Based on the 1960s gothic soap opera, Dark Shadows follows a man named Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp), the son of Joshua and Naomi Collins, two Englanders who built a fishing empire in a coastal Maine town which was then aptly named Collinsport. As a powerful playboy, Barnabas made the mistake of falling in love with a woman named Josette (Bella Heathcote—who also plays Victoria in the film) even though Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green) was in love with him. As a result of her broken heart and the fact that she is also a watch, she cursed Barnabas by killing his one true love, turning him into a vampire and buried him underground in a locked coffin.
Roughly 200 Years later in the year 1972, Barnabas is unearthed and returns to his home, Collinwood manor, and finds that the family business has been destroyed and that the estate is now being run by a poor dysfunctional Collins family that can barely keep themselves together let alone their house. With Elizabeth Collins (Michelle Pfeiffer) trying to keep the house in order, Barnabas decides that he will restore the Collins name to its former glory. The only thing that can get in his way is Angie, an upright citizen who now runs the town and also happens to be the same witch who killed his love and cast him to 200 years of darkness.
Dark Shadows was a passion project for star Johnny Depp as he is a big fan of the original series and, luckily for him, it’s the type of story that fits well in his friend Tim Burton’s filmmaking realm. That being said, the movie is a good 30 minutes too long resulting in some seriously boring moments. The movie’s strength lies in its quirky humor but as the picture pushes on, the level of humor begins to die, eventually sucking us lifeless until the exciting but kind of illogical finale takes place.
The film’s other strength lies in its cast. Depp is wonderful as the fish out of water vampire, Eva Green is an appropriately over the top sexual deviant that’s infatuated with Depp, Chloe Grace Moretz plays a great teenage hippie, and Jackie Earle Haley, my personal favorite, was hilarious as the drunken Collinwood caretaker. Michele Pfeiffer had her moments but was a bit inconsistent and Helena Bonham Carter seemed as if she was playing Ja
ck Sparrow but as a psychiatrist. Though she was a pleasure to watch, her character really had no place in the film and could have been completely eliminated if she wasn’t married to Mr. Burton.
To be honest, as a male looking back on the film, the only memorable moment was when Eva Green stormed into the Collins’ “happening” in a tight and sparkly red dress with amazing, in your face cleavage. It was like seeing Jessica Rabbit but without red hair, a definite show stopper.
Dark Shadows isn’t a bad film nor is it good, it’s merely ok. It’s just another movie. It has the classic Tim Burton and Johnny Depp touches that you’d expect from a gothic piece of work like this along with an appropriate Danny Elfman score to accompany it. The varied performances from the cast balance each other out and there is some good humor sprinkled throughout, but the nearly two hour runtime resulting in boredom, unnecessary characters and confusing character changes really take the enjoyment level of the film down a few notches. If you’re a Burton or Depp fan you’ll probably see this but I’d personally wait to watch it when it comes out on DVD so that you’re not as disappointed as I was.
Rating: An average and quirky flick that leaves you feeling more disappointed than anything (5.8/10)
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