Dark Shadows

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Dark Shadows
Starring Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter
Directed by Tim Burton

In 1760, the Collins family sets up a fishing port in Maine, becoming the most wealthy and well-known family of the area, even having the town named after them.  Their maid Angelique (Eva Green) falls for Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp), but he only has eyes for Josette (Bella Heathcote).  Burned by his rejection, Angelique, who is also a witch, enchants Josette to walk off a cliff to her death.  Barnabas follows after her, but doesn't die because Angelique turns him into an immortal vampire, so he could never die and spend the rest of eternity pining over his lost love.  She has the townspeople imprison him in a coffin.

In 1972, construction workers accidentally uncover Barnabas's tomb, and he heads back to Collinsport and to his old mansion, which has fallen into disarray and inhabited by his descendants: Elizabeth (Michelle Pfeiffer), her brother Roger (Jonny Lee Miller), her daughter Carolyn (Chloe Grace Moretz), Roger's son David (Gulliver McGrath), David's psychiatrist Dr. Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), caretaker Willie (Jackie Earle Haley) and Victoria Winters (Heathcote), who was recently hired to take care of David after years of dreaming of living at the mansion for a particular reason.

Barnabas learns that the Collins name has all but disappeared from the town, and a new fishing magistrate, owned by Angelique, has taken over the town.  Barnabas sets out to return the Collins name to the map, while Angelique reignites her love/hate relationship with Barnabas, and gives him an ultimatum - love her, or watch his family be destroyed again.

Based off a soap in the 70s, Tim Burton brings his own flair to "Dark Shadows," and Johnny Depp works well with what he has, but it all ends up flat in the end.  Burton seems to not know in what direction to take the film - at some points its downright hilarious, other points it's extremely frightening, and there's also several action sequences that make it seem to be a Michael Bay-style blockbuster.  It seems he takes a little from each genre and throws them together, while taking away the best from each.  The result is a subpar film that, if you weren't a fan of the series, you probably wouldn't understand.  I know I didn't.

My Rating: B

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