Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) is a well liked family man who has the unfortunate luck of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). Angelique turns out to be a very powerful and vengeful witch who punishes Barnabas by turning him into a vampire, killing his parents and true love and imprisoning him in a coffin for 200 years. Barnabas is released in the year 1972 where he finds his beloved family home and the world he once knew changed dramatically. Barnabas takes it upon himself to protect and unite his quirky descendants who now occupy his home.
Dark Shadows once again sees the collaboration of Director Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, which has become one of most familiar pairings of modern cinema. On paper Dark Shadows seems to fit the mould of Burton and Depp as it is a quirky, dark comedy, yet the film never really takes off. There is no doubt Burton is a popular filmmaker who has made some genuine classics such as Edward Scissorhands and box office hits such as Alice in Wonderland, but a lot of his films are very disappointing. I respect the vision and style of Burton's film making as they are always very unique and visually beautiful but often Burton just doesn't get it right. Unfortunately Dark Shadows is one such film that leaves you asking the question, what was he thinking.
Dark Shadows is based on the Gothic soap opera of the same name that ran in the 60s and 70s. It's no secret that Burton was a fan of the show and he seems to be fulfilling his own fantasy by bringing the story back to life. The only problem is Burton hasn't been able to break away from that soap opera style. The film is promoted as a dark comedy but it seems like Burton has restrained himself from going too dark and scary and has only halfheartedly added in comic elements. The result is a film that is not funny, dark or even mysterious, it's just a dull melodrama centred around a 200 year old vampire. I wish Burton had gone all out to make it a comedy or even a musical comedy that he has proven he can do successfully such as with Sweeney Todd.
It's not all grim as Depp is still his charismatic self as he embraces the character of Barnabas Collins completely. The best scene comes when Barnabas hires Alice Cooper to play at a party, whom he believes is a woman. This leads to one of the more memorable lines "Ugliest woman I've ever seen!". Joining Depp is Burton's wife and long time collaborator, Helena Bonham Carter who plays Dr. Hoffman who seems to suffer from a perpetual hangover. Michelle Pfeiffer plays Elizabeth Collins who is struggling to keep her family together, consisting of her useless brother Roger (Jonny Lee Miller), nephew David (Gulliver McGrath) who believes he can see the ghost of his mother and daughter Carolyn (Chloe Grace Moretz) who is continually moody and ultimately fed up with her family.
Joining the strange family is Victoria Winters (Bella Heathcote), a friendly governess who is employed to teach David. Winters is perhaps too likeable and friendly who may be hiding a few secrets of her own. However the only notable performance comes from Eva Green who relishes the opportunity to play the seductress witch Angelique. Despite almost two centuries Angelique looks as youthful and remains as passionate and vindictive as she was 200 years before, as she struggles once again to win the love of Barnabas.
Most of the characters and their storylines are unnecessary and no character is even attempted to be developed out of fear that Depp would lose a valuable second of screen time. Yet Burton insists on including many different characters that should be quirky and funny but are in fact simply props that are left unexplored. Most of the actors seem uninspired and uninterested in the film which subsequently is how you are left feeling.
The story and cast would appear like a winning combo and with Burton in his element what could go wrong. Unfortunately the film just doesn't work, from the very beginning as you listen to the boring narration you become unengaged in the story and as the film continues you find your interest in the characters and the story declining rapidly. Burton is a hit and miss filmmaker and there is no doubt this is miss, but look forward to seeing more of his unique brand of films in the future, I only hope his next film isn't Dark Shadows 2.
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