Here's a shocker for you: Tim Burton casts Johnny Depp as the lead in his latest film once again!! Cause this pairing had never happened before..... oh wait. Dark Shadows marks the EIGHTH time these two have collaborated to make a movie, which, in my humble opinion, is about 5 times too many, (the only gems these guys have ever made together were Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hallow, and Sweeny Todd. An argument can be made for Ed Wood but...eh.)
Dark Shadows is based off of a soap opera of the same name that was hugely popular during the late 60's, but, other then keeping the character names and general background, Burton's version takes a new direction.
Plot:
Barnabas Collins was the son of Joshua and Naomi, who, in 1792, immigrated their family to America where they established an extremely successful fishing industry in the city of Collinsport, Maine. But, after breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard, who just so happens to be a powerful witch, Angelique turns him into a vampire and buries him alive. Exactly two centuries later, after Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his coffin, he discovers his family legacy has been tarnished, and that his surviving Collins relatives are threatened by the same witch that cursed him 200 years ago.
My Thoughts:
I have a question for Tim Burton: um, why? The vampire, twilight-ish hype died a year ago, and there wasn't much potential in it anyway. This movie watches like a Tim Burton twist on the Twilight series, but he's doing so by knocking off another TV show with no relation to Twilight.
But okay, let me be honest here. I'm not a Tim Burton fan. At all.
Burton discovered through Edward Scissorhands that he struck a chord with American audiences by selling dark...really dark, stories. But unfortunately, he's almost entirely abandoned writing original stories. Let me repeat: He hasn't written a single original story for a major motion picture since The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). (Corpse Bride [2005] was technically co-written by Burton but the whole thing is based off of a russian folk tale...which he didn't write.) I find that pretty sad, but when you add the fact that Burton has marketed himself as a dark storyteller, that just makes it pathetic.
We find this same issue here in Dark Shadows. There is, unfortunately once again, nothing in this film I can praise that Tim Burton had direct impact on. However, there is one area of this film that deserves praise, and that is, of course, the always-impressive acting performance by Johnny Depp. Even when Depp is handed the worst of scripts, and Johnny has a bit of a tendency to take those scripts, he excels beyond expectation. Depp makes his character, Barnabas Collins, very much real. A real human being born and raised as such, suddenly trapped in the body and chemical makeup of a vampire, and longing for love, respect, and grace. He's able to create the depth of his character and simultaneously focus on a (well done) comedic performance, albeit dark comedy. Anyone that has seen two or more films starring Johnny Depp cannot deny his ability to "become" the character he plays. And this talent is once again on display here in Dark Shadows. I can definitely say with confidence Dark Shadows would be in contention for one of the worst movies of the year if it wasn't for Depp.
In summery, if you are Johnny Depp-obsessed, (which is a pretty good obsession to have) I'd go ahead and see this movie just for his performance. Even then, I'd wait for rental. But for the rest of you, I'd pass on this one. Flimsy script that implodes upon itself as the film progresses, (and the last 20 minutes leave you questioning how this film ever made theaters), mediocre acting from everyone besides Depp and Jackie Haley, (he plays the Collins family butler and is the funniest character in the movie), lazy cinematography and notably poor soundtrack.
I'm just waiting on the day when Burton will actually write something incredible once again, but with every passing release by him, I lose a little bit more hope.
Rating: 2/10
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