Dark Shadows-2012

Director Tim Burton

Starring Johnny Depp

Scott’s Review #1,203

Reviewed December 3, 2021

Grade: C+

Sometimes a great idea doesn’t pan out. On paper, relaunching the unique, gothic 1960s daytime television series Dark Shadows as a big-screen tribute with even bigger stars sounds wonderful.

The endless possibilities and the inevitable nods to history are head-spinning.

Sadly, the film version of Dark Shadows (2012) directed by Tim Burton is miscategorized and misunderstood by all involved.

It’s billed as a dark comedy rather than horror or even fantasy and comes across as more of a mockery than a real nod to the series.

It’s completely over-the-top and misses the wonder and spookiness that made the long-ago black-and-white show a daily adventure.

I don’t claim to have seen the entire series, but I have watched much of the first season and understand the appeal.

Fans will be disheartened by Burton’s botched attempts to recreate a great idea.

Depp, a frequent guest star in Burton’s film work, plays the iconic Barnabas Collins, an eighteenth-century vampire who awakens in the twentieth century, though he’s not as bad as he was when he feebly stepped into the Willy Wonka role in 2005.

Yikes.

The only saving grace is the creative and magical visual effects and set design, which provide enough imagination and macabre fascination to at least partly save this otherwise messy experience.

The plot gives a brief explanation of the history.

In eighteenth-century Maine, Barnabas Collins (Depp) presides over the town of Collinsport. A rich and powerful playboy, Barnabas breaks the heart of a witch named Angelique (Eva Green), who deviously makes him pay.

Angelique turns Barnabas into a vampire and buries him alive.

Two centuries later, Barnabas escapes his tomb when builders erect a McDonald’s and finds the 1970s Collinsport a very different place. His once-grand estate has fallen into ruin, and the dysfunctional remnants of his family have fared no better.

His resurrection creates complications and drama for the entire family.

Burton knocks it out of the park with the visuals.

The gothic mansion, in particular, is right up his alley, and he embraces the possibilities with gusto. Every creak or wind sound heard within the mansion aligns with the dark, dreary purples and browns.

Frequent candles set the mood, and exploring the vast number of rooms was something to look forward to.

Since the rest of the film sucked, I had nothing better to do than fully embrace the art and set design.

Heavyweights like Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, and Depp do their best but oddly overact in nearly every scene. Their direction must have been skewed toward comedy instead of adding any meat or emotional relevance to the characters.

The original series created something strangely dramatic and compelling on a shoestring budget. It had a delicious, haunting, gripping quality that made you anticipate the next episode and wonder who might fall victim to the vampire.

The film veers into a vastly different territory.

Burton and Depp’s Barnabas struts around, emitting one-liners for intended giggles. The other characters seem dressed for Halloween and are dumb and morose.

I got the feeling it was a retread of a situation comedy like The Addams Family rather than a horror soap to be taken seriously.

The sexual references and the occasional bloody vampire effects are okay but seem peppered in to justify the dark comedy.

Even an uninspired cameo by shock rocker Alice Cooper is perceived as a weak attempt to add something frightening or dangerous.

Unsurprisingly, Dark Shadows (2012) performed poorly at the box office and was derided by true fans of the series and almost every other film critic.

This sent Barnabas and his family slinking back into their coffins, possibly for good.

What a shame.