No, it’s not about her, but I liked the picture.
Dark Shadows is a vampire film about a rich business guy whose family is cursed because he rejected the love of a crazy witch in the 1700s. She turned him into a vampire, murdered his parents in cold blood, and sealed him away in a coffin for the rest of eternity. In 1971, he is broken loose by some hapless construction workers and returns to his manor, reuniting with his great-great-great-great…great(?) grandchildren. He discovers that the witch is still around, having built a competing business that is slowly driving his family into the ground, and he must find a way to restore his family’s honor and save his own business.
This film is based on a corny TV soap opera produced in Britain in the 60’s and 70’s of the same name, same characters, and similar premise. There was also a miniseries that lasted only one season in the early 90’s featuring Ben Cross, Joanna Going, and a very young Joseph Gordon-Levitt (which I fucking LOVED, by the way). Given its soap opera and old timey British roots, Dark Shadows has a very niche following that is comprised of probably what is the smallest audience imaginable. Rebooting this franchise seemed almost a no-brainer since no one today has likely even heard of the show before.
Yet, a lot of people were admittedly nervous when this film was first announced. Tim Burton is working with Johnny Depp, Danny Elfman, and Helena Bonham Carter… again. WHAT KIND OF HIJINKS WILL THEY GET THEMSELVES INTO THIS TIME LOL? They’re probably just gonna piss on the “legacy” of Barnabus Collins and rush the franchise into a coffin in the name of a quick buck. I am pleased to report that the overt stylings of the Burton dynasty are actually quite subdued here, and kind of think he sort of took the advice of that small group of people that railed against the Willy Wonka and the Alice in Wonderland films and toned down his presence. Yeah, there are winks and nods here and there, but overall I approve of this film. Its plot is a little mechanical, but the characters work well enough together, and the fish-out-of-water scenario was played relatively straight. Most of all, though, it’s actually quite fun. Sometimes I like to have fun.
ThomFiles 