"Dark Shadows" Review

Dark Shadows marks the eighth collaboration of Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton. The film is based off a soap opera that ran from the late 1960s to the early 1970s on ABC. I don't know very much about the series but, as I understand it, the show focused on gothic horror and the character of Barnabas Collins.

Johnny Depp plays the lead role of vampire Barnabas Collins, a man who was cursed by a jealous witch into an immortal life of bloodlust. In the vein of previous Tim Burton offerings, dark comedy remains in the forefront. Barnabas is reawakened in the year 1972 after being imprisoned for 200 years. Most of the movie's comedy stems from old-fashioned Barnabas adapting to swinging 1970s life.

Dark Shadows is successful in providing isolated moments of clever visual humor and Gothic images. However, director Tim Burton clearly didn't have much of a story to tell with this film. The plot meanders throughout and awkwardly juggles inconsistent tones.

The movie attempts to be simultaneously hilarious, horrific, romantic and dramatic but never completely succeeds in any of these categories. This film lacks a consistent, well-conceived script that would have been required to expertly blend genres.

Dark Shadows' rambling plot is never more evident than in the film's first 30 minutes. Early on, the audience follows a seemingly vital character who inexplicably is absent for a significant portion of the film. In the latter half of the film, as her importance is revealed, her absence remains perplexing. The most entertaining scenes in this film are captured when Johnny Depp and Eva Green are paired together onscreen.

Eva Green plays the witch, Angelique, who cursed Barnabas into his vampiric state and proceeded to sabotage his family's business. Green does a terrific job of portraying a campy, sexy witch who is as driven as she is insane. Green changes her voice slightly to provide a subtle "evil" voice for Angelique that really works for her character. Depp's awkward and kooky Barnabas is an interesting match for Green's confident and cruel Angelique.

Unfortunately, moments like this are few and far between. Dark Shadows wastes an opportunity to develop an accomplished supporting cast led by talented actors like Jackie Earle Haley and Michelle Pfeiffer. These characters are given very little to do and don't seem to be enjoying themselves onscreen. At times, Dark Shadows is such a jumbled mess that I thought I was watching the first cut of the film before it was edited for release.

In the end, Dark Shadows is far from terrible, mostly due to Burton's trademark Gothic visuals and the acting performances of Johnny Depp and Eva Green. The movie is, however, one of Tim Burton's weakest efforts to date.

As a big Tim Burton fan, (Ed Wood, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands) I was quite dissapointed with this film. I am worried that Tim Burton has too much money to play with ever since the massive worldwide success of Alice in Wonderland. He has lost focus on the quirky characters and original stories that made him famous, while recently relying on style over substance. Let's hope Frankenweenie, his upcoming 3D black-and-white stop motion-animated effort, is a return to form.