In their eighth time working together, it may be time to finally tell Johnny Depp and Tim Burton“enough is enough.” Depp is a brilliant actor, and Burton has a filmmaking vision that is unique to say the least. While I typically enjoy their collaborations, “Dark Shadows” is the one thing I never expected from a Tim Burton film – boring.
“Dark Shadows” was an early gothic soap opera that aired originally from 1966 to 1971 and then aired in syndication after that. I remember rushing home from elementary school to watch the show with my older cousins. Barnabas Collins is one of my first memories of a life-long love of the horror genre.
Bringing back many of the popular characters from the original series, “Dark Shadow” begins in the mid-1700s. The Collins family builds a successful fishing business in a town that will become known as Collinsport. They also build a mansion called Collinwood Manor.
Their son Barnabas (Depp) is something of a playboy until he finds himself on the wrong side of Angelique, a scorned witch who also happens to be one of their servants. After she realizes he doesn’t love her, Angelique (Eva Green) curses Barnabas to become a vampire and locks him away until he’s accidentally released 200 years later.
Picking up in 1972, Barnabas finds Angelique is still around and has basically taken over the town of Collinsport, delighting in crushing the Collins family. Barnabas sets out to help his heirs reclaim their family fortune.
While bringing back some of the great characters from the original series, the movie fails to do anything creative with its storyline. Considering how long this film was in development, I expected a lot more. Burton seems to have focused solely on creating the mood and aura of the film but fails to give his talented cast anything to do.
Depp gives a quirky take on Barnabas, but I almost think he takes it too far. To tell the truth, it would have been more of a risk and probably a better film, if he had played the role a little straighter. Depp needs to learn that quirkiness for quirky’s sake does not a character make.
Eva Green plays the role of Angelique completely over the top, as does Helena Bonham Carteras Dr. Hoffman, a psychiatrist who claims she might be able to cure Barnabas. Carter is a talented actress, but she seems to have forgotten how to let any subtlety into her characters. The only performances worth mentioning are Michelle Pfeiffer and Chloe Grace Moretz. Pfeiffer plays Elizabeth, the matriarch of the family and Moretz is her teenage daughter with an attitude problem. They are the bright spots on a bleak landscape.
The movie's biggest sin though, it that is simply dull. I kept finding myself looking at the time wondering when the film was going to be over. The movie clocks in at less than two hours, but it felt a lot longer.
While the movie sets itself up for an obvious sequel, here’s hoping Burton and Depp take a break from one another. They have an amazing track record that I’d like to remember fondly; but if they make too many more films like “Dark Shadows”, it’s going to undermine the good they have created.
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