The eighth collaboration between actor Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton, Dark Shadows is a project spearheaded by Depp, as he’s a fan of the original 1966-1971 soap opera. The film, adapted from over 1,200 episodes over five years, follows Barnabas Collins, a young playboy who breaks the heart of the wrong woman, who then turns him into a vampire and buries him “alive.” Arising almost 200 years later, the year is now 1972 and oh, have times changed.
As the film opened, the audience is treated to Nights in White Satin, the 1967 single by The Moody Blues. Although I love the song, it does not set up the film well at all, and as most of the music in the film, just an attempt to remind the audience of the time period, which is not essential for the story. However, Donovan’s Season of the Witch is a very nice touch and is the one song that best exemplifies the story.
The time period of the 1970s had no relevance to the story and seemed to only serve as an excuse for psychedelic colors and a few jokes here and there. The “tiny songstress” from the trailer comes to mind. Too much attention was paid to it and it took away from the overall effectiveness of the film.
Not being familiar with the original series, I had fresh eyes watching the story unfold. It includes all the typical Tim Burton aspects of exaggerated color and elaborate makeup, but the story was not nearly compelling enough. Although all the acting was quite fun, especially Chloë Grace Moretz, I was disappointed by the lack of a clear storyline. Each character was very interesting and had so much backstory, but there was never enough attention paid to them to develop it.
The best character by far was Angelique, played devilishly by Eva Green. Although I found her obsession of Barnabas to be quite compelling, it made me wonder what’s she’s been doing without him for the past 200 years. She’s a true villain that clearly needs someone to battle with to complete her. It doesn’t make sense that she’d want him locked up again, it’s too much fun having him around.
Having so much potential, the overall story was weaving around so much that it was difficult to follow where it was going. At one point it’s a love story, which, honestly, was a little creepy just for the fact that Johnny Depp is now in his 40s and even though his character is supposed to be very young, it’s unsettling to see him make-out with a girl of her early 20s.
Rating: Visually fun, but that’s about all (5/10)
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