Dark Shadows

Burton fizzled out and there was nothing left but a bunch of make up, pretty sets and once emotive themes. More than anything else, the character of Barnabas is an unintentional authorial self-reflection by a filmmaker who, since Sweeney Todd, has been copying himself and chasing the ghosts of the past. (10/05/2012)

Irresistible costumes, makeup and vivid colors create a cute floral seventies atmosphere (with great opening credits). There are a few cute references and allusions, but you would expect more from Johnny Depp’s ancient vampire’s interactions with the modern world. Dark Shadows is an eccentric film that attempts to pay homage to all kinds of things Burton likes, but it’s surprisingly not very funny and the characters are just iconic figures in a story that won’t absorb you. It’s a stylish farce that looks good but has no heart or emotion. Tim Burton seems to be drying up, which is a shame. It reminded me of Death Becomes Her. (07/05/2012)

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)

Burton’s stylization is beginning to bother me a bit. He’s a good director, but everything looks just a bit distant. Depp acting is excellent, Eva Green is demonically beautiful and the rest of the family maintains a good standard. The atmosphere is extremely good, but Dark Shadows doesn’t exploit its full potential, where it should step on the gas, it puts on the brakes for the good of family fun. 70s music great, but it doesn’t come near to Elfman who was on great form again here. "Love means never having to say you're sorry..." However, it is with sincere regret that I must now kill all of you. (15/09/2012)