Director, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are at it again with another whimsical movie that is
all over the place. I have to say I had no expectations for this film but the bizarre and different that
is to be expected. “Dark Shadows” was a soap opera in the 1960′s that could easily be deemed a TV
classic that much of the new generation knows nothing about. Johnny Depp was obsessed with the
show as a child and now we fast forward into the 21st century and in “Dark Shadows” the movie,
Johnny Depp takes on the character of Barnabas Collins. The acting was amazing in the movie but
the story line was sub par. We learn the history of the Collins family and how the manor was raised
above the Collinsport town in Maine. Barnabas falls in love with Angelic Josette (Bella Heathcote)
and despises and rejects the love of Angelique (Eva Green). Angelique is a wicked witch on a mission
to get Barnabas and she chases off his love Angelic. Well actually she sends her to her death off a
cliff. I was shocked at this part of the movie. Barnabas is cursed, wrapped in chains and cast into
a coffin. After 190 years he is unburied and finds himself not in the present but in the 1970′s and
meeting his family as the times have changed. Ironically enough he is the vampire from the 1700′s
that finds himself out of place in the 197o’s.
He returns to find his manor in despair and the family is broke. Elizabeth Collins (Michelle
Pfeiffer), is in charge of the family’s fading fortunes; her teenage daughter, Carolyn (Chloe Grace
Moretz); Elizabeth’s brother, Roger (Jonny Lee Miller); Rogers son, David (Gully McGrath), and a
psychiatrist named Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter)that lives in the manner as well. This
family is dysfunctional in every way and when they eat their meals together its a depressing mesh
of time wasted. This is where the movie breaks off and the plot is lost. There is a lot of satire and
sarcasm that is funny but detached from the main story line and the purpose of the characters role in
the movie. Angelique’s company is bankrupting the Collins family on purpose of course and she still
is relentless in her quest to get Barnabas to want her. A new romantic rivalry is born for Barnabas
now and Angelic is caught in the same drama she encountered in the 1700′s. That’s life sometimes,
a horrible circle of the same things happening over and over again no matter what century you find
yourself in. If you are looking for the odd and funny and can relate to the 1970′s theme then you will
dig it. I’m an 80′s baby and some of the references did not translate well. This is Johnny Depp and
Director, Tim Burton’s eighth major motion film together. “Dark Shadows” is a Warner Bros film
and directed by Tim Burton, rated PG-13.
