Dark Shadows

I had fun, but unfortunately not all the time. I don't have a single reservation about what happened between the prologue and the end of the ball, where a certain Alice Cooper (the ugliest woman I've ever seen:) ) performed. The film is set in sympathetic semi-darkness, the humor fell on fertile ground in my case (especially the bon mots of Jackie's servant Earl Haley), and Depp's creation of a vampire cautiously exploring a new world amused me (Mephistopheles!) greatly... And yet it all still managed to be thrilling and engaging. So what went wrong? It was definitely in the last third. When it came to the settling of scores, the lynchings by an angry mob and the (admittedly) spectacular finale, in which, for example, one character quite senselessly became a werewolf, I yawned. That’s really too bad. I'm not going to lash out about Tim Burton being stale or anything... He did a good job at conjuring the atmosphere - he just had to keep a close eye on the screenwriter, who clearly wanted to digitally exploit the film's generous Warner Brothers budget at the last minute. Or was he hypnotized? (14/05/2012)

I remember times when Tim Burton managed to capture my heart and enchant me with a film that had only a fraction of the budget of Dark Shadows. Something is simply wrong and that is despite the fact that an American studio provided exclusive conditions to the well-known director and that a number of top stars, including Burton's favorites Johnny Depp and his ex-partner Helena Bonham Carter, appear on the screen. The potential is there, but except for the sex appeal-loaded Eva Green, nothing works as I would imagine. By the way, I am one of those men who would without hesitation prefer the demonic witch over the boring Bella as the main hero. Overall impression: 55%. (17/02/2018)

Tim Burton's dumbest and most boring film, and I say that as a great admirer of his. So, let's summarize. Typical Burton goofy humour? There’s none of it. Burton's famous bizarre visual styling? Non-existent. The always so distinctive music of Elfman? I didn’t catch it. Immersive plot? Plot? What plot? So what the hell, at least some minor tidbits, like Barnabas's confrontation with modern times? Criminally underused. I'll let Barnabas's fangs bite me if I'm making this up, but these were my two longest hours at the movies in years. (13/05/2012)

Apart from about two scenes that were already teetering heavily on the edge of awkwardness, this was two very enjoyable hours in the company of brilliant actors, wacky humor, and a rather unconventional soundtrack by Danny Elfman. Of course, Dark Shadows can't measure up to Burton's masterpieces, but it seems to satisfy Burton's (slightly tolerant) fan base as it combines tried and tested techniques from his previous films and the director's signature is still discernible here (on the other hand, something like Sweeney Todd is still a class higher). It's a different Tim Burton than the one we as fans (I include myself among that number) are accustomed to – he's getting more and more wacky, less poetic and imaginative, but still original in his own way. But it in no way deters me from watching his other work closely. (20/05/2012)

Congratulations to Tim Burton for once again managing to make a bad film. And this time he tried really hard. Not a bit of darkness. Under the surface, another annoying wannabe stylish crap with a heavily made-up Johnny in the main role and an elite cast that has nothing to do under Burton’s direction. Awful, the only good thing is the soundtrack. (01/09/2012)