videodan32

OK. So it is cheap. The effects are terrible. The acting OK. The music choices vary in quality. Now that I got that out of the way....

This remake was fantastic and amazingly true in tone to the original making many improvements along the way. No spoilers here except to say that the updates made sense, the characters were fun, and everyone seemed to be having a good time making it. Malcolm McDowell did what he does so well playing the villain.

It was episodic, but so was the original. You get the feeling that the director studied the original for what worked, then brought that and a lot more into the remake. Roger Cormen and his daughter produced, so you know it was made by the right people (Cormen produced the original as well)

If you did not like it, you would not have liked the original. It was a worthy remake that reminds us what a lot of imagination can do on a limited budget. Cormen devotees should be thrilled.

First off, it is important to mention that I am an original Dark Shadows fan. After seeing the first preview, I realized that this was going to be more comedy than drama and not likely true to the original. OK. Reluctantly, I can accept the change of tone since I like Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. So maybe it will be a good Tim Burton movie regardless of the changes. It wasn't. First off-it was sloooooow (up until the last 15 minutes). I like good exposition, but it seemed pointless and uninvolving. Secondly, the story jumped around all over the place. No real build to anything. I don't want to give any spoilers (as if there are some to give), but the guest star was more of a side track and of no real importance to the plot at all. It was filler as was most of the movie. You would think that out of a thousand episodes of the original show they could have put together a decent story. I really wanted to like it. I tried to find a few golden moments, but there really weren't any. It just felt like a mess. I give it 3 stars only because I did like Johnny Depp's performance and most of the actors seemed well cast. In addition, I want Tim Burton to keep making movies (just not ones like this). Nice try. Getting a better script would have helped.

This is a British Horror/Comedy/Social Commentary that really works. Aliens invade the "hood" (Low income housing projects in England). No more plot details here.

Some things to know (no spoilers)---

***Low budget, cheesy creatures, but it works just fine ***Very thick English street dialect spoken throughout. Watch it with subtitles or you will miss half the dialogue ***Nick Frost has a small part, but don't watch it for him. Not much of him ***One of the producers was Edgar Wright ***This director/writer's first movie (I believe). Not perfect, but pretty great. Can't wait to see his next film. ***Short (less than an hour and a half) and sweet. Terrific ending. ***Clever social commentary mixed in with the gore.

I really liked this movie. It left me wanting more. Highly recommended.