (Michelle Pfeiffer), her dissolute brother Roger (Jonny Lee Miller), her impudent teenage daughter Carolyn (Chloe Grace Moretz) and Roger's disturbed young son David (Gully McGrath).

However kooky they may be, Barnabas regards them one and all as family- and as Depp's opening voice-over emphasises, blood is indeed thicker than water. Burton-Depp's collaborations have always demonstrated a tremendous amount of heart for peculiar characters, and this latest reaffirms their love for characters of different quirks and idiosyncrasies.

Restoring the empire to its former lustre earns the ire of none other than Angelique itself, the ensuing love-hate relationship between the pair giving the film a mildly sexual edge as well as a thrilling climax which culminates in a visually sumptuous showdown. Admittedly the pace does amble on with little narrative tension for most of the movie, but Burton eventually satiates the thirst for bombast in summer audiences with an extended ending made with most of the film's inflated budget unheard of in the days of the TV series' miniscule own.

To be fair, some of that has obviously gone into the ornate sets by production designer Rick Heinrichs as well as the elaborate costumes designed by Colleen Atwood. As is Burton's signature, the imagery stands out as much as the characters do, and the finale is a perfect example of the visual richness of Burton's warped imagination brought to life with CGI. But Burton is not foolish enough to rely simply on these modern-day devices, relying too on good-old fashioned casting to ensure that his film is also a rapturous delight.

Any actor besides Depp would probably be upstaged by the fine female cast, each of whom shine not simply because of Atwood's colourful costumes. The standout would probably be Green, who plays Angelique with bewitching aplomb, projecting sass and menace with razor-sharp precision and setting off dangerous sparks with Depp as ex-lovers. With Green's showy performance, it's easy to ignore Pfeiffer's more understated but no less loopy own, the actress who once played Catwoman in Burton's 'Batman Returns' clearly relishing one of her best roles in recent years. Bonham Carter unfortunately gets sidelined in this film, her act as a neurotic shrink underwritten and quite out-of-place amidst the other unfolding plot lines.

Amidst the new faces, Burton also pays homage to the original actors of the TV series by inviting four of them- Jonathan Frid, Lara Parker, Kathryn Leigh Scott and David Selby- to appear briefly in the film, as well as the era's definitive musician Alice Cooper for an extended cameo. Despite his irreverent take on the material, Burton is clearly in love with the artefacts of the '70s, and the film's awesome soundtrack with the likes of Moody Blues and the Carpenters is testament to that.

So yes, fans of the TV series will have to accept that this big-screen adaptation is a reimagining of the original. Yet for those without that historical baggage, it is with any of the Burton-Depp collaborations that have come before it a thoroughly enjoyable visual feast filled with offbeat characters that turn out ghoulishly endearing. This is clearly a passion project for both Depp and Burton, and 'Dark Shadows' as its deliberately idiosyncratic title suggests is an unusual summer season offering that packs its own unique brand of kooky appeal.

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

In 1760, the Collins family moves from Liverpool to the Maine to expand the family empire and dedicate to fishing business. One year later, they are successful and the city of Collinsport is raised in the place. Then, for fifteen years, Joshua and Naomi Collins build their Collinswood mansion. Their servant Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green) has an unrequited love for their son Barnabas (Johnny Depp) that actually loves Josette DuPres (Bella Heathcote). But Angelique is a powerful witch that curses Barnabas and his family, killing his parents, Josette and turning him into a vampire. Then she brings the locals that lock him in a coffin and bury him for the eternity.

In 1972, the young Victoria Winters (Bella Heathcote) comes to the decadent Collinswood to be the tutor of the young David Collins (Gulliver McGrath), who lost his mother two years ago. She finds a dysfunctional family composed by the devoted matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer) ahead of the family business that is near bankruptcy; her rebel daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Chloë Grace Moretz); her brother and David's father Roger Collins (Jonny Lee Miller); the psychiatrist Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter) that takes car of David; and the servants Willie Loomis (Jackie Earle Haley) and Mrs. Johnson (Ray Shirley).

When eleven workers release and awake Barnabas, he drinks their blood and returns to Collinswood. He meets Elizabeth and she tells that the family has been cursed, and Barnabas shows a hidden room with a treasure in side and he promises to protect them and assume the business. When he sees Victoria, he rekindles his love for her. But the witch Angie is still alive and is prominent in the town and she has not forgotten Barnabas.

"Dark Shadows" is a film by Tim Burton that has a promising beginning but the development is lost between comedy and horror. As usual, the dark cinematography is awesome and the music score is spectacular, with hits from the 70's. This film is certainly not among the best films by Tim Burton, but is entertaining. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Sombras da Noite" ("Night Shadows")